Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty: Complete Edition brings another hardcore action RPG to the Nintendo Switch 2. There have been quite a few in recent months, including Lies of P, Elden Ring, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, and now Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. Honestly, the Switch 2 is turning out to be pretty good hardware with support for such a diverse range of games. However, given that Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty seems like a demanding game and the Switch 2 offers 60 FPS performance, is this a good port worth getting for a hybrid console?
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is set against the historical backdrop of the Three Kingdoms era and features historical figures integrated into its narrative in key roles throughout the story. The main character is simply a player-created avatar who does not really have much of a personality, unfortunately, but the story is told through the interactions between this character and NPCs. The basic gist of the story is that the main character learns of rival factions working towards finding a magical elixir that will grant them immortality and ends up joining hands with some of the historical figures from the Three Kingdoms era to prevent this from happening.
As this is the complete edition of the game, it comes with all of the post-launch updates as well as DLCs that expanded on the base story. While the game does not rely heavily on cutscenes, they do appear at key moments to advance the story, while the DLC chapters expand on the existing lore, giving players a bigger overview of the events that transpire. The one major issue I had with the game is that the player-created avatar lacks the emotional connection that we feel with a normal story protagonist. While FromSoftware games also suffer from the same issue, they circumvent it somewhat with a heavy focus on environmental storytelling, creative and memorable NPCs, and lore, which is unfortunately not the case here.
As for the gameplay, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a competent action game with a heavy focus on the parry and deflect mechanics, which are some of the most important systems to practise and learn in the game. There are standard low and high attacks, but the block button can also be used in conjunction with parrying to stop enemy attacks and deal damage to them. In fact, it is the only effective method for defeating most bosses, requiring you to learn their attack patterns and then figure out how to time your parries against them.
There are no predefined classes in the game, so everyone starts the same way. There is no stamina meter, unlike similar games in the genre, and instead, the focus is placed on the Spirit system. Elemental attributes are tied to progression, while every enemy is vulnerable to deflects and parries, making them an essential part of the combat. A Fatal Strike can be performed on any enemy by depleting their Spirit gauge, leaving them vulnerable to the attack. The game also features martial arts abilities that can be combined with regular attacks. There are also ranged weapons to equip, summons that call Divine Beasts, and elemental magic to add more variety to the combat.
The Morale and Fortitude system was quite confusing to me at first, and it should be the same for newcomers. The game does not really explain it outright, but it is basically a representation of the strength of enemies, with their rank determining how tough they are. If an enemy manages to kill the player, their Morale can increase, making them tougher to fight. Each level has Battle Flags that can be placed and act as checkpoints, also offering players the chance to upgrade while raising their Fortitude. There is a lot of equipment and armour to find in the game, with each piece having unique abilities.
Speaking about this Switch 2 port specifically, I feel like it ends up making too many sacrifices for acceptable performance. I have played Lies of P and Elden Ring on Switch 2, and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty somehow looks worse than both of these games. The performance mode, which targets 60 FPS in handheld mode, looks really rough, with low-resolution textures and low-quality character models, although the controls are more responsive. Things get somewhat better with quality mode, but with the drawback of 30 FPS.
All in all, this is just an average port when compared to the recent Switch 2 releases. The quality of the game itself is good, though, and it is a really fun action game that attempts to establish itself in a sea of similar Soulslike clones. The sequel is out soon, so Switch 2 owners can pick up the first game if they are interested in it. While technically it is not the most impressive port, it gets the job done well enough to enjoy, with two different performance modes available at launch.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty – Complete Edition Game Information
- Price: $59.99
- Publisher: Koei Tecmo
- Developer: Team Ninja
- Platform: Switch 2 (Reviewed)
- Disclaimer: A review code was provided by the publisher
