Wuchang: Fallen Feathers review: Stylish, brutal, and just familiar enough

While games like Black Myth: Wukong and Elden Ring: Nightreign have taken the Soulslike formula in bold new directions, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers sticks closer to the classic structure that Dark Souls laid down—and it does so with punishing pride. You’ll explore dangerous lands, fight terrifying bosses, level up your skills, and master the ever-critical timing of parries and dodges. It might sound straightforward, but as any Soulslike veteran will tell you, that challenge hits hard and often.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers follows the classic structure of Dark Souls but injects its own set of features and elements that make it its own merciless title. And because it is a Soulslike, much of what makes it difficult is its bosses that push you to learn their attack patterns and use them against them. In this ballet of strikes, Wuchang rewards you for mastering its intricacies even though it comes with a high, sometimes familiarly frustrating learning curve.

Venturing into a Cursed World

Right away, you might think Wuchang and Wukong are the same. Both come from Chinese developers, and both take place in dark, fictionalized versions of historical China. But that’s where the similarities end. Wukong spins a fantastical take on Journey to the West, while Wuchang drops you into a twisted version of the Sichuan region during the fall of the Ming Dynasty. The setting is grim, packed with demonic beasts, haunted temples, and gnarled ruins—think less mythic folklore and more historical nightmare.

You play as Bai Wuchang, a pirate warrior already cursed by the Featherling—a mysterious affliction that causes people to sprout feathers, lose their memories, and eventually become monsters. Wuchang herself starts the game with no recollection of her past, and this central mystery drives much of the game’s narrative tension. Like most Soulslikes, Wuchang isn’t in a hurry to spell things out. You’ll pick up lore in scattered pieces—through cryptic dialogue, environmental clues, and NPC interactions. If you miss something, you might be confused for a bit—but eventually, it all starts to click.

What hooked me first, though, wasn’t the story—it was the world. You’ll venture through sprawling biomes—misty forests, underground mines, ruined temples, and decaying castles—each one beautiful and bleak. Paths branch constantly, with no clear right way to go, which makes the journey feel exciting but also risky. It’s easy to get lost. It’s even easier to stumble into an enemy you’re not ready for.

Now, while the environments shine, the character designs are a bit of a letdown. You’ll go toe-to-toe with giant bugs and mutated horrors that feel ripped straight from Resident Evil, but Wuchang herself? She looks like she could’ve walked out of a free-to-play game—stylish, but emotionally blank. Other human NPCs suffer the same fate with beautiful models but dead in the eyes. You can customize your outfits to look practical or fashionable, but that won’t give your character much life.

Dancing with the Damned

Combat is where Wuchang really finds its stride. The Featherling curse powers your abilities, and you’ll need every edge you can get. The enemies range from angry bandits to utterly grotesque beasts, and tearing through them with a wide variety of weapons and magic is slick and satisfying. Once you get into the rhythm, the combat really clicks.

The standout mechanic is the Skyborn Might system—a clever twist on the usual stamina or magic setup. Instead of relying on a mana bar, you build up points of Skyborn Might by doing things like narrowly dodging attacks. You start with one point, but can eventually upgrade to three or more. Certain skills burn through a point, others just get stronger when you have one. It adds a cool, risk-reward element to combat. Stay aggressive, dodge well, and you unlock your best abilities. Miss your timing, and you’ll get wrecked. It’s a tense but always rewarding system.

Weapon variety is another major strength. You’ve got heavy axes, quick dual blades, long spears, and magical swords—each with their own feel and moveset. There’s a mix of light and heavy strikes, charged attacks, special discipline moves, and unique skills. Not every weapon can block or parry, though, so you’ll need to learn the ins and outs of your chosen style. Dodging is still king, and learning enemy patterns is key to survival.

The Impetus Repository—which looks a lot like Final Fantasy X’s Sphere Grid—is where you unlock and customize abilities using red mercury dropped by enemies. At first, it may look intimidating as there are tons of branching options and subtle perks to navigate. But once you find a style that fits, the system rewards you for sticking with it. You can even reset everything at any time, which makes it easy to experiment with different builds. And trust me, trying out different loadouts before a boss fight can be a lifesaver.

You can also add Benediction mods and Acupuncture needles to your weapons for bonus effects—healing, elemental damage, stat boosts, and more. Magic is available too, and while it works well for random bandits, I found it a bit too slow for most boss fights. You’re better off relying on quick melee combos, passive buffs, and well-timed Skyborn flurries.

Madness and Mercury

Progression in Wuchang sticks closely to the tried-and-true Soulslike formula. You start with basic equipment, a limited stash of refillable healing items, and head out into an increasingly dangerous world filled with branching paths and brutal enemies. Along the way, you’ll meet NPCs offering side quests—some rewarding you with gear, others simply fleshing out the world’s lore if you take the time to engage. Die in battle, and you’ll drop the mercury you’ve collected from fallen foes. To get it back, you’ll have to retrace your steps and survive whatever killed you. Classic stuff.

Where Wuchang throws in its own spin is with the madness mechanic. Every time you kill a human or die, your madness meter ticks upward. Once it maxes out, you’ll both deal and take significantly more damage. But there’s a catch: the red mercury you dropped is now guarded by your inner demon—a grotesque, nightmarish version of yourself that you’ll need to defeat if you want to reset your madness… assuming you even want to.

See, keeping your madness full boosts your damage and unlocks abilities that scale based on how much madness you’ve built up. Alternatively, you can actually use your inner demon as a weapon by luring her toward enemies you’re struggling with and letting her do the dirty work. It’s a clever mechanic that adds layers of risk and reward. Do you play it safe, or lean into the chaos for a potential edge in battle, knowing you’re also more vulnerable? The choice is yours, and it’s a fun one to experiment with.

Final Thoughts

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is packed with branching paths, hidden weapons, side quests, and optional bosses. It’s a meaty game—easily 30+ hours on your first run, with replay value thanks to its flexible combat and builds. But once you peel back the layers, you’re left with a pretty familiar framework from games that have already done this before. If you’ve spent time with Lies of P, Sekiro, or Nioh 2, you’ll know the rhythm before your second shrine.

That may work for you if you are looking for another Souslike experience—and for that Wuchang shines. The minute-to-minute gameplay feels great, and the focus on aggressive combat gives it a punchy edge that genre fans will absolutely appreciate. But, again, if you’re hoping for something that shatters expectations or tells a deeply personal story, Wuchang doesn’t quite soar—it just glides comfortably in familiar skies.