With Team Ninja’s upcoming action game Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty as January’s IGN First, 2023 is off to a good start. If you like dying, that is – because you’ll be doing that a lot. Expect tons of exclusive coverage throughout the month of this new Soulsborne based on Chinese martial arts, developed by the team behind Ninja Gaiden and Nioh.
First off, we have 10 minutes of exclusive gameplay from Tianzhushan, a stage early in the game. The beautiful mountainscape and lush bamboo forests are breathtaking, but with bloodthirsty enemies around each corner, it might be best not to spend too long admiring the scenery.
With items hidden on top of rocks that can be reached using the double jump and secret passages that can be discovered by cutting bamboo trees, Tianzhushan is a good example of Wo Long’s diverse exploration.
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Our video debuts gameplay of the Staff as well. Iconic to traditional Chinese martial arts, the Staff is one of Wo Long’s 13 melee weapon types and boasts acrobatic body movement.
The eerie mermaids and fearsome tigers from the demo are back, but new enemies including a giant ape and a hedgehog-like creature with a spinning attack reminiscent of Nioh’s Wheelmonk caught us off guard. Inside a creepy cave, we were welcomed by a surprise attack from an enemy that still gives us nightmares. Check out the video to see for yourself!
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is set to release on March 3 for PS5/PS4/Xbox Series X|S/Xbox One/PC and will be available on Xbox Game Pass day one! Expect to see much more new Wo Long content throughout January on IGN.
Esra Krabbe is an editor at IGN Japan.