Will this new Soulslike do enough to stand out?

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is the next high-profile Soulslike game and will be released on July 24, 2025. Like Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty – another Soulslike, Wuchang is set in ancient China and will deal with events and figures from the Three Kingdoms period of history. However, the game will also sprinkle some supernatural shenanigans into the mix. 

The issue is, in 2025, Soulslike games seem to be coming out every month, and not all of them stand up to Dark Souls when it comes to quality. So, while I get ready to play Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, I realise that one thing is for certain in 2025: the Soulslike genre is becoming thoroughly saturated – and I worry where it’s going to fit in. 

The Escapist recaps 

• The Wuchang: Fallen Feathers release date is today (July 24, 2025). 
• The game is set during the Three Kingdoms period of Ancient China.
• Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a traditional Soulslike game. 
• The new Madness system is original and changes everything.
• It will not be set in an open world like Elden Ring was.

Souled Out

Now, there was a time when a new Soulslike game made me excited, but now I find myself rolling my eyes at my favourite genre, and with a note of exhaustion, saying, “Another one?” After all, let’s not forget, these games are never easy and often represent significant time sinks. 

But I’ve reached the point where I find that I’ve developed a backlog of them to finish, and while I hate to admit it, some of them are starting to feel a bit too similar to each other, especially when it comes to setting and style.

Don’t get me wrong, every time I see a trailer for one of these games, I get hyped. It could be at a State of Play, Summer Games Fest, or any other event. But once I’ve seen a few more trailers for other games that look remarkably similar, my hype is replaced by fatigue, and my excitement becomes diluted. 

In terms of upcoming Soulslikes, Phantom Blade Zero, Where Winds Meet, Lost Soul Aside, and Tides of Annihilation all have me as intrigued as Wuchang: Fallen Feathers does, but it’s possible to become full at even the most delicious and sumptuous buffet. 

It doesn’t help that nearly every third-person action game seems to be labeled as a Soulslike today, even when it isn’t. For example, sure, Stellar Blade borrowed some mechanics from the genre, but it felt more like NieR or Bayonetta than Dark Souls.

So, in mid-2025, I need something more from my Soulslikes if they are to hold my attention, and while solid gameplay is a must, I find myself valuing creativity and originality more. For me, this is what will be the difference maker for Wuchang: Fallen Feathers. 

I know I’ll play it through at least once, but will I stick around and play New Game Plus or purchase DLC, or will I uninstall it forever once the credits roll?

This year has already seen a plethora of Soulslikes with games like AI Limit and The First Berserker: Khazan both standing out to me, but not because both were excellent, but how they compared to each other. 

AI Limit was a competent Souls clone. It copied FromSoftware’s formula to the letter, even sprinkling in some original ideas, but it wasn’t enough to feel fresh. If it had been released ten years ago, then it may have won me over, but simply copy and pasting FromSoft’s template has been done to death by now; players are starting to notice.

In contrast, The First Berserker: Khazan used the Bloodborne template as a foundation, but built out from there to become something new. While the game was unmistakably a Soulslike, it didn’t feel the need to conform to the rules of the genre and boldly blazed its own trail. 

This is what Wuchang: Fallen Feathers needs to get right if it’s going to move the needle. Black Myth: Wukong, another game based on Chinese mythology, also understood this. It arguably did it so well that its status as a Soulslike is questionable. 

Back when Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls came out, what made FromSoftware’s games so beloved was that they ignored many of the conventions of modern games and just did their own thing. There was minimal hand-holding and something distinctly old-school about them. It’s ironic, then, that games that rejected modern gaming conventions have now become modern gaming conventions. 

They were always going to spawn imitators, and for fans of the genre, for a while, this was a good thing, especially when those games ended up being as excellent as Nioh, Lies of P, and Lords of the Fallen. While these games borrowed heavily from FromSoftware’s formula, in 2025, I fear that even these classics wouldn’t be enough to pass the originality test. 

A Touch of Madness

This is even more true after Elden Ring took Dark Souls and brought it into the light of an open world. After Elden Ring, any game following the old Souls template now feels somewhat antiquated – another challenge Wuchang: Fallen Feathers has to overcome. 

But here’s why I’m not letting my genre fatigue put me off playing Wuchang, and why I’m still excited for it: the game’s Madness system. This feels like a truly innovative feature and could be a game-changer when it comes to the Soulslike genre. Here’s how it works:

As Wuchang herself progresses through the map, slaying enemies, her Madness increases. Now, at first, this is a good thing as it allows her to unlock new moves and start dealing more damage, but it also makes Wuchang somewhat of a glass cannon. While she can deal more damage, she also becomes much more susceptible to it, increasing the risk versus reward dynamic.

And that’s not all. If Wuchang dies in this state, then her Madness spawns a clone of her that stalks the map and gatekeeps the spot where she died, making progression even harder. So not only do players need to overcome the obstacle or enemy that originally killed them, they also have to deal with a thoroughly antagonistic clone of themselves – one that also possesses all the skills and items they do. 

As a Souls games veteran, this is something that piques my interest because it feels like a love letter to both the “learn by death” and invasion mechanics from the original Souls games, essentially remixing these ideas into something even more challenging. 

The concept of being hunted by my vengeful spirit is a novel one, and I’m all in with this idea. So much so, I’m preparing to “git gud” all over again. I want Soulslike games to try and hurt me, and Wuchang: Fallen Feathers looks like it’s going to do exactly that. 

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