Wo Lengthy: Fallen Dynasty‘s first growth, Battle of Zhongyuan, was a by-the-numbers affair. It demonstrated why Staff Ninja’s motion recreation excelled whereas additionally not addressing its faults. Conqueror of Jiangdong, the second DLC, is in an identical boat and has a handful of unbelievable and difficult boss fights. However whereas its positives are nonetheless evident, this follow-up growth additionally extra clearly factors out Wo Lengthy’s shortcomings.

Wo Lengthy continues to be — and can seemingly at all times be — a implausible motion recreation with easy controls. Melee bouts are quick, and deflecting blows is a responsive central mechanic that may greater than help your entire recreation. Not like Lies of P, the window is a bit of on the broad facet, however this permits gamers to really feel extra highly effective with out requiring perfection. Utilizing the stamina-like Spirit Meter intelligently (which this replace has additionally buffed) is an easy-to-grasp mechanic that yields extra depth with out overcomplicating all of it.

There simply aren’t many new enemies to train these fight talents on. Its lobster creatures are each foolish and an amazing addition to the bestiary, however there’s not a lot else in addition to that; even the degrees themselves don’t stand out from what Staff Ninja has already created. Conqueror of Jiangdong’s handful of levels has the everyday jungles and wet shipyards which might be additionally within the base expertise. Nioh 2’s DLC improved over time by going increasingly fantastical so as to stand proud of the bottom recreation, but those self same rules haven’t been utilized to Wo Lengthy.

The brand new boss fights fare a bit of higher however are unnecessarily hamstrung. As is the case with nearly each different a part of Wo Lengthy, these climactic showdowns are held again by the pleasant AI. They both make battles laughably straightforward or create an excessive amount of chaos and artificially crank up the issue. Whereas they’re seemingly meant to dial down the general degree of problem and create a extra distinctive expertise, they only make Wo Lengthy worse.

Nevertheless, these showdowns are nonetheless sensible at their core, and that is solely evident if gamers exit of the way in which to dismiss the AI or play the facet missions that strip away companions. This enables gamers to really be taught patterns and persist by talent, not luck. Each considered one of these bosses is excellently designed and has a ton of strikes that require speedy reflexes to deflect, so it’s disappointing that these higher battles can solely shine in non-obligatory quests. The final boss doesn’t get its personal facet mission, although, and is without doubt one of the hardest and most rewarding fights in the entire recreation. Though, that’s solely evident after dismissing each dumb allies which might be simply liabilities sporting armor.

Pleasant characters diminishing Wo Lengthy’s fight was an issue within the authentic marketing campaign however is much more prevalent and annoying right here. Any irritation like that’s solely going to compound if it retains occurring, and this DLC has given it that area.

This holds true for Wo Lengthy’s different annoyances, like its straightforward issue and countless provide of ineffective gear. Conqueror of Jiangdong isn’t a lot of a problem, particularly for anybody who has totally mined the remainder of the sport. These comparatively easygoing ranges make the ultimate boss much more stunning because the issue spike is so ludicrously sudden and steep. There’s additionally a brand new function that robotically sells armor, weapons, or equipment beneath a sure threshold when resting at a battle flag (which is useful), nevertheless it doesn’t tackle the underlying drawback of how bloated its gear system is. 

The one new notable piece of apparatus is the brand new weapon: the lengthy sword. It’s terribly defined within the transient tutorial pop-up, nevertheless it’s an fascinating blade that’s constructed round charging assaults. Charging doesn’t go away gamers completely susceptible, both, because it’s nonetheless attainable to deflect incoming blows whereas focusing. Parrying whereas charging builds energy even sooner, so it incentivizes and rewards expert play and people who are keen to threat taking part in offense and protection on the similar time. As was the case with the cestus gauntlets in Battle of Zhongyuan, Staff Ninja has repeatedly proven its knack for creating distinctive weapons that may change how the sport is performed.

Wo Lengthy: Conqueror of Jiangdong DLC Assessment: Remaining Verdict

Staff Ninja nonetheless can’t inform tales, although, as Conqueror of Jiangdong’s cutscenes are nonsensical and haphazardly stitched collectively to justify going to every degree. And whereas the plot doesn’t matter right here, it’s one more instance of how the studio is treading water with Conqueror of Jiangdong. This sophomore growth contains some superb boss fights, however ones which might be nonetheless sullied by unhelpful allies and relegated to facet missions. These hiccups sit on prime of the sport’s small pile of issues that’s slowly rising because the DLC rolls out. Wo Lengthy continues to be a top quality motion recreation and Conqueror of Jiangdong is a reminder of that, nevertheless it additionally factors out — and magnifies — its weaknesses.

Disclaimer: This Wo Lengthy: Conqueror of Jiangdong DLC overview is predicated on a PS5 copy supplied by the writer. Performed on model 1.018.000.