Praise from the press, criticism from players: Wo Long is currently polarizing on Metacritic and Steam.
The new Soulslike from the Nioh makers has been available since March 3, 2023 and was well received by the press even before it was released. At Metacritic sits Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty just on an average score of 82 points.
In the user reviews at Steam but a completely different mood emerges. After more than 2,000 player reviews, Wo Long currently has a rather negative rating. But where does the huge discrepancy between the press and the players come from?
What kind of game is Wo Long anyway? Fallen Dynasty is the latest game from Nioh creators Team Ninja. The Soulslike relies on a setting that is strongly interwoven with Chinese mythology, while fast-paced battles against all kinds of different opponents and big boss blocks are in the foreground.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty – View screenshots of the samurai action game
That’s what the press says about Wo Long
At Metacritic, there is currently a fairly positive picture of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. A majority of the ratings are in the low to mid 80’s. Above all, the complex combat system, the varied game world and the spectacular presentation are praised.
With a moral system, many different play styles and numerous side quests, Wo Long also offers a high level of replay value. However, there is criticism for the nested menus that are difficult to use and the sometimes confusing and hardly comprehensible plot. The main character also doesn’t seem to knock many testers’ socks off.
Our GameStar test: Of course, we also subjected Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty to an extensive test. Our review of the game can be found under the following link:
That’s what Steam players think of Wo Long
The players on Steam basically have no objection to the points that critics emphasized positively. In the eyes of numerous Steam users, however, the PC version of Wo Long suffers from two serious problems that are currently being punished accordingly.
Controlling with mouse and keyboard: In the user ratings on Steam, there is currently a general consensus that Fallen Dynasty is currently unplayable with a mouse and keyboard. The camera in particular can hardly be kept under control, and some players even report the resulting motion sickness.
Almost every second review points out that a controller is absolutely necessary until the developers (hopefully) make improvements. Fans of previous Team Ninja players are also disappointed, as these problems actually existed in previous Nioh games.
Die Performance: In addition, numerous players criticize the PC technology of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. Accordingly, there are regular drops in performance and the hardware is often put under more strain than is absolutely necessary.
By the way, we also downgraded Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty in the test because of the framerate problems. You can watch our video review as follows:
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Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty – Test video for the action spectacle
However, many Steam users agree: Regardless of these two serious problems, Wo Long has become a well-done game. Interested newcomers are therefore advised by many to wait for patches for the controls and performance.
What do you think of the discrepancy between press and players regarding Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty on Steam and Metacritic? Have you tried your hand at Team Ninja’s latest Soulslike? Or do you wait until the mouse/keyboard and performance issues are fixed? Write us in the comments!
