At first glance, Wo Long certainly seems like another Nioh game. Indeed, the similarities are plentiful. The tough, unforgiving combat lets players use a variety of weapons and moves, the enemy types span from standard humans through to supernatural monsters, and combat encounters demand a deliberately considered approach. All of these elements lend themselves perfectly to the Nioh franchise. However, this is by no means a bad thing, and many gamers are waiting patiently for any news of a third installment in the series that has so far been absent. Regardless of whether Nioh 3 ever sees the light of day, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty seems determined to succeed on its own merits.
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Wo Long Sets Itself Apart From Nioh in a Couple of Key Ways
The first signs of differences between the two titles are relatively subtle in nature. The level design is far more vertical than that of Nioh and its sequel, with Team Ninja planning to allow players to take full advantage of a double jump functionality, as well as no recognized stamina meter, in order to exploit the full verticality of Wo Long’s world. The game’s equipment and loot systems are also much more streamlined than Nioh’s, which was often criticized for being too cumbersome and unnecessarily time-consuming. Wo Long will also feature several Divine Beasts, creatures who can be used to tip the tide of battle in the player’s favor.
Wo Long’s combat system is where the main differences begin to reveal themselves, though. A huge emphasis will be placed on parrying and counters, perhaps borrowing more from 2019’s Game of the Year Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice than Nioh. Probably the most interesting new mechanic is the morale rank system. Despite it being a staple of the genre, there is no traditional ’levelling up’ mechanic in Wo Long. Instead, players are given a morale rank which they are able to raise by defeating enemies, who themselves also have morale ranks. The higher an enemy’s rank, the tougher the fight will be, and to make matters even worse, each time the player dies, their morale rank decreases.
One of the problems with challenging games such as Nioh or the Dark Souls franchise is that the player isn’t always sufficiently rewarded for killing standard enemies. This means oftentimes they will choose to simply bypass these enemies en route to the next checkpoint, as the risk just isn’t worth the reward. Wo Long’s morale rank system should change this, though, and will be an exciting new approach to rewarding players sufficiently. Tough enemies discovered in the far reaches of the map will all of a sudden become enticing, for players who will be eager to overcome them and significantly increase their morale rank as a result.
The huge increase in the popularity of Soulslikes can be attributed mainly to FromSoftware and Elden Ring, but Team Ninja has long been an advocate of video games pushing players to their limits, with 2004’s Ninja Gaiden preceding FromSoftware’s Demon’s Souls by five years. Clearly, this is a developer that plays to its strengths, and, with its interesting new mechanics, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is set to be one of Team Ninja’s toughest and most rewarding games yet.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty will release on March 3, 2023 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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