Team Ninja's next character action game, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, was announced in June 2022. It's a very similar genre as the developer's previous title, Nioh, with undead and demonic enemies skulking through long abandoned battlefields.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty may be wiped away in the same charade of horror as the Nioh series, but it is completely different. One of these methods is the incorporation of numerous other gameplay modes, one of which being morale. This allows you to do more damage to enemies depending on your morale level.
Because of this, I was doing significantly more damage to the enemy with basic attacks, heavy attacks, and my perfect counters in the preview. It's also possible to lose morale as simply as dying.
Each of these phases played into their own strengths, and I found them both enjoyable on their own merits.
The spear was more effective than the longsword, allowing me to dodge and attack without feeling rushed. On the other hand, wood allowed me to heal myself either through regeneration or attacking, and even fling lightning at my foes from afar.
I was able to dodge and avoid enemy attacks with ease, which made them wide open to my spear. This always felt extremely satisfying, especially when faced with tougher enemies. Even movement is more graceful, as you can scale certain walls with ease.
Wo Long fuses the five elements I mentioned above with rock paper scissors. Each element has its own particular strengths and weaknesses against one another. This allowed me to be a bit riskier as I could heal myself without worrying about losing any of my spells later on. However, with the right balance, Wo Long's combat may develop a stronger fluidity.
The Qinglong will rather heal allies once summoned, and at morale 10 the duration it can stay on the field increased once you have at least 10 morale.
Although Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty appeared to be a different take on Team Ninja's Nioh at first glance, it is a more mechanically complex game by far. The morale system alone is great, and the dedication to skill and stamina as a single resource kept me on my toes.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty will be released on March 3, 2023 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC.
