Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is without a doubt a tough game. The action-RPG from developer Team Ninja draws inspiration from the likes of Dark Souls and Nioh in order to provide gamers with a gritty experience that will force them to familiarize themselves with techniques needed to win many of the game's grueling encounters. Video game difficulty has divided opinion in recent years, and no sub-genre epitomizes this better than the Soulslike. More recently, games like Elden Ring have attempted to tackle this by becoming more accessible while still providing ample challenge, and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty has followed suit in this regard with a new gameplay feature.

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Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Takes a Leaf Out of Elden Ring's Book

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Having the ability to summon help for almost the entire game significantly lessens the game's sometimes brutal difficulty curve. This goes some way to appease fans who are looking for more of a casual experience, without the huge challenge that these games can sometimes provide. Over the years, debate has raged about whether games like this should include various difficulty settings to cater to different types of gamers. FromSoftware's Hidetaka Miyazaki, the creator of Dark Souls, which went on to spawn an entire sub-genre, has never included difficulty settings in his games. Even so, there are recent signs that he is at least attempting to make them more accessible. The 2022 Game of the Year winner Elden Ring proves this.

Elden Ring does not feature difficulty settings, but it does feature a couple of in-game accessibility options which dampen the challenge if they are used. Among these options are tools known as spirit ashes, which effectively give the player the means to summon an ally to fight alongside them whenever they want. As well as this, the freedom provided to the player when exploring Elden Ring's huge open-world means that should they get stuck, there are various other routes they can take. Much of Elden Ring's content is optional, and the most challenging bosses, such as Malenia, Blade of Miquella, do not need to be fought in order to beat the game.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty's linearity means that offering players multiple routes if they get stuck on a difficult boss is not really an option, therefore, doubling down on the NPC summoning mechanic seems like the most intelligent way of offering players an olive branch should they require one. The only resource a player needs in order to be able to summon an NPC is an item called a Tiger Seal, and these are found easily and often throughout the game. The game's overall level of challenge is not quite on the same level as the Souls titles, and even the Nioh games are arguably more difficult, but nevertheless, it's great to see Team Ninja providing the player with options for support.

The debate will likely continue as to whether every single game should include difficulty settings, with a valid argument to be made for both sides. Regardless, it's certainly pleasing to see that developers like FromSoftware and Team Ninja are beginning to look for ways around this without compromising on the difficulty or level of challenge. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, despite being one of Team Ninja's toughest games, is the most recent example of this.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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