《Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember》感觉就像你想要的正统续作

Sitting down to play Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember, I thought back to when I last played Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. At the time, my takeway was that it was a solid game but it didn't quite reach the same heights as Team Ninja's work on Nioh. It felt like every attack could be dealt with the same way, with just the simple deflect; as a result, all fights ended up feeling the same in the end. On a similar note, the Morale system meant that every level asked you to seek out every Battle Flag you could, and while I wouldn't say the level design was bad - it didn't really stick with me outside of one or two exceptions. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty was a good game, but there was plenty of room to improve.

Last month, Kite wrote about his thoughts after having played the Tokyo Game Show 2026 demo for Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember. Less than a month later, Koei Tecmo invited us to a preview event to check out a number of their upcoming games, including a more in-depth look at Wo Long 2.

Immediately, my primary takeaway with Wo Long 2 is that the specific segment they chose to highlight at the preview event featured some truly inspired level design. Starting things off, we had to dart from ship to ship, including a segment where we walk across a tightrope, dropping down onto flotsam below to avoid a rain of flaming arrows; after breaking into a demonic island, we find ourselves dodging gusts of flame, timing our movements and at times doubling back into crevices where the torrent of fire has burst open a new path to explore.

I can't speak to the wider level design, but if this is a benchmark the rest of the game can be compared to, it offers something that both the first Wo Long lacked; inspired level design that feels like a synthesis of setpieces, and yet baked into how the level actually feels to explore as it unfolds, rather than just being a straight line. The core of the gameplay loop in each level remains the same - searching for Battle Flags, while also carving your path forward - but in practice it feels far more confident.

The same can be said for combat. Deflecting is still the name of the game, but the skill ceiling has been raised with the introduction of Insight skills. Use an Insight Deflect, and you'll be able to immediately counterattack while damaging your enemy's Qi at the same time; use an Insight Jump to reposition. In practice it's not all that different than the normal Deflect, but it solves the main issue I had with the first game; you always, always wanted to just deflect attacks. Insight skills are risky, but offer a chance for players to flex their skills and add an additional wrinkle to combat that was sorely lacking.

I was already likely to play Wo Long 2, but having the chance to acclimate myself to the changes I'm glad to see the series coming to grips with its own identity. Time will tell if the changes to combat and level design will stick the landing through the full game, but I'm rooting for it. Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember drops on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC (Steam) on March 4, 2027. Stay tuned for our further impressions as we get closer to launch.