Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is an Asian spin on the brutal soulslike formula with an intriguing look and feel that's all its own. The dominant aesthetic is 'fading ethereal beauty'. Think mist, clouds of light, flower blossoms, bare tree limbs, and feathers. The clue's in the title for that last one, and it's very much a feature of the story. Set during a version of the Chinese Ming Dynasty that's teetering on the edge of apocalypse, the game has you dealing with a strange disease called 'Feathering' that's turning everyone into either rabid avian creatures or hulking fleshy monsters. Everyone except you, the titular pirate Wuchang. You actually look pretty great with a few feathers popping out of you. If Wuchang has a USP on the game mechanics side of things, it's 'Skyborn Might'. A feature of Wuchang (the character)'s strange reaction to Feathering, it means that once she's accumulated it she can cast spells and buff weapon abilities. To accumulate it, however, she must either make a very last-second dodge, or pull off certain combos. This means that you're constantly flirting with the possibility of being obliterated so that you, in turn, can do some obliterating. You're also more fluent in combat than your average soulslike character. Wuchang is able to dual wield weapons, switching between their abilities to chain attacks together in a very cool fashion. The other innovation in Wuchang is in how you die. As per Dark Souls, when you die you'll need to find your corpse to reacquire lost XP (in the form of Red Mercury). However, just how much Red Mercury you lost is dependent on a 'Madness' meter. It goes up every time you go down, and you can goose it to drive your madness levels up. Why, you ask? Because while maxing out your level of madness makes you more vulnerable and has you lose all your XP if you die AND summons forth a nasty doppelganger that will try to block you from reclaiming it, it ALSO makes you stronger. If you're so inclined, you might go with the risky strategy of upping your madness level to get through a certain part of the game. On the flipside, dying can be lower stakes than in Dark Souls as you might not lose much XP at all. All in all, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is an interesting take on the soulslike subgenre with a very cool aesthetic and atmosphere to recommend it.