Team Ninja’s transition from the brutally challengingNinja Gaidenaction games to theNiohseries of horrific action-RPGs may as well have been seamless. YetTeam Ninjais now looking atNiohas simply the first step toward what comes next. Next being the newly announced action-RPGWo Long: Fallen Dynasty, revealed during the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase 2022 event. Think a more horrificNiohmeeting the mythology of the Three Kingdoms, and that’sWo Long: Fallen Dynasty.

The announcement trailer forWo Long: Fallen Dynastywas entirely cinematic, which while unfortunate was nevertheless optimal for conveying the core ideas behind the game.Wo Long: Fallen Dynastyis a Three Kingdoms story, rooted in the tripartite division of China from 220 to 280 AD, much like howNiohwas set in Japan’s Sengoku periodin 1600 AD. Also likeNioh,Wo Long: Fallen Dynastyis a dark retelling of mythology filled with magic, heroes, and incredible evil.

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Again like inNioh, the primary antagonists ofWo Long: Fallen Dynastywill be demons, but not solely demons. The political status quo of the Three Kingdoms era offers a ripe offering of familiar characters that players will undoubtedly meet in-game. The trailer even teases one such encounter - the unstoppable Lu Bu. This isn’tDynasty Warriors, so Team Ninja fans should expect a Lu Bu battle unlike anything they’ve previously experienced.

While gameplay forWo Long: Fallen Dynastyhas yet to be revealed, some assumptions can likely be made. One key aspect of the game’s development isWo Long: Fallen Dynasty’s producers. It’s officially confirmed thatWo Long: Fallen Dynastyis a joint production of Fumihiko Yasuda and Masaaki Yamagiwa. Yasuda directed bothNiohandNioh 2, whileYamagiwa’s best known for his work onBloodborne.

TheNiohseries of games were already heavily influenced byFrom Software’sSoulsfranchise. Now, one ofWo Long’s main producers worked onBloodborne. It’s exciting to think that Team Ninja’s follow-up toNioh 2might be a game even more akin to From Software’s work, potentially darker and more challenging, than before.

Publisher Koei Tecmo is also makingWo Long: Fallen Dynastyparticularly special to Xbox gamers.Wo Long: Fallen Dynastywon’t arrive until early 2023, but when it does, it will be available as a day one release forXbox Game Passon PC, console, and via the cloud. Fans can expect much more to be shared aboutWo Long: Fallen Dynastycloser to the game’s arrival in 2023.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynastyreleases early 2023 on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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