Wuchang: Fallen Feathers (Xbox Series X) Review
Release Date: July 23, 2025
Publisher/Developer: 505 Games/Lenzee
Platform: Xbox (Series X reviewed), PlayStation 5, PC
Price: $49.99 (deluxe editions available for $59.99)
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers tells the tale of Bai Wuchang, a pirate who finds herself wrapped in danger when she becomes infected with a mysterious plague that is going across the land. As the infected get worse, they begin growing feathers. Left unchecked, they will morph into one of the beasts roaming the land.
Despite Soulslike games not regularly being enjoyable for a gamer like me, I found the features available in Wuchang familiar as a fan of the role-playing genre. I haven’t dipped my toes deep into Soulslikes, but I have friends who insist I take a shot at the “classics” from time to time. I regularly come away with the same concerns: there are a LOT of things left for you to figure out, and they are very unforgiving. Wuchang started off on the same foot for me, though I openly admitted that the game is quite beautiful. These developers worked hard to make an amazing looking game, and it shows. Our main character, all outfit models, and the environment are beautiful. Like many other Soulslikes, the story is sparse if you just play the game, with additional lore being dug out of item descriptions and text and the like. However, as you start the game you are in a beautiful yet bleak portion of the world. The further you go, the more the world decays, showing the same rot and destruction that goes into the poor infected souls.
The mechanics of the game can be confusing, but they made sense to me as an RPG fan. The leveling system involves branching bits, and reminds me of the Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X. I ran across times where it would better benefit me to have gone down other “paths” in the leveling, but there are methods to reset the board and reconfigure, though that is a bit frustrating if you are trying for a particular build and are unfamiliar with things that would benefit the boss you are stuck on at that exact moment. There are five different weapons, each with their benefits and detriments. It reminds me of classes in my RPG worlds. These mechanics are being discussed as difficult to follow or use, but if anything they enhanced my experience as a non-Soulslike player. Mind you, if you are coming from an area not steeped in min-maxing stats or Soulslikes in general, you may indeed get overwhelmed, however people who find their groove will absolutely love it.
There seems to be some randomness built into the title as well. Early on in the game, I ran across an enemy that totally bodied me in an instant. I went back to try again, and a different set of enemies were there instead of the path that led me to the other battle. I also felt early on that there were several paths I could go down to try new things. It helped me, as a rookie of the genre, to know that if I couldn’t do one thing, I could head another way and try other things instead of pounding myself against a wall.
Yes, as a gamer who is not used to Soulslikes, I did get my butt handed to me regularly by even the smallest enemy that a true fan of the genre would laugh at me. However, the variety of growth options combined with the simplicity of weapon differences helped me attach to the game more than other Soulslikes. I do wish that the storyline was a bit more straightforward, but that seems part and parcel with the genre.
Wukong: Fallen Feathers has a learning curve, but that is something that comes along with most Soulsikes, this is just a different variation of that theme. I feel it lets an RPG player have a familiar hook or two that keeps them from giving up so easily, and the beautiful graphics and style draw you in and help you understand the story. As it is currently part of Xbox Game Pass, it’s an easy recommendation for those with access. PlayStation fans of Soulslikes definitely should keep this title on their radar, as it’s easily one of the best Soulslikes out of the famous FromSoftware lineage.
Pros:
-Beautiful graphics that help tell the tale
-Simple and straightforward weapon scheme that isn’t too confusing
-Highly enjoyable and customizable leveling system
Cons:
-Still, of course, difficult for non-Soulslike gamers
-Some enemies and bosses almost require perfect gameplay or completely restructuring the leveling system just to progress
Special thanks to 505 Games/Lenzee for providing a code for review!