Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Complete Edition

Genre: Action

Players: 1

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Review:

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is an Action game with combat and game design elements in the same vein as “Soulslike” games that was originally released in 2023 on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 and ported in 2026 to Nintendo Switch 2 in this Complete Edition along with all of the game’s DLC. Set in Three Kingdoms-era China during the last days of the Han dynasty, players take the role of a custom-made character who gets caught up in the battle against the yellow turban rebellion and the supernatural forces its conflict has stirred up in the land.

Wo Long features mostly-linear level structure that’s still windy enough to get lost in at times, with players engaging enemies in combat that emphasizes timed parry counters, with the game’s most noteworthy feature being its use of helper characters, something fairly uncommon for Soulslike games.

I’ll say now, I’m not a fan of the combat in this game. The game doesn’t make it especially clear what the timing is for parry and dodge moves, and overall the controls felt a bit too “loose” for my liking. You can feel free to chalk this up to me not being the biggest Soulslike fan, but even among Soulslikes I feel there are games with better, more responsive, tighter controls than what this game offers.

Then there’s the presentation. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty offers both presentation and performance modes, but I didn’t feel like either mode was especially great at either role. This game is three years old, but no matter which mode you choose on Nintendo Switch, it has neither the graphical fidelity nor the smoothness that you find in the somewhat similar Onimusha: Way of the Sword released this year, which just overall looks and performs much better, despite being more ambitious. And while the voice acting and traditional Asian-influenced soundtrack both work well enough for the game, neither strikes me as extraordinary.

In fact, overall I think Wo Long has the unfortunate timing of releasing a day before Onimusha: Way of the Sword on Nintendo Switch 2, and while both games certainly have their differences, they’re similar enough that it’s difficult not to compare them, and that’s a comparison that really hurts Wo Long.

However, even judging the game by its own merits, I think Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty on Nintendo Switch 2 ends up being a decent Soulslike-style Action game that’s far from great, on a console that already has multiple far better Soulslike games. If you’re a fan of that genre who feels like the helper characters may make this game different enough to be worth a look, I think you’ll probably enjoy it, and if you’re a fan of Chinese historical fiction as opposed to Onimusha’s Japanese historical fiction, then I suppose this may pique your interest. But otherwise, I suggest sticking to other better options.

tl;dr – Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is an Action game with Soulslike elements that takes place during the fall of the Han dynasty in China, with gameplay that emphasizes parries and uses a helper character mechanic to set itself apart. This isn’t a terrible Soulslike game, but it can’t hold a candle to some of the better entries in the genre already on Nintendo Switch 2. Unless you have a particular interest in this game’s mechanics or topic matter, I suggest sticking with those.

Grade: C+

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