WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers Deep Dive | Official Xbox Podcast

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ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Hey, everybody. Welcome to the official Xbox Podcast, the only podcast that's coming at you from inside Xbox. My name's Ethan, and I am super excited about today's episode because I love Soulslike games, and coming tomorrow to Xbox, Windows, and Game Pass, we got another one, a brand new one to talk about. It's Wuchang, Fallen Feathers, and here to give us everything we need to know about this game is Stephen Takowsky, the Community Manager at 505 Games. Stephen, welcome to the show.

STEPHEN TAKOWSKY: Thanks, Ethan. I appreciate you having me.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Obviously, game is coming out tomorrow. You're close to launch. How are you feeling? How is the studio feeling? What's the overall vibe over there?

STEPHEN TAKOWSKY: Things are going fantastic, Ethan. We're really excited for all of the success so far from pre-orders to followers. It's been wonderful climbing the charts, having so much positivity from the Xbox community, from all of our communities, really, just coming together, supporting the title. Very excited. 505 Games, the publisher, Leenzee Games, the developer of Wuchang. Everyone's thrilled, and the fans are thrilled, and that's really what matters, and we're here for an exciting launch tomorrow.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Let's jump right into this. At showcase, you had a fantastic trailer, caught a lot of people's attention. It's on a lot of people's radar, but for folks that may not know what Wuchang, Fallen Feathers is or maybe they're just tuning into the Xbox Podcast every week, can you give a general overview about the game?

STEPHEN TAKOWSKY: Sure. So Wuchang is an action RPG, set in the late Ming dynasty. You play as Bai Wuchang, a pirate warrior, wake up with amnesia, you don't know what's going on, but you have this Feathering that's on your arm. It is transforming you into a monstrous creature, but it's also giving you amazing power, until that occurs, and you're just going around, fighting, challenging Soulslike bosses and going deep into a narrative that unfolds in this period in the Ming dynasty.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: I got a chance to play a little bit earlier this week, so big shout out. Thank you for passing a code along. Very interesting beginning. I mean, really difficult right off the bat, in a good way. You know, really challenging. There's a lot of freaky monsters. I'm pretty sure I screamed out loud once or twice in the first hour. That is not a lie. Like, I definitely, definitely a few jump scares here and there. I would love to talk about kind of the Feathering and how it affects, or how it pertains to the narrative of this game and how you're going to kind of see it play out in Bai Wuchang as well as creatures around you.

STEPHEN TAKOWSKY: Sure. So the Feathering is this supernatural force that essentially is transforming people into monsters. Once you normally extract this Feathering, you lose your mind. You transform into a monster. However, our protagonist, Wuchang, she is not transforming right away, and she has been able to maintain her mind, and she's also picked up these incredible powers. As you're navigating throughout these worlds, you're going to see individuals transforming. You're going to see individuals far along that have turned into full-on monsters, and there's just chaos that's erupting throughout the lands, many different biomes that you're traveling through, and you see the full extent of the Feathering's damage and everything that goes along with it.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yeah, I don't want to spoil it too much, but there were definitely moments where I'm looking at just beautiful landscapes and settings, and then I just take a turn and it gets dark and it gets creepy, and I just -- I think from a design-level perspective, I was pretty impressed with a lot of that. You know, kudos to the team for kind of the intro. It's a really good kind of guide into this world and the setting, which I, frankly, didn't know a lot about. You said Ming dynasty?

STEPHEN TAKOWSKY: Correct. It takes place in the Ming dynasty, and the characters you interact with, a lot of the dialogue is optional. There are plenty of side quests. There's tasks that the NPCs can give you. You do have amnesia when you start the game, and some of the characters do know you from before that period. So there is this mystery involved that you're unraveling and many truths that do get revealed over the course of the game.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: I love that. So speaking of the course of the game and what's uncovered, I'd love to talk about progression. Can we talk about how many chapters there are in this game? What's progression look like between those chapters as the story progresses?

STEPHEN TAKOWSKY: Sure. So there are five chapters on Wuchang, and, really, the first chapter, I like to think it almost as an introduction, and it's massive, right? Many bosses, you really gain the feel for things, and then at the start of the second chapter, I'll give you this one little hint of where things really start getting deep. There's a series of elevators right at the start of this chapter. Once you get past that, things are really going to open up, and it's almost like that Elden Ring feeling when you step out into the world, and we think fans are going to love it. Things do get challenging, but Wuchang does get more powerful along the way. So if you are leveling up your character properly and you are picking up some of the more incredible abilities and implementing them into your arsenal, then you kind of have this demigod-like feeling as you're traveling around, and it really flows smoothly. Action is very smooth and fun.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: And so I'd like to talk about that a little bit. This Red Mercury, what is it? What does it do? How does it pertain to the story?

STEPHEN TAKOWSKY: Sure. So Red Mercury is your experience system in the game. It's also your currency. There are shops in the game where you can use Red Mercury, and you're essentially using it to level up. You can level up your stats. We do have a skill tree, it's quite extensive, and from there, you can use Red Mercury in a similar Soulslike faction. You're going to go to Shrines, take the Red Mercury you've accumulated and use it to unlock various nodes on your skill tree. You know, there's various stats. I would say as you're going through the skill tree, definitely pay attention to like the five-plus stats, to like vitality and strength. It's really going to help you. The great thing about the game is you can respec at any time. So if you're up against a challenging boss that has certain vulnerabilities, make sure to respec to get the most out of your level so that you cut the amount of times you died over the course of your game quite extensively, and you come prepared. If you're going into every single fight the exact same, you're not switching up your armor or your stats or your skills, it can be challenging, but of course, there's going to be those individuals who can probably get through the whole game without leveling up even once.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Totally, I know, yeah, some people are just so good. I got to say I really, really want to shout out, the long sword I like a lot. I know it's the one you start with, but that really grew on me, and then the dual blades, man, are so much fun. You know, this kind of harkens to a big part of the game which is weapon choice. There's a lot of unique weapons in this game. What can you tell us about that? Let's talk about customizing those weapons, because you got to look good while you're out there killing.

STEPHEN TAKOWSKY: Sure. So there's five weapon classes in the game, more than 25 weapons to choose from, all very unique, unique animations, and they all have their pros and cons. For instance, a long sword, which we were just speaking about, you can parry, and against enemies that have blades and weapons, being able to parry is huge, but you can't parry against certain enemies that use their hands or magic or non-weapon type abilities. However, you have the axe. The axe, you can block. So you would think, you know, in most games you can block with everything, you can parry with everything, but in this game, each weapon has its pros and cons. Dual blades, very fast, you're jumping around, chipping away, doing damage, acrobatics, and so you have to choose what style is best for you. You can carry two weapons at a time, and you can add to each weapon's abilities, and so as you're defeating enemies, as you're traversing throughout the game, you will get certain augmentations for weapons, and in addition to your equipment loadout, you'll also have various ways to customize that with various gear you'll pick up along the way, and you want to obviously adjust it based on your enemy. But I found that as soon as I got acclimated to it, it felt smooth, it felt fun, and it was exciting to get through, and as you're getting these powers, it's really flowing real nice, and it's like a dance.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yeah, that's exactly what I was going to -- sorry to interrupt you, but dance is exactly what you -- like, when I would get into the flow with the dual blades, you're racking up the damage, it's looking great, like, it really -- you do feel like a superhero when things start clicking.

STEPHEN TAKOWSKY: Yeah, and to talk about the Skyborn Might, that's your combat resource, essentially, as you're executing perfect dodges, as you're parrying, as you're flowing with that dance, the Skyborn Might, this combat resource, it's kind of like your manna, and you use it to execute spells. You're using it to execute abilities with your weapons, and it really is a unique spin on the Soulslike genre, and we're getting tons of positivity from the community, all the reviewers who've gotten the chance to play it, and it's a really great spin on the whole way to go about combat, and you can't just sit there, pop a potion, and get it back. You know, you essentially --

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Earn it.

STEPHEN TAKOWSKY: Yeah, you have to earn it, and you're in the flow of it, and you have to be patient, but as you're getting through the game, you'll see that it's just coming back to you naturally, and certain spells and abilities, obviously, match well with certain weapons. So it takes some time to figure out what matches well, but once you kind of have the right combinations, and I'm sure after the game releases within a day, there will be guides on all the best combinations between weapons, abilities, spells, and so forth, once you find your ideal combination, it just feels great.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: I really love the dual daggers paired with the longsword because it was like get in, be quick, and then if you can do that, I think you click in like the left stick and you do a cool, like, switch weapons.

STEPHEN TAKOWSKY: And you can expend Skyborn Might, essentially, to swift-draw quickly, so you're in the middle of a combo and it just all flows really nicely.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: So satisfying, so satisfying, and it looks great. Let's talk about playing dress up a little bit because, like I said earlier, if you're not looking good killing stuff, what's even the point?

STEPHEN TAKOWSKY: There are definitely a lot of outfits to choose from in the game, you know, a lot of fanservice, as you're defeating enemies, as you're exploring, definitely unlocking many, many outfits to choose from, and you also have to pair your outfits to your environment and to your enemies. Each enemy does a specific type of damage, and outfits will provide a unique set of defense bonuses against certain types of damage. For instance, you're going to have some enemies that do slash damage. You shouldn't just go into those fights with just any armor. You want to look at the armor that has high slash resistance. So you essentially match -- first, you want to identify what type of damage your enemy is doing to you. If you have a challenging boss and you're not having the defense for the type of damage it's doing, that's probably what your issue is, but if you match your armor with your enemy and you're getting high resistances to the damage they're doing, you're going to have a much easier time defeating them. We've already shared a lot of the outfits online, but there's many more that we haven't shared. So you'll see the game is very rich in content, a lot of customizability on how you look. You can mix and match your outfits. For instance, you can have leggings with a specific chest piece. So you have to find the optimal path for you, but it's not just one outfit that you're going to be wearing in this game. You are going to be switching it in various biomes, various enemies, to get the most out of each experience.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: That's awesome. I love any game that's kind of forcing me to change it up, to have different kind of builds, so to speak, for different areas and, frankly, keeps it fresh. I do feel like this game, there's no shortage of cool-looking abilities, outfits, weapons, and so I do -- I feel like a lot of people are going to be encouraged to kind of mix it up and to kind of change their play style, change their look, change their favorite weapons, respec, like you said. It feels like that was at the core of all the gameplay or the design of the game in itself. Was that a philosophy when you were working on -- when this game was being developed?

STEPHEN TAKOWSKY: There's definitely a ton of content. One of the wonderful things about the game is, it's very rich in content. There's just so many items, so many outfits, all the weapons are unique, the levels are very vast, and, you know, you play some game and you feel, oh, there's really not a lot of content in this game. When you play this game, Wuchang, and you're like, wow, you know, there is just so much to get through. You can definitely play the game multiple times, and we have multiple endings as well. So it's worth it to put in the time, to go through it all, collect everything, go through the conversations, ton of content.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: I love to find, yeah, to find the secrets. There's definitely hidden things. I like the side quests. I like the characters. Very intriguing from the start, which I think you need in a game like this and you guys really, really nailed. To dive into combat some more, there's an element of this Inner Demon system. Now, my inner demon is just eating copious amounts of French onion dip and chips, and so I'm curious how this works for our character, because obviously it's a little bit cooler than that, but can we talk about the Inner Demon system?

STEPHEN TAKOWSKY: Sure. So definitely another unique mechanic of Wuchang. So as you are dying in the game, your Madness meter, which is, you'll see a portrait. You'll see this like kind of red glow that is filling up. Once it reaches the top, your inner demon will spawn, and as you have more Madness, you're also taking more damage and delivering more damage. So your actual experience is adjusting based on how much you are dying. Once this inner demon spawns, it will attack everything, not just you, but all of the enemies around. It doesn't spawn during boss encounters but during general enemy encounters, and so when you die, you are going to drop Red Mercury. In order to get that Red Mercury back that you dropped, you're going to have to defeat your inner demon. And your inner demon is a version of you, and one of the really cool aspects is that if you are in a challenging area, the inner demon will be attacking the enemies in the area as well, but the only way you're getting your XP back is by defeating your inner demon.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yeah, I love it. I love it. There's definitely some subtle story there, but the first time it happened to me, I was clueless, right? Like, I just had no idea, and I was like in my start menu and I just get slammed to the ground, and it was one of those jump scares I was talking about. Obviously, you said when you die your Madness builds, but I noticed that when your Madness is higher, one, there are nodes for combat, nodes that you can activate to maybe make it so your character benefits from having more Madness.

STEPHEN TAKOWSKY: So there are Madness builds in the game. There's individuals who are going to want to have high Madness because the damage output does increase, but you are also taking more damage. So you are going to have to decide what type of player you are. When I first completed the game, I kept Madness up throughout the majority of the game because I wanted that higher damage output. It does impact gameplay. As you go through your skill tree, there are going to be some nodes that deal with it, and so you have to decide what kind of player are you, what kind of experience do you want. You know, I'm sure there's going to be these kind of pacifist, no Madness, you know, no dealing with inner demon runs as well. So it's just another form of content feature that's in the game that makes Wuchang a unique experience.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Yeah, totally. You seem like a glass cannon kind of guy in most games like this. Is that true? Are you always high DPS?

STEPHEN TAKOWSKY: Yeah, I do prefer DPS. I mean, when you're first fighting a boss, I'll go more on the defensive side because you want to learn moves. You want to know exactly. You don't want to sit there for hours wasting time. I also like to level up my character, and for this game, it's worth it to level up your character, get some XP before you jump into a fight, look around for chests. Maybe you'll find some nice Red Mercury that can give you an extra level or two before a fight. And so I'd rather spend 30 minutes getting leveled up than spending that 30 minutes dying to a boss. And so I'm very efficient with my time, so yeah, while I am a glass cannon, I consider myself a very efficient player.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Certainly more than I am. I am very, like, I struggle with being impatient. It kind of harkens back to what you said about just there's a lot of play styles here. I felt that in the weapons almost immediately, and I kind of appreciate just the depth at which they are different. Like, it is really fun. It keeps it super, super fresh. Did you say what your favorite weapons are? Do you have favorites?

STEPHEN TAKOWSKY: Long sword and axe are great in terms of classes. It's just I like the ability to parry, and I like the ability to block, and I just really enjoyed long sword and the axe combo. That's really -- I got through the vast majority of the game with those two weapons.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: I want to dive in, you had mentioned it before, biomes and locations, obviously pretty diverse. Like I said, I'm in a jungle one minute, temples around me, and then I take a turn and it's just, without spoiling it, a death in front of me. Can we talk about some of the biomes, maybe some of your favorite, and what we're going to see in the game?

STEPHEN TAKOWSKY: Sure. So you're going throughout villages, cemeteries, going through some pretty dark and nasty places, especially later on in the game. Second chapter, really lush scenery, snow-filled mountains, beautiful views. So you definitely get an eyeful throughout your experience. There'll be moments where you're on top of mountains and you can overlook just an entire valley. It is quite beautiful. And Leenzee, the developer of Wuchang, wanted to really change it up. They wanted you to have a really diverse experience from chapter to chapter, and they are interconnected, so there are very clever ways of merging them together. So while you're in kind of a cemetery-like area, you know, you walk for 30 seconds through kind of a hidden passageway, and boom, you're in like a bog-filled underground swamp, and then you go another 30 seconds through another passageway and you're in snow-capped mountains. So you have to unlock certain areas in your typical Soulslike fashion, and once you do find the key or find the way past it, it all kind of blends together really nicely and you can have a really diverse type of experience from biome to biome.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: That's cool. That's so awesome. Yeah, I love that. I love that, keep it fresh. The other thing that struck me in addition to the biomes, the weapons, like the variety of content and diversity they're in, the creatures and the monsters. I'd love to kind of talk about that just a little bit, maybe inspiration there, anything you have to share around the design of creatures.

STEPHEN TAKOWSKY: Sure. So everything's pulled from late Ming dynasty aesthetics, but you're going to have towering bosses that are the size of a building. You're going to have warriors that are just a little bit bigger than you. And so as you're traversing throughout the game, you'll see the Feathering's influence, but there's also going to be enemies that have been influenced in other ways. No spoilers, but you're going to face up some pretty unique enemies that are going to challenge you. You're going to have to change it up. Some of the enemies, the whole level is very different. And so you mostly play a Soulslike game. You're dodging around, you're trying to find out the weakness, but it's mostly just dodging around, blocking and poking and dealing with the same fight pretty much over and over again. But in Wuchang, some fights, for instance, there's this one fight with this gigantic towering boss that is going to be kind of sucking you in, pulling you in, and you're going to feel this pull that's dragging you, and so you can't just go in there and chip away at damage. The whole level essentially comes alive and is attacking you, and so you have to completely change how you approach this fight. So as you're going from chapter to chapter, things really do change up and you have to adapt and be prepared for what's coming because there are quite a few surprises in the game.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: Oh, my God. I'm so excited, man. I'm so excited to keep playing. I don't know how I'm going to get through the rest of the workday. I'd love to talk, maybe the last question, I know I've -- I don't want to keep you all day, and I really could, community, obviously a big part of developing games for a lot of folks nowadays. 505 Games, no different in that regard. Can you talk about how you've integrated community feedback while designing the game, or perhaps like how you kind of think about your community as design goes on?

STEPHEN TAKOWSKY: Sure. So over the years, we've definitely seen all the comments that have come in, made adjustments. We're thrilled to have Xbox as an official partner. We're on Xbox Clubs, making posts, just getting all the feedback that we can, and I think we've been rewarded for it. Fans are loving what they see and we want to continue to give it to them. Post-launch, we're going to see all the comments that come in, all the suggestions, and do our best to continue to make our fans happy in every way that we can.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: I love it, Stephen. As I mentioned, been lucky enough to play it, and it's just like it scratches that itch where I woke up first thing this morning and it's all I'm thinking about, right? Like, I just want to get back in there. I just want to play some more. This game comes out tomorrow, July 24th, when this airs. Any final thoughts you want to share with the community before we wrap this episode?

STEPHEN TAKOWSKY: Well, Ethan, thank you so much for having me. To all our fans out there, thank you so much for supporting us along the way. It's been a wonderful journey so far, and we are just absolutely honored by the outpouring of support and positivity. We can't wait for you all to play tomorrow. Thank you so much for supporting us on this journey, and we'll see you soon in the land of Shu.

ETHAN ROTHAMEL: I love it. Stephen, thank you so much for joining us. It was great getting to speak with you, and we're excited for everyone to get their hands on Wuchang, Fallen Feathers tomorrow, July 24th. It's coming out across all major platforms and Xbox Game Pass, so do not miss this one. Thank you all for joining us today. That's all the time we have for this episode. We'll catch you on the next one. Take care. [ Music ]