Despite all the leaks that flooded the Web before the Summer Game Fest 2022, no one had seen Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty arrive, the new Team Ninja game unveiled during the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase, and whose spirit is furious think about Nioh. As we have not yet had the slightest sequence of gameplay, our colleagues from
Development of the game started in 2019.”At the time, we were looking for a setting that could be used for a sequel to Niohsays Yasuda-san. We had already done a lot of games based on the Segoku period of Japan, so we wanted something new. That’s when we had the idea of making a game set during the Three Kingdoms in China. The years following the fall of the Han Dynasty is an era that Koei Tecmo specialized in and one that has always intrigued me personally. I’m a fan of manga and anime based on this era. A game set in this setting felt like a nice new challenge to tackle.“
“If the Three Kingdoms period is iconic for Koei Tecmo, Team Ninja has never looked into it before.says Masaaki Yamagiwa. Combining the studio’s taste for action with the most popular historical background at Koei Tecmo, it can be said that Wo Long shares DNA on both sides. But Koei Tecmo never really offered a dark fantasy version of The Three Kingdoms.“
When Yamagiwa-san left Sony Japan Studio in February 2021 before joining the ranks of Team Ninja a few months later, the development of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty was already well advanced. “Benefit support from Yamagiwa is very encouragingassures Fumihiko Yasuda. We are developing Wo Long based on our experience on Nioh, and if [l’implication de Yamagiwa] didn’t drastically change the flow of development, he’s very good at communicating a concept to the players. This is something we have clearly paid attention to.“
“Producing Bloodborne was a very important experience for me.says his sidekick. Difficult games should not be difficult for no reason. I think it’s very important that this difficulty exists in order to provide a sense of accomplishment for players who have overcome it. This is why I believe that they should be able to find the fault in themselves if they die. The game must be fair and not unreasonable. On that aspect, it’s a good thing that I’m not very good at video games myself. I always naturally judge their correctness.“
“Making it a full-bodied game was a decision that was made early onadds Yasuda-san. With all the legendary heroes of this Three Kingdoms period, it might sound a little kitschy, but the reality is that it was a time of wars and devastation. A troubled time during which the genes were constantly fighting, which is perfect for a Souls-like. By taking place in China, Wo Long is more massive in size than our previous games set in Japan, helping to show off a more severe and dark world. The same can be said for difficulty. There’s no doubt that this will be an extremely demanding and thorny game, but we’ve found new ways to approach this difficulty. On this point, players can expect a level of satisfaction that did not exist before in Team Ninja titles.“
Without going into details, Yamagiwa-san pointed out that Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty will have a morale system applicable to both the player and his enemies. “We wanted to find a type of strategy with adversity as the themehe explains. You gain something by defeating a strong enemy, but that’s also true when the enemy kills the player. The balance between the forces changes each time someone dies.“The resurrection system designed by FromSoftware for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice illustrates this desire to make death a gameplay mechanic in its own right. IGN also cites SIFU as an example – the hero ages with each death, which is not no gameplay impact.
Naturally, the game will include a number of RPG-specific elements to improve the skills of our protagonist, knowing that the latter can be customized through a character editor like in Nioh 2. In addition, we are promised a linear level design unlike the open world of Elden Ring. “But ono more freedom in level designshade Yasuda-san all the same. Since the character can now jump, there is more verticality and exploration in general. That said, at its core, Wo Long is a linear game just like Nioh was. With Souls-likes becoming more and more popular, this kind of design gives the studio the opportunity to show off what it does best.“ Our colleagues had the opportunity to observe gameplay on PS5, and obviously, even if the levels are wider, the formula takes up the codes of the genre such as shortcuts to reach the boss more easily in the event of failure, or still the many areas to explore.
Finally, a multiplayer mode is indeed planned, including cooperation. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is scheduled for release in 2023 on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, and PC.