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When it comes to Team Ninja games, there’s no denying Elden Ring’s timeless excellence. Hidetaka Miyazaki slowly but surely kept improving on the Soulsborne formula to near perfection. Many developers have attempted to reach the heights of Dark Souls or other FromSoftware titles, but few ever come close. Team Ninja is one of the few studios that has delivered consistent quality in the genre with their Nioh franchise. And now Team Ninja is working on a new game that might be to Nioh what Elden Ring was to Dark Souls. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasties is the upcoming Soulslike in question. Revealed only last month with a short announcement trailer, no further details have surfaced about the game until now.
A leaker on 4chan shared some interesting and promising details about how the game will play.
Leaked Combat System Of Team Ninja’s Next Soulslike
The combat system of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasties is rather unique. Your custom character will have access to 5 elements, fire, wood, earth, air, and metal. These elements will let the player change their fighting styles mid-fight. Fire, for example, will make the protagonist more aggressive and damaging, while the earth will improve its ability to take damage.
The second core mechanic is defense, which can cancel your moves, improving your recovery time or damage. This apparently has a kung-fu-like feel and can one-shot smaller enemies.
Finally, there is a moral system. It functions as you might expect; the more you attack successfully, the higher it gets. If you get hit, it drops. If your morale is higher, your counters will do more damage, and you can even raise your morale by fighting weaker enemies before heading into a boss fight.
For Team Ninja game fans, everything else will seem familiar to anyone who has played a Soulslike. The normal dodging and jumping are available; not only that, but it will also apparently have an air stomp, kind of like Sekiro.
The Setting Of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasties
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasties is inspired by Romance of the Three Kingdoms. And if you are familiar with the source material, you will recognize some of the names of famous warriors of that era.
Not all bosses you encounter will be human; you will face demonic bosses that will drop magical items and spells once defeated. In contrast, human enemies will drop unique armor and weapons to add to your arsenal.
Magical talismans from the era will be used to cast spells and make magical attacks. And since there was no gunpowder in that era, you would only have access to a variety of bows for long-range fights.
When it comes to weapons, there will be a plethora of weapons to choose from. They include Jian (sword), dual swords, Dao (single-edged sword), Zhanmadao (great sword), Guduo (hammer), Guandao (glaive), long rod, spear, halberd, shield, Yue (ax), meteor hammer, rope dart, and a dagger.
Other Details
The leak further explains that the dragon-like monster seen in the Wo Long announcement trailer is actually a boss fight. The loot system is back but will be easier to understand and manage. The character creation is improved when compared to Nioh, and players can share their created characters using a code.
Team Ninja is no stranger to making controller-breaking games with memorable level designs and boss fights. With games like the Ninja Gaiden series and Nioh under their belt, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasties could offer good competition to Elden Ring.
Let’s not forget that this leak was from 4chan. While it looks plausible, a healthy pinch of salt is still recommended. The game will come out on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam) as well sometime in early 2023.