Wo Long is a very entertaining game with a clumsy execution. It's funny because it works flawlessly at times, but when it doesn't, it's awkward and heavily frustrating.
Wo Long's story is extremely forgettable and its presentation is... uh... bad, to put it simple. Also, I played it on Series S and by god that console struggled to deal with the most simples things. Nevertheless, the game is ugly and its environments are sort of repetitive. Without interesting characters and an engaging tale to keep you hooked, fun factor was foun in other things.
While the environments are dull, the level design can be pretty clever sometimes, with some main missions and sidquests being very well structured. I'm a sucker for shortcuts and hidden places and Wo Long is filled with them. It all comes to a full circle by the end of a level, as long as you don't miss out on anything.
Characters are very bland, but the way they help you during combat and their design is just really nice. Hero or villain, they look cool as shit. Hell, even the armors and weapons you get look super slick. The Divine Beasts are impressive as well but, unfortunately, not all of them are very useful. Monsters and bosses look nice too, but variety is UTTERLY low, killing the element of surprise.
But where Wo Long shines (and sometimes falters) the most is in its combat. I'm going to make the obvious comparison because there's no other way around it: this game tried to be Sekiro. Sometimes it nailed it, but sometimes it failed.
Fighting styles are sharp, every weapon is useful and has its own perks and strenghts, your character is highly customizable, learning damage partterns from enemies and bosses can be extremely fun, most spells are pretty sick and I loved the different kinds of martial arts you learn. This is where more than half of the fun in Wo Long lies and, like I said, when it works, it's amazing.
The problem is, it lacks a certain level of polishment, I think. From enemy placement to boss fights. In fact, ESPECIALLY in boss fights! This game really knocked it out of the park with bosses like the final one, Lu Bu, Dong Zhuo and Zhang Liang. Then completely dropped the ball with others like Aoye, Zhang Rang, Liu Bei and that weird demonic dragon. It is fun, yes, but also absolutely inconsistent.
I also feel like Koei keeps repeating the same mistakes since the first Nioh. An unnecessary amount of repetitive loot, too many systems and mechanics that could totally be cut from the game, the morale system can be quite inconvenient and the game feels bloated. The side quests aren't that good and rewarding as they can be very repetitive sometimes. So why keep it going for so long?
It may seem like Wo Long is a bad game from everything I wrote, but it's not. It's just... complicated. It is also a game that made me appreciate Sekiro even more, for inspiring more fun parry based combat systems like this, but also for how well it executed its original intricate formula.
If you're a fan of games like that, then do give it a go. Just do not expect anything near perfection.
Wo Long's story is extremely forgettable and its presentation is... uh... bad, to put it simple. Also, I played it on Series S and by god that console struggled to deal with the most simples things. Nevertheless, the game is ugly and its environments are sort of repetitive. Without interesting characters and an engaging tale to keep you hooked, fun factor was foun in other things.
While the environments are dull, the level design can be pretty clever sometimes, with some main missions and sidquests being very well structured. I'm a sucker for shortcuts and hidden places and Wo Long is filled with them. It all comes to a full circle by the end of a level, as long as you don't miss out on anything.
Characters are very bland, but the way they help you during combat and their design is just really nice. Hero or villain, they look cool as shit. Hell, even the armors and weapons you get look super slick. The Divine Beasts are impressive as well but, unfortunately, not all of them are very useful. Monsters and bosses look nice too, but variety is UTTERLY low, killing the element of surprise.
But where Wo Long shines (and sometimes falters) the most is in its combat. I'm going to make the obvious comparison because there's no other way around it: this game tried to be Sekiro. Sometimes it nailed it, but sometimes it failed.
Fighting styles are sharp, every weapon is useful and has its own perks and strenghts, your character is highly customizable, learning damage partterns from enemies and bosses can be extremely fun, most spells are pretty sick and I loved the different kinds of martial arts you learn. This is where more than half of the fun in Wo Long lies and, like I said, when it works, it's amazing.
The problem is, it lacks a certain level of polishment, I think. From enemy placement to boss fights. In fact, ESPECIALLY in boss fights! This game really knocked it out of the park with bosses like the final one, Lu Bu, Dong Zhuo and Zhang Liang. Then completely dropped the ball with others like Aoye, Zhang Rang, Liu Bei and that weird demonic dragon. It is fun, yes, but also absolutely inconsistent.
I also feel like Koei keeps repeating the same mistakes since the first Nioh. An unnecessary amount of repetitive loot, too many systems and mechanics that could totally be cut from the game, the morale system can be quite inconvenient and the game feels bloated. The side quests aren't that good and rewarding as they can be very repetitive sometimes. So why keep it going for so long?
It may seem like Wo Long is a bad game from everything I wrote, but it's not. It's just... complicated. It is also a game that made me appreciate Sekiro even more, for inspiring more fun parry based combat systems like this, but also for how well it executed its original intricate formula.
If you're a fan of games like that, then do give it a go. Just do not expect anything near perfection.