Difficulty is a key aspect in the Souls-like genre and Team Ninja, the developers of the Nioh series, are notorious for making brutally difficult games. Some claim that Wo Long Fallen Dynasty was plagued with the same amount of difficulty that ultimately takes the fun out of the game, which originally released in 2023.
But the question is, how does it fare in 2024 with the release of Wo Long Fallen Dynasty: Complete Edition? This version of the game includes all 3 DLCs and a bunch of items like special armor pieces in collaboration with other games like Lies of P, Naraka: Bladepoint, and Team Ninja’s own, Nioh 2.
Overall, the game has been revised with a lot of bugs fixed and the difficulty being slightly easier and more approachable.
Not As Punishing As The Souls Games
When Wo Long Fallen Dynasty first came out, I couldn’t get around to playing it. So I don’t know what the original game was like on launch. But playing through the game now on the new and improved Complete Edition brought me to this conclusion: It’s not nearly as difficult as other games in this genre.
As I started playing the game, I was able to defeat a couple of bosses on the first try itself. I would say some of the regular heavy enemies gave me more challenge than these bosses. Other bosses who took more tries still didn’t take more than a few to beat them. It was easy to memorize the patterns, other than the fact that the dodge and parry buttons are the same which makes it way easier.
Now, I don’t mean to brag since it felt easy to me; I can understand how difficult it can be for a lot of people and it actually is. But when compared with the likes of Sekiro or Elden Ring, it’s far more forgiving.
This works in its favor too, because often I would get quite annoyed being stuck at certain bosses in Elden Ring. In those cases, it takes too long to painstakingly memorize and parry/dodge every single move. On the other hand, in Wo Long Fallen Dynasty the progression keeps on flowing. I experienced new areas, enemies, etc. at a much faster pace than other Souls-like games due to its more easy-going difficulty.
The fights are tailored just right so that with enough skill, it wouldn’t require you more than a few good tries to get past it. They are challenging enough as you get into the later stages of the game and still require you to make focused builds, which is one thing I love doing in these games.
Dark Fantasy China Is Addictive
Wo Long Fallen Dynasty adopts a more semi-open world design where you go into specific “battlefields”. These are well-designed levels that lead to a final boss fight at the end. There are a few routes off the beaten path that can reward exploration with secret loot or can even have special enemy units to kill.
This works in favor of the game’s variety, as each battlefield takes you to a brand-new location with entirely new enemies to face and new environments to explore. The visuals can be stunning for the most part, but in certain areas, the lighting and textures looked slightly rough.
The enemy designs though are always unique and diverse, ranging from your lowly guard with a sword to ferocious saber tooth tigers and demonic dark fantasy monsters. The armor you can equip for your character has amazing intricate designs and looks intimidating, all thanks to its dark, fantasy China setting.
The Complete Edition also adds three new chapters with their own set of battlefields that are meant to be played after completing the game, serving as endgame content. This adds even more to its already varied roster of enemies, locations, and weapons.
The first chapter, Battle of Zhongyuan, continues the saga of the Yellow Turbans and introduces new allied characters to the story. However, the final boss is a reskin of an existing boss but with added abilities and moves.
The second DLC chapter, called Conqueror of Jiangdong, gave me a fair share of new enemies to deal with but similarly had a reskin of an existing boss as its final boss fight. Still, this fight is much more challenging and difficult than fights in the main game.
Upheaval in Jingxiang is the third and final chapter that peaks in difficulty and challenges my end-game character build to its core. Taichi Ci is one DLC boss that can be called the Malenia of Wo Long Fallen Dynasty because of how difficult it can get compared to most of the game.
The main game and its levels would be slightly too short of a game for my taste. But with the DLCs in the Complete Edition, it comes down to a solid experience that is worth its price and offers many hours of enjoyable content.
A Glimpse Into The Future
Wo Long Fallen Dynasty: Complete Edition encompasses the great effort put in by Team Ninja to make a genuinely good souls-like game. But what does this say about the future? Their next title, Rise of the Ronin can feature many of the unique gameplay mechanics we see in Wo Long Fallen Dynasty.
One thing that I would like to see return is the Morale Rank system. In Wo Long, my character always started with a 0 Morale Rank. The concept is that the more enemies I defeat, the more my Morale Rank rises and allows me to defeat enemies with equally high morale. However, since the system is tied to each battlefield in Wo Long, it might not be feasible in an open-world title like Rise of the Ronin.
Spellcasting in Wo Long is also not tied to magic-based builds and instead, all stats have their own set of spells. Certain builds that favor certain stats will have different spells, but the point is that every build gets them. It’s an essential part of the gameplay loop. These are the things that Team Ninja does differently.
If there is one thing that falls short in Wo Long Fallen Dynasty, it’s the English voice acting. Many of the scary and intimidating-looking bosses and characters are given voices that completely miss the mark and do not fit at all. The exceptional quality and production of the cutscenes make up for it, but it is still a glaring issue that I would expect to be addressed in their next title.
The soundtrack and the general sound effects apart from the voice acting are very impressive. The background music really fills you with determination or instills tarot when it needs to during boss fights. The classic sound of deflecting attacks makes it that much more satisfying. If things stay the same at Team Ninja, then the future is certainly exciting.
Final Verdict
Wo Long Fallen Dynasty: Complete Edition is a great package that gives you the full experience of the dark fantasy China it sets out to deliver. With the difficulty not being brutally hard, it can also be an enjoyable experience for more casual gamers who are looking to get into the Souls-like genre.
The Complete Edition includes DLCs that bring even more to a table that is already overflowing with unique enemies, bosses, and gameplay mechanics.
The Good
- Great variety of enemies and bosses
- Unique gameplay mechanics like the Morale Rank
- Extended endgame DLC content
- Great pacing of the story with gameplay
The Bad
- Bad English voice-acting
- Few bosses are reskinned variants
