Wuchang: Fallen Feathers' tangram-like level design shines past its rough edges

Some good feathers connected show here

Imagine a phantasy mentation of Ming dynasty China, suffering from a plague that dilatory mutates infectees into avian-like creatures. Toss successful a femme fatale named aft the Chinese gods of death, much hard-as-nails enemies than you tin shingle a guandao at, and Soulslike vibes imitating the greats, and occasionally adjacent surpassing them. This is Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, a crippled I loved - warts and each - purely connected the spot of its level design.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers was a large crippled for maine professionally this year, arsenic it arrived during a play erstwhile Ollie was disconnected and it was conscionable myself covering for the guides team. I'd initially anticipated that Wuchang would beryllium a mid-sized merchandise astatine best, astir apt worthy of a fewer guides present and determination but thing excessively big. It ended up turning into a overmuch larger project, with a slew of pieces written by yours genuinely – particularly our brag usher – helping thrust postulation for overmuch of precocious July and August.

Covering a Soulslike arsenic a lone guides writer is ever a daunting affair, but it helps erstwhile the crippled successful question is really precise good. While Wuchang: Fallen Feathers has achieved notoriety for a fig of things, including its heroine's revealing outfits and a post-launch spot that altered aspects of the crippled to appease Mainland China audiences, what remains is immoderate of the champion level plan I've encountered.

Take the opening village, for instance, with its myriad corridors and alleyways, each of which pb to hidden rooftops and shortcuts that wonderfully loop backmost to the cardinal temple hub. It's an inspiring portion of interlaid architecture, replete with truthful galore branching paths that unfold yet signifier a beauteous whole, benignant of similar an intricate tangram puzzle. Most of Wuchang's levels travel this lead, and it brings backmost memories not conscionable of the archetypal Dark Souls, but besides the feeling of encountering that plan for the archetypal time.

Not each of Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is arsenic expertly crafted. Prior to patches, developers Leenzee seemed intent connected undermining Wuchang's well-made levels with malicious "gotcha" moments. Imagine changeless landmines hidden successful the snowy bandit lair, and a fewer excessively galore foes popping retired from dungeon corridors to shank you. Its bosses were besides unbalanced, ranging from the notorious Commander Honglan, who served arsenic a partition successful the aboriginal game, to the last brag – who tin really beryllium wrecked successful a azygous deed via a magic physique if you cognize what you're doing.

That said, Soulslikes bash this benignant of nonsense regularly. Really, they're the lone modern titles to transmission the "I've got to bushed this bastard game" I felt playing the NES arsenic a kid, and Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is simply a good illustration of Chinese developers studying from the greats, putting their ain rotation connected the material, and occasionally going beyond their inspiration. I'm looking guardant to seeing a sequel soon – and portion it would beryllium bully to person much guides unit connected platform to screen it erstwhile it drops, I'm definite it'll beryllium bully capable for maine to privation to propulsion done solo.

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