‘Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty’ created by Team Ninja and Koei Tecmo, is a rogue, souls-like title from the team that brought us ‘Nioh’ released in March 2023, and is now available as a ‘Complete Edition’.

Wo Long takes place in China, during the late Han Dynasty but with a new direction and setting. The story starts as the Yellow Turban Rebellion occurs. Still, there’s a darkness around it; monsters and reanimated warriors are flooding the battlefield. It is up to the warriors of the land to fight the evil back and end it for good.

Players will take the lead as an unnamed militia soldier, and they’ll need to overcome the threat of the land and overcome the growing darkness that has twisted people and caused monsters to ravish the lands. After character creation, players are thrown into the game’s first mission but will have an A.I. named ‘Blindfolded Boy’, who will assist you as you are taught the basics of how to play. The missions themselves can range from long treks to short encounters but feature a bunch of side missions. There is always some form of progression to be done.

Wo Long is based on actual historical events, and along with historical battle locations like Hulaoguan Pass, or as it’s better known, the Hulao Gate, players will also meet warriors from other eras, such as Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Jian. You can summon A.I. teammates and pick who you want by your side in almost every mission, but there are occasions where the characters are story-locked to the mission. You can fill a ‘Bond’ system by taking other characters along for missions, and this will reward the player with new outfits and weapons.

So what comes with the complete edition of Wo Long? ‘Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Complete Edition’ features everything included in the game’s three DLC packs – “Battle of Zhongyuan”, “Conqueror of Jiangdong” and “Upheaval in Jingxiang”, along with new endgame content, “The Thousand-Mile Journey”. With these new DLCs players will experience new boss fights to encounter, stories from different ages and allies to recruit who have served under the foremost three leaders during the ‘Three Kingdom’ era.

As I am a massive ‘Dynasty Warriors’ fan, I was thrilled and pleased to see the new design of characters such as Zhou Tai and Gang Ning, and yes those two name drops will make it clear I was Wu main in the series.

Along with new missions and end-game storylines, players will also be able to get the collaboration items that were done with other games, such as ‘Lies of P’, that’s right the newly released ‘Lies of P’ went back in time to ancient China and left some goodies for us to pick up. While it is only two weapons and no cosmetic items, the gear you can get is rather fun to use, from a sabre to an umbrella that acts like a shield in a defensive stance.

Other collaborative events that are included are in the likes of ‘Nioh’ which was not a big surprise given it was the same team that worked on both games. You will be able to put your skill to the test as you fight a monster straight out of the world of Nioh, with the fight as enraging as you would expect as you switch between melee and ranged attacks very quickly. Sadly, no weapons were able to be earned from this encounter which is disappointing as I would’ve loved being able to use a katana, but fans of the series will enjoy the fact that if you fall in combat, the death screen is the one displayed from Nioh. A nice little touch.

Lastly, the final collaboration was with ‘Naraka: Bladepoint’. For those that may have yet to hear about this game, it is a martial art-themed battle royal set within mythical ancient Chinese eras. The collaboration items for this are purely cosmetic to complement the beautiful art style of Naraka itself. If you are playing as a female character, you will be granted the armour set for the trade mark female role from Naraka; Viper Ning.

She is a blind-blade master who uses poisons while fighting. Her outfit that will be available to use features a lot of red throughout the design and it makes for a fantastic addition to the cosmetic style of the game making me want to remake a character to use the outfit fully. The male outfit will be Tarka Ji’s loyal drunk outfit. This one is a bit more combat-inspired and features white throughout the design. I do like running around with this outfit on as it has taken away from the big bulky armour look and design I was using beforehand.

In conclusion, is Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Complete Edition worth it? Hell yes, it is! Wo Long has been a solid game since launch which I loved every second of playing with its souls-ish and also the Dynasty Warrior twist of the historic era concept I grew up playing. This edition of the game is perfect for first-time buyers as it will include everything along with the core game.

Players that have the season pass already from the past please be aware you have everything included in this edition too. I can not recommend this game enough for people looking at getting into the challenging but satisfying gameplay. With great action in fast timing and significant deflecting attacks you will be rewarded with some of the best boss fights I have fought in a long time.

Written by: Shane Walsh