Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Review (Reda-Ou)
RECOMMENDATION: Play the demo. If you're not addicted, wait for patches! But otherwise a great game.
My review: Great gameplay, incredibly fun. Excellent tutorialising. Somewhat of a step down from Nioh 2 so far -- less interesting itemisation and fewer build options, no real talent tree (just options for active spells). But I enjoy the parry focused gameplay a lot. Hoping for expansions or a Wo Long 2 that brings back the Nioh 2 build and itemisation complexity.
If Nioh 2 is Diablo 2 + Dark Souls, Wo Long is Diablo 2 + Sekiro, except with less interesting items/sets/builds. So if you really love that kind of Sekiro parry ninja god gamer feel then I think you will like Wo Long. If you were expecting the same insane itemisation/builds as Nioh 2, or if you hate the parry focused Sekiro style gameplay, then this might not be the game for you.
Unfortunately the game has some significant issues with optimisation/performance bugs, with FPS spikes and microstutters during boss battles (and particularly their critical attacks) which removes some of the fariness from the fights. There are also some other minor issues like slightly less QoL than Nioh 2 and annoying minor visual glitches (white flashes here and there). If you're not completely addicted to the game by playing the demo, then wait for a patch!
Unfortunately a lot of the negative reviews on Steam are either exaggerating the issues, are complaining about the Keyboard+Mouse issue specifically, or are literally just misinformation. Let me address some of the negative comments here:
KBM issues:
Obviously they should strive to have the best KBM controls as possible and it's disappointing they didn't... but 90%+ of people should be playing this on controller and won't be affected by this. If you're a KBM player, you definitely have to wait for patches.
Misinformation/questions from other reviews: (The comments were locked on these reviews... almost like they don't want the misinformation challenged).
Why is the first boss such a steep jump in difficulty?
Why did the game get easier after the first boss?
The first boss is a really basic skill check. He doesn't do anything special but the fight REQUIRES you to get good with the deflection mechanic. You will probably have to attempt the boss many times, however, the entire fight is DESIGNED to up-skill you on deflection. The first phase is super simple and lets you practice deflecting attacks and critical attacks over and over. The second phase is the exam, have you learned deflection well enough? If you fail, you need more training, so try again starting at first phase and get more practice.
Once you're past the first boss you will have the qualifications to get through the rest of the game while having a LOT of fun, because deflection feels so good and is so highly required throughout the rest of the game. If you cheese this boss, you will likely have a lot of trouble with the rest of the game because you won't have been upskilled on the deflection mechanic.
This first boss is actually genius design AND INCLUDED IN THE DEMO, so no one has to waste their money before seeing if the gameplay style is for them or not. So, why is the first boss harder? Because it's both a skill-training + skill-check fight to make sure you'll enjoy the rest of the game afterwards. There are other skill-check bosses that are quite hard, but not every boss is like that.
Why can't I disable tutorials?
To be clear the game features short popups that explain game mechanics. Without them you would literally have no idea what is going on in the game, or how to do anything. I have not looked to see if you can disable them, but it wouldn't really make sense to do this.
Why am I receiving tutorials for things I was already taught?
You don't. This never happens. Unless you mean the little info messages that appear during the first few missions. Those are there because you're struggling at that mechanic and the game wants to remind you/up skill you on that topic so you can get through the rest of the game without frustration. These disappear permanently after you're past the first small story arc.
Why are the tutorials repeating when I die?
Because you clearly need the help, the tidbits are there to make sure you have the mechanics down before they let go of your hand and throw you in the deep end. After the first arc the info snippets stop appearing.
Why does this game sometimes eat inputs?
I've only experienced this during FPS spikes / microstutters, which is a major optimisation issue and the main reason I recommend waiting for patches. If you're claiming it happens outside of FPS spikes then... that sounds like "oh, it's not me, it's the lag!" kind of excuse to me.
Why did they think boss three was good?
Do you mean Feng Xi or Zhang Bao? It depends on how you count bosses. I assume you mean Zhang Bao since he is a mage-type and so the fight is more interesting than a duel with a swordsman or a fight against a big monster.
What was wrong with it? It was a fun encounter that I beat on my first attempt. I'm suspecting this reviewer cheesed their way past the first boss and didn't actually do the intended upskilling on deflection that the first boss was designed for. The boss is trivial with deflection.
I could understand more if you were complaining about Zhang Rang (8th or 7th boss depending on how you count) whose fight is really long and a bit annoying due to the mechanics of the fight. But neither is particularly hard or frustrating.
The only encounter I think is worth complaining about so far is an optional sub-mission we're you have to 1v3 3 NPCs, which is a very unfair feeling fight that really encourages cheese.
When am I going to be able to recreate my character? That thing I was told I would be able to do at the start of the game.
Once you're past the first arc of the game the NPC for it unlocks.
How does morale benefit enemies?
This is explicitly explained in the tutorials you were complaining about.
Morale is basically an "within stage" levelling system that resets when you go to new stages. It raises when you kill enemies, deliver critical attacks, and gets lowered when you die or take a critical attack (or too much damage). When your morale is low and theirs is high they will do more damage to you and you will do less damage to them.
This mechanic is a way to (1) encourage stage exploration to gain morale and increase fortitude rank and (2) to codify the classic Soulslikes "this is the wrong direction, you're supposed to skip this badass monster" thing. Most stages have explicit "hard" and "easy" paths which are indicated by the monsters morale levels.
Why was fortitude not explained?
Fortitude was explicitly explained in the tutorials you were complaining about. Fortitude is the minimum morale rank that you will drop to when you die. It is increased by finding the flags.
Why was morale for the player poorly explained?
It isn't. It seems like you just skipped vital tutorials while complaining about the tutorials you needed to understand what is going on.