Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty – Complete Edition [PlayStation 5] | REVIEW

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty released to critical acclaim in March last year, with the Team Ninja-developed Souls-like offering a brutal yet rewarding take on Chinese history (sort of) and mythology. It also had three DLC packs that expanded on the adventure with additional missions, weapons, and enemies to face off against, with the most recent pack releasing in December of last year.

With all content for the game now available, it’s the perfect time to play and experience everything it has to offer. What better way to do that than with Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty – Complete Edition?

Check out some screenshots down below:

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty – Complete Edition includes the main game, the Battle of Zhongyuan DLC, the Conqueror of Jiangdong DLC, and the Upheaval in Jingxiang DLC, along with all free updates and extras that have been released since launch. It means you’re getting a MEATY package, with the base game alone taking close to twenty-five hours to beat – if you put the DLC on top, you can easily add ten-hours to that figure. Given that it’s releasing at the same price that the base game launched at, those who waited to get their hands on the game are getting a pretty sweet deal, especially since the DLC offers some substantial content to get through.

If you’re unfamiliar with Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, it’s a Souls-like that re-tells the story of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. If you’ve played Dynasty Warriors before, you’ll probably recognise a lot of the locations and characters that show up, and yes, that includes the likes of Lu Bu (who is just as brutal as you’d expect him to be). It also adds a fantasy-like twist to proceedings, with Chinese mythology embraced throughout the game in both your abilities and the enemies you battle. Come on, it couldn’t be a Souls-like without some big demonic creatures to face off against, right?

Since the game has been out for a while already, I won’t go into too much depth with this review. Know this, though: it’s very, very, VERY good. Its combat is slick and stylish, with its quicker pace feeling more akin to Sekiro than any other Souls-like title thanks to a focus on parrying attacks in order to break an opponent’s defence and open them up for a counter strike. However, whilst parrying is pivotal, it’s through aggression and constant pressure upon your opponent that you’ll find the most success. This is because there’s a Spirit meter in play affects your combat capabilities, with aggressive strikes upon your opponent and parried attacks building the meter up, and dodging or blocking attacks consuming it. You then have special Martial Arts and Spells that can be used by spending Spirit, with these powerful abilities giving you some extra tricks to gain the upper hand in battle. It makes for a balancing act, where you constantly have to be on the offensive to build your Spirit up in-between using it to unleash substantial attacks.

“If you missed out on Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty the first time around, the Complete Edition is the best way to experience its enthralling Souls-like adventure.”

It’s a rewarding process that genuinely makes combat a thrill, even IF there is a bit of a learning curve in place when timing your parries. The ferocity of your enemies doesn’t make things easier, with Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty following the trend of the Souls-like genre by being tough as nails. Of course, it gets easier the longer you play and you’ll slowly learn the attack patterns of enemies to better adjust your timing, but you can expect to die a LOT. With plenty of different weapon types to use, abilities to learn, and foes to face off against, there’s a lot of depth to be found in the combat, but most importantly, it’s really rewarding and always fun to engage in brutal showdowns.

Oh, and the bosses? They’re wonderfully designed and offer some truly memorable battles, even IF they’ll kick your ass over and over again. You’ll learn this when you encounter the first boss, who somehow stood out as one of the most difficult encounters in the whole game for me. Nothing is more humbling in a video game than encountering a boss that has your number, and that’ll happen a lot in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. When you finally succeed, though? It’s so damn satisfying and pumps you up for the next battle.

It’s worth noting that Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty adopts a more linear approach than other titles in the genre, with players completing set missions through areas known as Battlefields. Whilst there is room for exploration within them (as well as some side quests to complete along the way), it’s always clear where you need to go next. You’ll also always be in a capable position to deal with the threats in a Battlefield, which is owed to two systems that help determine your capabilities: morale and fortitude. Your morale builds as you defeat enemies in the Battlefield, with a higher morale making you more powerful. Meanwhile, your fortitude acts as a minimum for your morale, so your morale will never drop lower than your fortitude level. Your fortitude is increased by placing special Marker Flags on the Battlefield, so it’s always worth finding the locations where these can be activated (the Complete Edition actually comes with an item that marks these on your mini-map which makes life a hell of a lot easier).

Check out some screenshots down below:

It might sound intimidating, but it’s actually really straightforward in game. It’s a good way to gauge the success you might have in a battle too, especially since enemies also have morale levels that can be increased or decreased depending on the circumstances you face them in. Of course, there’s also a more conventional levelling up system that sees your stats boosted by investing your experience points (known as Genuine Qi) into different Virtues, but that’s more conventional in design. There are a lot of mechanics in play in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, but they all help give it a unique feel that sets it apart from other titles in the genre. They’re all well executed and often feels like the difference between Wo Long: Fallen Kingdom being a ‘good game’ and an ‘excellent game’.

I played through Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty when it originally launched into Game Pass last year, so it’s been good to re-visit it and check out all of the DLC I missed out on. The additional weapons that they introduce feel unique to use (especially the whip that gives off massive Castlevania vibes), whilst there are some really impressive boss encounters that I’m glad I didn’t miss out on. Whilst the DLC does ultimately follow the formula established in the base game, they deliver worthwhile additions that feel substantial and that can change up how the game feels to play.

Developer: Team Ninja
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Platform(s): PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
Website: https://teamninja-studio.com/wolong/uk/