QI TO THE KINGDOMS

WO LONG redefines the action RPG with spectacle and depth

- Samantha Greer

Wo Long, meaning ‘Hidden Dragon’, is an appropriate name for a game that feels like it’s basically come from nowhere to tear up the action RPG landscape. Which isn’t to say it doesn’t adhere to some of that framework – the legacy of Nioh and Dark Souls is still present – but by removing the traditional constraints of the sub-genre, Wo Long takes soaring flight.

It’s a project born from Team Ninja’s partnership with Koei, a developer and publisher well known for its games based around the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history – most notably Dynasty Warriors. Wo Long is set in that same era, blending historical fiction with the finely honed combat Team Ninja is known for, along with a dash of the fantastical and demonic. You are an unnamed warrior; a nobody who gets tangled up in monumental events. As if to drive home your nobody status, the very first boss might be the toughest in the entire game. You encounter this giant of a man before you have any major skills, spells or special weapons to call upon. He’s only the first boss but still he has two tough-as-nails phases. Beating him is the price of admission, a test to prove that you’re ready to stand beside the heroes of Chinese legend. “You must be this good to enter,” Wo Long seems to say.

Being a nobody doesn’t mean feeling like one. Right from the get-go fights are a dizzying dance of spins, leaps and kicks that echoes the Wuxia cinematic tradition the game draws upon.