Is Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty a souls-like?

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is an action RPG from Team Ninja set in the realm of ancient China that requires careful gameplay. Players must balance a lot of mechanics in combat, and death is common when things eventually go awry. Some reluctant gamers may want to know what they are getting into when they pick up this title. Souls-like is a genre created by the popular FromSoftware’s Dark Souls series, and it usually goes hand-in-hand with crazy hard and unforgiving difficulty. Let’s discuss if Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty falls into the category of a souls-like game.

Is Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty in the genre of Dark Souls?

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is basically exactly what you would expect when diving into what makes a game fall in the souls-like genre. It has intensive combat that requires players to stay on their toes. Dodging, looking for windows, and being heavily punished for mistakes are all staples of this genre and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty does not stray too far from this niche.

Related: How to parry in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty – Parry timing

That isn’t to say that the game is entirely similar to games like Dark Souls. In fact, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty shares a lot of similarities to its developers other mainline series, Nioh. Combat flows around finding windows to attack, and getting upgrades and new abilities to gain the advantage in battle.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty does change things up for the genre, however. There is no stamina bar to monitor in the general sense. Instead, the player must balance a Spirit Gauge that features two colors: one orange and one blue, to make sure that they never get a disadvantage in combat. The orange side of the bar fills when you dodge or get hit, while the blue bar fills when you make hits or perform well. Keeping the gauge on the blue side provides substantial benefits in combat while going too far in the orange will hinder you greatly.

Related: How long does Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty take to beat?

Souls-like games get a bad stigma against them for being too difficult. While they are usually very unforgiving, they can reward the player immensely for learning and prevailing over time. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty does provide some challenge that will definitely get the player feeling accomplished when they pull through.