That’s why it’s paramount to also plant flags at set points in a mission to raise your fortitude, a value that also represents your base morale – in other words the lowest it will fall to upon death. You also lose all morale gained if you die. On the flip side, get hit by an enemy’s critical attack and your morale goes down while theirs go up. Defeating weaker enemies and landing special attacks like fatal strikes and backstabs, increases your morale, while lowering theirs. If your morale is 1 while an enemy’s is 8, you know to nope out of there. Still, it does try to capture the same sense of dominating the battlefield through its flag and morale system.īesides levelling up your character like any other RPG, your morale level indicates how strong you (and your enemies) are. The level design is nothing to write home about in terms of art direction, secrets, or world-building, and the optional side-missions simply re-hash the same maps, or rather just a fraction of them. Wo Long’s epic battles raging between warring forces are largely relegated to cutscenes, leaving you to pick up the pieces in ravaged villages, flooded valleys, and burning temples. There’s just so much it becomes a bit meaningless, so you’re better off selling most of it and equipping whatever has the highest stat, instead of digging into the ridiculously incremental benefits of each. Gathered materials are used to upgrade your gear at a smithy, though you’re just as likely to find something better a mission or two later anyway. There are plenty of weapons to discover, from swords to spears to clubs, and you can also opt for occasional ranged combat with a bow or crossbow. Jumping is more straightforward, and better for reaching higher places to position yourself for an aerial takedown. Instead, you level up a stat that makes you less visible and audible to enemies, while gently nudging the analogue stick to creep up behind an enemy for a backstab. You can also sometimes take the stealthy approach, despite the lack of a crouch button. There’s an added cinematic flourish, from both the dynamic camera and your protagonist’s own stylish animations. Reversals that deflect an enemy’s most powerful attacks also leave them staggered, so you can let rip with a fatal strike. More outrageous is that once you’ve mastered the timing, you’ll realise anything can be deflected, whether it’s a supposedly unblockable critical attack or elemental projectiles. Timing and being able to parse your enemy attacks is vital then, though fortunately you’re rarely memorising long combos, and the most hard-hitting attacks are visibly telegraphed so you’re able to anticipate them. Instead of blocking, the best defence is deflecting, which actually restores your spirit. That’s why being smartly on the defensive is crucial to survival. Certain actions cost spirit, as does taking damage, and if it falls too low you can be left open to a punishing attack. It also forgoes a typical stamina system and instead you manage a gauge that represents your spirit. Wo Long takes plenty of inspiration from Sekiro, particularly the importance of deflecting attacks. Still, if you’re partial to any of these warriors, the more you use them the more effective they become as their oath level with you increases. You need a new one each time you die, too, which feels a tad stingy. It’s almost cruel on the few occasions where you start a mission without an ally, then discover that summoning reinforcements not intrinsically tied to the narrative costs a summoning seal. Either way, it’s that bit more comforting to have a helping hand or two (or just someone else for enemies to pick on) without depending on randoms over the internet. They won’t necessarily fight your battles for you, though you can cheer them to temporarily puts them in a more aggressive state. You can even summon a second AI ally for added support, while in several missions a party of three is already the story default. While summoning other players is still possible, and typically the way to make these tough-as-nails games a bit easier, having AI-controlled characters feels better suited for those after a single-player experience. It’s not just that you’ll be encountering increasingly challenging enemies, from corrupt warlords to mythical beasts, but you’ll also meet a growing cast of larger-than-life historical figures who will join you in battle. Rather than the interconnected design of Dark Souls, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty’s journey takes you through ancient Chinese history mission by mission.
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