Wuchang: Fallen Feathers do what AAA games don’t

wWith HEN 2025 onwards, few people expected $80 to be the actual price of a video game. Certainly, the value is subjective and everyone is free to do what they want with their own money, but the $70 price tag feels like it was only introduced yesterday, despite actually having been around for over four years at that time. And while it was accepted in the end, for better or worse, $80 felt like a much tougher question. Suitable for a Grand Theft Auto 6 Perhaps – anyway, how often is such a monumental release? – but Mario Kart World? Or, as you finally learned, Outer World 2?

What do you think? Battlefield 6Which rumors are going for the same price? At least Microsoft took a hint and reduced it Outer World 2 It’ll be $70. This feels like it’s trying to prevent cannibalism in sales through Game Pass. Then there Borderland 4 Fiasco (“Randy Pitchford Fiasco” is too broad). This also cost $70, but only on Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC only, the Switch 2 is still in the air, and that’s not the good news.

Even if high-profile projects across the industry are cancelled and the Gold Rush moves to Death Valley of Live Services, it’s really plentiful to demand such a high price, and even more games, through microtransactions, season passes, early access incentives and more, demanding some games.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgpqp5kniki

However, 2025 offers surprises in other fields: spaces that many consider to be “double A.” It all really started Clear obscurity: Expedition. We were far from truly understanding the depths of it, and only saw the star-studded cast in gorgeous visuals. It was shocking to hear it would cost $49.99. Though 30+ hours of the story seemed right, the developers hit us with “many side content for the perfectionist expedition.”

After its release, it is still one of the top rated games of the year, selling millions. And it does not include the number you played it through the game pass. Of course, other releases Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remasteredwhich reinforced that the price of $49.99 is no joke based on the games already available. All DLC and expansions cost $49.99, and the base game, including all the new bells and whistles, felt like a steal considering the hundreds of hours they could offer (and that’s before I think about it with mods). It has recently hit 9 million players and is available on the Game Pass, but is the second-selling game in the US. Recognise every name you want, it is still worth noting.

In the same way, we have wuchang: Falled feather. Once again, $49.99. There are no season passes or microtransactions. Until you complete an average of about 40-60 hours of length (but the player is clearing the story in a much shorter time). Remember all the other Double A Souls Likes released over the years. Few people were able to offer this at such a price and offer a fun experience that matches them.

There’s no mistake – there are so many things I like Woochan. Dark Souls– Not to mention the massive freedom to tackle the game as you chose, it has turned to organically discovering useful items and challenging battles. Although it has stat scaling weapons, leveling ups are tied to the skill tree and dominates almost everything. You can choose more survival with the price of a mana vase and additional healing, or refrain entirely in favor of damage. Statistics upgrades are important, but there are many other viable choices, such as weapon mastery, and all weapons within the singular category remain upgraded at all times.

Outside of potential build crafts using all different unique weapons and spells, the response is free, making it easy to experiment. Woochan It is packed with side quests that affect the main story, leading to various endings. Even boss battles are incredibly solid, can be unleashed with combos, weaving with dodges and drawing strikes to get more damage.

The entire madness mechanic is also original as it can be utilized in a variety of ways. Boost damage to continue trying the same boss, or try as a challenge while playing the game for increased damage received, or build it for a completely unique playstyle above your current build. Above all, it adds another layer of mastery to the experience, while creating much needed friction.

And before you say it – yes, Woochan It’s not perfect. Even with all the fun mechanics, it still takes a lot of clues from other titles Wo Long: Falling Dynasty and Dark Soulss. Next was the PC performance, which gave me a “nearly negative” rating at STEAM at this point. Leenzee Games released a new patch, optimizing VRAM on low-end GPUs and fixing crashes while introducing low-latency mode. Additionally, there will be “a wider patch” for the works that will arrive in the next few days.

wuchang: Falled feather It managed around 132,000 peak concurrent steam players at launch, and despite technical issues it is very impressive. And although it received some rather negative reviews, the overall impression from critics is at this point in the mid-70s range.

I hope it will last in the next few years, even if it doesn’t earn any of the game nominations this year. We focused our creative vision with game developers with small teams (at least compared to the enormous efforts of major publishers), provided the product, and sought a very fair price. It would have been not strange at all to see Woochan It retails for $60, given the amount of content and the number of years of work involved. But as you’re here, it’s still available in the Game Pass for those who aren’t sure if they want to drop so much.

Certainly, publishers are not in a hurry to embrace the same pricing model or develop games within the same range. 2K Mafia: Old Countries It’s one exception, and for now it feels like an exception to the rules rather than building an initiative for similar efforts. Similarly, Saga of Senua: Hellblade 2 The PS5, which launched last year on the Xbox Series X/s and PC, received criticism for the relatively short runtime despite an overall positive impression.

Whether this pricing model directly corresponds to the current state of the industry, it is a positive indication. It represents creators who take advantage of available resources and commit to more focused game design, with a unique artistic orientation and music. in spite of Woochan It’s very derived from other titles, but still comes what its soul-like competitors have not thought of for years or years. If that’s going to be its lasting legacy, then there’s a lot more I love.

There are still ways to go before it pleases everyone, especially on a PC. However, in the case wuchang: Falled feather And many other $50 (below) titles released this year are proven in all. This means there’s still room for dozens of hours of content to entertain the game at a fair price.

This feature represents a personal perspective. Readers are encouraged to make their own decisions about the game based on their personal preferences and boundaries.