Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a dark fantasy reimagining of the fall of the Han Dynasty, a familiar setting to anyone who’s read Romance of the Three Kingdoms or played any of the numerous games derived from it. Contrary to many other games set in the Three Kingdoms period where players are effortlessly slaughtering hundreds of enemies, Wo Long puts the player against a significantly smaller number of enemies while greatly increasing the threat level. But it’s still a game that waswell lovedat Hardcore Gamer, and after conquering the demons that were invading China in the base game, the first of three DLC expansions is upon us in Battle of Zhongyuan.
Battle of Zhongyuan picks up with the player working under Cao Cao. Despite suffering heavy losses, the Yellow Turban rebellion has not been completely quelled, so it’s up to the player to assist General Cao in putting an end to the uprising. This content introduces two major characters that have been staples of other Three Kingdoms games: Dian Wei and Xu Chu. A sigh of relief was had after the introduction of Xu Chu were he was characterized as not only a powerful warrior but as someone that was treated with dignity and can be taken seriously. In some other games Xu Chu has almost been a comic relief hungry fat guy type of character. This would have been inappropriate for the serious tone of Wo Long, so it was nice to see him a different interpretation of him.
The additional content in Battle of Zhongyuan consists of three main story battlefields and seven sub battlefields, which are all comparable to what was found in the base game. There are a few new enemies, all of which are annoying in their own ways, but that’s part of what can make killing them so satisfying. The new demonic creatures are visually appealing and provide a good challenge. The shield soldiers are just irritating, but again, that also seems to be their purpose. To help combat these new threats there’s a new divine beast and a new weapon type: the cestus. When equipped with these gauntlets the player now punches everything to death. The high speed of this weapon lends itself well to more aggressive playstyles. It quickly become my favorite weapon type and has been used almost exclusively since launch. There’s also a new difficulty level, Soaring Dragon which is basically NG++. to unlock Soaring Dragon difficulty the player will need to complete a significant portion of the battlefields on Rising Dragon difficulty.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty has an interesting difficulty level. It’s a soulslike so compared to most video games it’s extremely challenging, which is basically the point of the genre. Compared to other soulslikes, however, it’s one of the easier ones. For people who are interested in the genre but intimidated by the difficulty, Wo Long would be a good starting point due to its high level of accessibility. Battle of Zhongyuan’s difficulty is on par with the base game. The bosses of the first two main battlefields are challenging, but once the player figures out the deflect timing and gets an understanding of the attack patterns, they aren’t too bad. On the other hand, the boss at the end of the third battlefield is the biggest skill check since Lu Bu and one of the most difficult fights in Wo Long. This is a battle that requires perfect execution of the deflect system along with the right mix of patience and lightning reflexes. A strong fire based build doesn’t hurt either.
The new sub battlefields are similar to the ones in the base game that offer a variety of smaller challenges, whether they be taking on the demon forces or doing training exercises against General Cao’s officers. These battlefields are on the easier side. The main thing that makes them challenging is a pesky deflect mechanic when fighting against multiple opponents. Because of the auto targeting system often times the player will deflect an attack from one enemy but fly in other direction to miss the follow up attack against the other enemy they’re locked onto. Even with this issue the sub battlefields don’t pose much of a challenge to a Wo Long vet, but it would be nice if the lock on/deflect mechanic received refinement in future patches.
Overall Battle of Zhongyuan is a great addition to Wo Long. It feels like a natural continuation of the story, and after putting countless hours into it having something that’s both new and familiar is a great excuse to return to Wo Long. Skilled players could complete the new battlefields in a single day on Crouching Dragon difficulty, but the new Soaring Dragon difficulty can provide dozens of hours in equipment farming. The level cap was raised from 150 to 300 and introduces more powerful equipment than what can be found on base difficulty levels, along with some new spells from secret tomes. Battle of Zhongyuan is a case of more of the same in that it expands on what was present in the original game. Players who have had their fill of Wo Long or weren’t that impressed by it probably won’t have their minds changed by this DLC. On the other hand this is a must play for those who enjoyed completing the game and want new content and greater challenges.
