Soulslike action-RPGWo Long: Fallen Dynastyis the latest game from Team Ninja, the developer behind popular franchisesNinja Gaiden,Dead or Alive, andNioh. Set in Ancient China and featuring many real-life famous generals of the Three Kingdoms period,Wo Long: Fallen Dynastyhas received a positive response from fans and critics, many of whom have praised the game’s combat and setting. Pre-release, talk centered on some of the refinements Team Ninja had made to the formula established inNiohand its sequel. One of these was said to be a reduction in the amount of loot that the player would find on their journey. This hasn’t turned out to be the case though, with loot still found in abundance.
Most Soulslikes usually afford players the chance to have complete control over their character’s play style and general feel. Some, includingWo Long and Nioh 2, even go so far as allowing the player to completely customize their protagonist. This look is then further built on by equipping various pieces of armor found throughout the game, from headgear to wrist braces, each of which grants the player various buffs while improving their general defense.While theNiohfranchise was met with critical acclaim, one of the criticisms aimed at both titles was that there was simply too much loot for players to contend with, a trait that has unfortunately carried over toWo Long.
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Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Has an Abundance of Loot
In pre-launch interviews, Team Ninja made a point of stating that the game will not be giving loot away as freely as theNiohtitles did. However, while this may be strictly true, it is not the major reduction that some would’ve hoped for. As well as armor, crafting materials, and other items that can buff the player,Wo Long: Fallen Dynastyalso offersa variety of weaponsfor players to use and experiment with. These weapons, just like the other consumables and gear, are found in chests, dropped by enemies, and even rewarded for clearing levels, but ultimately many of them will never be used.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynastyindicates weapon rarityusing a tiered star system. Weapons can be upgraded via a blacksmith for incremental damage output increases. Likewise, with gear, much of the low-grade armor found throughout the levels will never be equipped, and will either be sold or salvaged, even though doing so doesn’t have any huge benefit. The player has a default 500-item limit, which will quickly be hit; such is the abundance of loot thrown at players throughout the campaign.
Trawling through loot menus and making decisions on what to equip based on a variety of minor stats, some of which make such minuscule differences to the player that they are almost irrelevant, is probably not the way that gamers will want to spend their time onWo Long. The game is at its best when its free-flowing action is in full swing, and the amount of loot given to players,just like in bothNiohgames, feels somewhat unnecessary.
MostWo Long: Fallen Dynastyreviewsagree that the game gets much more right than it gets wrong. The exhilarating minute-to-minute gameplay keeps players engaged from start to finish, and it manages to strike the correct balance between difficulty and accessibility for the most part. In a game of this size though, it’s almost inevitable that not everything will be perfect, and the loot element is definitely an area of Team Ninja’s blueprint that still requires some refinement.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynastyis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
