Wuchang: Fallen Feathers may just satiate your Bloodborne appetite

By Tomas Franzese Published March 21, 2025

Bloodborne is still considered one of the best games FromSoftware has ever made, but the studio hasn’t given it much love since launch. We’re still left hoping for a PC port, remaster, or sequel to bring us back to that world. That has left the Soulslike space wide open for faster-paced, Bloodborne-inspired games to fill players’ craving. A couple of years ago, Lies of P did just that. And while Lies of P: Overture is coming soon, another Souslike that Bloodborne fans should keep on their radar this summer is coming. That would be Wuchang: Fallen Feathers.

I went hands-on with Leenzee Games’ Wuchang: Fallen Feathers at GDC 2025 and found a tried and true Soulslike through and through, albeit with faster-paced combat that feels reminiscent of Bloodborne than other FromSoftware games. Until PlayStation or FromSoftware finally announces a remaster or follow-up to Bloodborne, you should probably check out Wuchang: Fallen Feathers instead of waiting around for an announcement that may never come.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers follows the titular amnesiac pirate warrior as she explores the land of a Shu, a Ming Dynasty kingdom decimated by a plague called The Feathering. That disease is mutating people into monsters. I didn’t see much of the story in my playtime; instead, I explored a couple of Wuchang: Fallen Feathers‘ levels and took on some really difficult bosses. Exploration takes cues from old-school FromSoftware Souls games, mostly sending me through interconnected paths with tough enemies scattered about.

Some enemies won’t immediately attach Wuchang on sight, but others will. When that happens, it is time to fight. In typical Soulslike fashion, enemies hit hard and players have limited potions to heal with. As such, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers requires players to be smart with their attacks and dodge or parry frequently. There will be many different weapons to choose from and builds to create in the final version, but for this demo, I mostly used two small swords, a spear, and some spells to fight.

I compare Wuchang: Fallen Feathers to Bloodborne because its combat plays out similarly, but the game still puts its unique spin on that formula. Namely, players want to build up a resource called Skyborn Might by dodging enemy attacks at the last second. They can then spend Skyborn Might to execute certain spells and skills during a fight. Ultimately, this gives Wuchang: Fallen Feathers a similar feel to a fighting game, as it’s all about learning the proper combos and timing to build up Skyborn Might and execute special attacks.

It does seem like it’ll be tough to master, though, as I found Wuchang: Fallen Feathers to be extremely difficult on first try. I spent most of my demo trying to take down a tough boss called the Tang Palace Maid. After over a half an hour of attempts, I finally defeated her, only to walk a few steps in the other direction from her arena and find another boss named Honglan, who I just could not beat no matter how hard I tried.

This was one of my last demos toward the end of a long GDC, so maybe I wasn’t playing my best. I found it quite difficult, but never unfair. That’s exactly the kind of experience a Souslike should deliver, so Wuchang: Fallen Feathers should please a lot of players once they can finally get their hands on it. Games like Bloodborne and Wuchang: Fallen Feathers aren’t for everyone, but they provide a kind of gratifying feeling that few other games are able to deliver once you can master their core combat mechanics.

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers will be released for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S this summer.