Team Ninja's Nioh action RPGs reinvigorated the developer previously known for its Dead or Alive fighting games and the 3D reboot of Ninja Gaiden. Now Team Ninja is taking its experience working on AAA Souls-like action RPGs in a new direction with Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. Instead of being rooted in Japanese history and folklore, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty will instead do the same but in China. And, as a newly released gameplay trailer shows, there's no worry that Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty will deviate too far from the action RPG formula it established with Nioh.
The trailer in question offers less than a minute of gameplay footage from Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, a taste for fans of Nioh and Team Ninja's previous games. Brief looks at several environments and the enemies within are shown, followed by a series of clips showing Wo Long's protagonist battling various foes. Several sword skills and magical abilities are shown being used to great effect, as well as the key mechanics like jumping, dodging, and critical attacks.
Nioh players will recognize that while Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is clearly heavily derivative of Team Ninja's previous games, it's also new in some very intriguing ways. For one, Wo Long's combat is significantly faster than Nioh, perhaps comparable to how Sekiro deviated from Dark Souls. There's no stamina bar in Wo Long, so players are able to react and attack at will. Jumping also adds a new dynamic to combat, adding a new layer of movement to players' arsenals.
Other key details recently revealed regarding Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty include plans to open up the different stages of the game. Levels will be much more open to exploration, particularly with the added verticality available due to jumping. There's also a new system that Team Ninja calls a Morale Ranking system, which requires the player to rank up their morale by defeating low-ranking enemies in order to fight high-ranking foes. Otherwise, high-ranking foes will be much too powerful to fight.
While today sees the release of a short gameplay debut trailer for Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, publisher Koei Tecmo has a plan to reveal much more before long. A larger gameplay reveal is planned to be shared during the Tokyo Game Show, which will begin on September 15. A playable demo will also be available to Tokyo Game Show attendees.
Expect further information regarding Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, particularly surrounding the game's story and how it fits into the lore of the Three Kingdoms, in the months to come. There's still some time before Wo Long arrives, but there's also plenty left to be revealed.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty arrives in early 2023 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
