Wuchang: Fallen Feathers was revealed for the very first time during the 2021 Bilibili High Energy Video Game Festival. Developed by Leenzee and published by 505 Games, this upcoming Soulslike action role-playing game aims to amaze players when it launches on July 24th for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
At GDC 2025, I spent some hands-on time with an action-packed demo geared towards intense boss battles and guaranteed constant death. The demo that I played at Summer Game Fest Play Days this week turned things up a notch by shifting the focus to our lead female protagonist and some of the characters that make up this unique world. The entire experience now feels incredibly complete, and I’m very eager to jump back into this world as soon as possible. Here are more thoughts on the demo and why you should keep this game on your radar.
Lethal As A Feather
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers takes place in Shu during the late Ming dynasty. The story revolves around Bai Wuchang, a female pirate who suffers from amnesia and has a mysterious illness known as the Feathering Disease. This unique disease makes its victims crazy and slowly turns them into monsters. As war continues to ravage the lands and the disease spreads to more people, Wuchang embarks on a quest to recover her memory and learn more about her evolving condition.
The demo started with a brief cutscene opening sequence to introduce our lead protagonist before shifting to gameplay. The first thing I noticed was just how impressive the world and characters look within the game. The architecture designs from this period are historically accurate, and the supernatural element of creatures corrupting this world makes encounters feel both horrifying and immersive. Fans of The Three Kingdoms games will also recognize references to key characters from that era.
As I mentioned earlier, this demo also included story elements in the form of Wuchang having dialogue conversations with other characters. Some conversations unlock items that can be used later, while other encounters reveal pieces of Wuchang’s backstory. This element of mystery makes me curious to see how the overall story will end.
As you continue to explore the world, there are shrines and altars that you can use as saved checkpoints. When you access one of these sacred objects, performing a blood offering is the key to activating it. These shines were especially helpful as I progressed through the demo, as I was able to respawn at them anytime after getting killed.
Speaking of death, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a game that will ruthlessly kick you ass and keep you coming back for more. Given this subgenre of games, intense challenges are expected to be an integral part of the experience. Even still, with practice and precision, every player is fully capable of getting past the toughest of foes just by studying attack patterns and parrying and dodging when necessary.
The main weapon that I used for the majority of this demo was the Cloudfrost’s Edge, a single-edged longsword. This weapon was very effective against smaller enemies and the boss, but there are still so many more weapons and magic abilities that I have yet to explore. Between the world, exciting combat, and visuals, there is more than enough combat for any Soulslike action RPG fan to sink their teeth into.
Verdict So Far
While my time with Wuchang was brief, I was overall impressed with everything this game had to offer. You can tell that Leenzee put everything into crafting a phenomenal game, and I look forward to spending more time with it next month.
Are any of you looking forward to Wuchang: Fallen Feathers? Let us know in the comments section below.
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