As someone who has always shied away from Souls games, Wo Long would not have been in my radar initially. Having toyed with the idea of playing a Souls game and jumping into Elden Ring in January of this year, I am definitely more open to a tougher challenge than I was before.

I enjoyed Elden Ring so much I played it all the way through for the 100% completion on Xbox, and it definitely got me excited enough to look at FromSoft’s catalogue again. I am now also hyped for games like Lies of P and Wo Long, which currently has it’s hooks in me.

Wo Long comes from Team Ninja, the developers behind the Nioh series and launched day one into Xbox Game Pass, so there is a low barrier of entry should you feel skeptical about jumping in.

Story

Wo Long serves up a dark fantasy set during the period of the Three Kingdoms, telling the story of a militia soldier and his struggle for survival during a Later Han Dynasty infested with demons. Venture through lands plagued by destruction and chaos, and try to awaken the power within.

The story here is hit and miss for me, it has a nice pace to it, learning more through the world building and in cutscenes after defeating bosses, but I still feel like I don’t fully grasp what is going on. I get the gist of it, but I wouldn’t be able to explain specifics if you asked me, nor tell you the names of certain characters.

Wo Long is seemingly linked, loosely to Dynasty Warriors, whose story I couldn’t follow either, having only dabbled with it a little bit back in the day. But for fans of the lore and the world, you might find the story more captivating and easier to follow.

The story is kind of here nor there for me, the cutscenes are nice and the dialogue or voice acting isn’t bad per say, but having not grabbed me from the beginning, I doubt the story is going to stick with me come the end.

Gameplay

I am not someone who is well versed with multiple souls likes under my belt, so my knowledge with comparisons will be limited, but with the games parry system being a big main focus, think more of Sekiro, than Souls.

I never found the time to play the free demo that was available or watched any gameplay prior to it’s launch, so I went in blind not knowing what to expect. I was met with a very frustrating first boss who tells you to “git gud” not once, but twice.

The first boss doesn’t take long to reach and clearly serves as a tutorial, trying to make you feel accustomed to the combat and the way the parry system works. Possibly to the game’s detriment, this first encounter can feel painfully unforgiving, having struggled with it myself for a few hours. Once you finally think you’ve managed to defeat him, the second phase creeps in and ramps up the difficulty even more.

After a little trial and error, you will be able to breeze through his first phase very easily and once you have the parry window dialed in, the second phase isn’t as overwhelming as first thought. That said, if you told me you didn’t enjoy the game and put it down because you couldn’t get past the first boss, I would completely understand.

Should you manage to preserve and accomplish the seemingly impossible, you’ll be met with an incredibly fun time, one I can equate to a similar feeling I had with Elden Ring, where I don’t want to put the game down. The levels are quite fun, with a good mixture of enemies and containing Battle Flags scattered around that serve as resting points where you can level up, call in reinforcements, in the form of NPCs or co-op partners, play around with wizardry spells among other things.

You’ll be able to level up specific stats within the games “Five Phases” system and play around with weapons and armour to see what suits your play style best. Most interestingly though, is the games morale system, that can really turn the tide against some tougher enemies.

You’ll have to keep an eye out for the Marking Flags, as these, along with defeating enemies as you progress, all work towards raising your morale. It definitely gives the player a good reason to stop and smell the roses. Although linear in nature, any exploration available is rewarded and can help turn the tide against your next boss fight. Divine Beasts are also at your disposal and can come in handy, giving  you an added edge against a tough boss. You can utilise your Divine Beast power up by calling in an attack or simply utilising the energy to give yourself a buff in battle.

Should you want to explore further afield, you can tackle the games side-missions (sub-battlefields) that all boast their own rewards, mini-bosses and are a great means of levelling up for the main missions. There is a lot to keep players engaged with the combat system and it all gels very well together. On top of all this there is a fairly in-depth character creator should you be a fan of that stuff.

My only real gripe is having some serious issues with nailing down the parry windows with certain bosses and difficulty spikes in places. Sometimes it feels like the game ramps it up to eleven with little to no warning. As for the parry issue, it could be that I need a bit more practice, but it seems difficult to master, leaving me frustrated at times, but never to the point of quitting.

Graphics and performance

Whilst not the most graphically demanding or visually stunning game, it certainly does look pretty in parts, despite the fact it looks dated throughout. It is not going to make your jaw drop unlike some of the most visually beautiful games on the market at the moment, but you will be happy about the inclusion of a photo mode, for sure.

There is also an option for players to prioritise frame rate or resolution, of which I always opt for more frames, so the game could look slightly better should you opt for the quality mode. Performance wise it runs rather smooth and stable, having not run into any issues at all so far whilst playing on Xbox Series X.

Final Thoughts

Having dumped around fifteen hours into Wo Long so far, It’s been an amazing experience and one that will definitely keep me hooked until the credits roll.

I’m still fresh to these types of challenging games, but I feel like players well-versed within the genre will have a very pleasant time with Wo Long, whilst new challengers may be hard pressed to push on due to the unforgiving nature of the games introduction.

When everything clicks, Wo Long is an absolute joy to play, there’s no better feeling than nailing a parry and delivering a devastating fatal strike, especially against a challenging boss (here’s looking at you Aoye).

The visuals, photo mode, performance, story etc all range between serviceable to great, but the combat and gameplay is where this game shines, so I can forgive the rest and that’s not to say it is bad.

If you are skeptical or new to these kind of games but want to give it a go, I’d recommend an Xbox Game Pass subscription. If you’re up for a challenge and enjoy the genre, then Wo Long is definitely one not to miss.