Like many Soulslikes on the market, Team Ninja’sWo Long: Fallen Dynastyis full of tough boss encounters. As a fully customizable protagonist, players are tasked with fighting their way through a war-torn Ancient China, cutting down anything in their path be it brutal soldiers or vicious mythical creatures. A boss awaits at the end of each level, with some being substantially more difficult than others.In a strange twist,Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty’s bosses don’t necessarily get tougher as the game goes on, with some of its most difficult encounters being placed in a seemingly random order.
The success or failure of a Soulslike can come down to numerous factors, but usually the quality of the boss encounters tends to be a key component when deciding how a game stacks up toFromSoftware’s legendaryDark Soulstrilogy. While the narrative, combat mechanics, and world design all play key parts too, quality boss fights can undoubtedly take a game to the next level. In this regard,Wo Longdelivers with some epic encounters that promise to really put a player’s skills to the test. Some of them miss the mark, which is to be expected in a game as large as this, but on the whole there are far more hits. Still, newcomers may have trouble dealing with the intended boss order.
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Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty’s Boss Difficulty Fluctuates Wildly
Ideally, a boss difficulty curve should gradually become steeper as the player progresses through the game. One strong example of this isFromSoftware’sDark Souls 3, which starts off relatively gentle to ease players into the game before unleashing some incredibly difficult battles during the late-game - including the princes Lothric and Lorian, and the legendary Nameless King. Had players faced these bosses at an early stage, it is likely they may have found these challenges too steep to overcome.
Wo Longtakes a slightly different approach to its boss difficulty. The opening boss encounter is against general Zhang Liang, a huge and battle-hardened warrior who uses a giant mace to devastating effect. It’s a punishing fight that serves as a real test for the player at such an early stage, whereby abilities and decent equipment are in short supply. This forces the player to immediately familiarize themselves with the game’s parry mechanic, which is probably themost important component ofWo Long: Fallen Dynasty’s combat.
Some of the subsequent boss battles are relatively weak in comparison, and while the final boss is undeniably one of its hardest challenges, the game’s other difficult bosses are scattered at seemingly random points in the game. Encounters against the illusive magician Zhang Rang andthe mighty general Lu Bu are amongWo Long: Fallen Dynasty’s toughest tests, yet both occur before the game’s halfway point.
Team Ninja hasn’t always stuck the landing with boss fights, with both theNinja GaidenandNiohfranchises suffering from inconsistency. That said, both franchises have built a cult following over the years, withNiohand its sequel often cited as amongthe best Soulslikes ever made.Wo Long’s bosses may not necessarily be placed in the right order to match the player’s learning curve, but it still delivers consistently high-quality encounters that keep the player engaged.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynastyis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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