Still due out in 2023
Thanks to a new Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty dev diary TGS trailer, we have a better look at how Team Ninja is approaching this “masocore” (their words) action game.
Fumihiko Yasuda (producer) speaks on how when he was pondering the future of the Nioh series, he “started to consider a worldview separate from Sengoku-era Japan,” and drew upon his personal love of the stories of the Three Kingdoms era. A story “based around Chinese martial arts” was a good fit to convey this idea, and was a perfect way to differentiate a new project from Nioh.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty will portray the “turbulence” of the era, with a heavy focus on the concept of the “dark world,” which will likely aim for a baseline intense experience. The “fluidity of speed” is a goal for the combat system, and we get to see a brief look at the upcoming character creation menu. Variation between players in an online setting was used as one reason for avatar customization, as well as a focus on a “historical story,” rather than a personal one.
Team Ninja is busy, as they also have Rise of the Ronin in the works, which also has Yasuda involved as a director (though we’ll have to understandably wait until 2024 for that one). As someone who watched Team Ninja walk, then run, then falter, I’m just glad they’re back in the mix again.
At this point with several recent universally-liked projects under their belt, new announcements are met with glee rather than a groan. There was a rough patch there capped off by Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, but they really counterbalanced that with Hyrule Warriors that same year, into reestablishing dominance with Nioh three years later.
