It takes a lot for a new souls-like to distinguish itself these days. In the last year alone, we’ve seen Lies of P: Overture, The First Berserker: Khazan, Black Myth: Wukong, Enotria: The Last Song, Another Crab’s Treasure, and two Elden Ring follow-ups–The Shadow of the Erdtree DLC and spin-off game Nightreign–all launch to varying degrees of success. Suffice to say, the once-niche genre is now significantly more mainstream, and the rapidly growing number of souls-likes available to play certainly reflects that. But while this might translate to an exciting amount of options for players, it’s easy to see how this boon actually presents an intense challenge for developers.
Fortunately for Wuchang: Fallen Feathers developer Leenzee, finding and celebrating its own voice was something it was “tuned in to” since the beginning. In a recent interview with GameSpot, Leenzee co-founder and Wuchang: Fallen Feathers game and art director Xia Siyuan discussed how the studio went about developing a game in a highly saturated genre, and what he thought Wuchang was doing to help push souls-likes forward. The developer also opened up about how the team’s Sichuan roots helped to establish the game’s setting, and how some of its boss designs were inspired by archeological digs and museum trips.
The souls-like genre has become extremely saturated in recent years–was that a concern when developing Wuchang: Fallen Feathers? What about it sets the game apart from others within the genre, or helps push the genre forward?
Siyuan: From the start, we’ve been very tuned in to finding our own voice. We wanted Wuchang to reflect a different cultural perspective–not just in the setting, but in the way the world is structured, the themes we explore, and how players interact with everything.
What sets it apart is how tightly everything is connected. The combat, progression, and narrative are all shaped by the protagonist’s condition, and the world itself reflects that decay and transformation. The Heart Demon system gives players a new way to manage difficulty, and the free respecs invite experimentation instead of punishing it. We also put a lot of effort into creating non-linear paths and secret routes that can really change how a player experiences the game.
If we’re adding something new to the genre, we hope it’s a sense of flexibility–letting players feel like they’re carving their own way through a world that remembers their choices.
Souls-like games can be notoriously difficult for genre newcomers to get into. Do you think Wuchang is a good first Souls-like game for new audiences?
Wuchang was designed to be approachable without losing the challenge that fans expect. Systems like free respecs and the Heart Demon mechanic give players control over how risky or forgiving their experience is. There’s no traditional “easy mode,” but we’ve built in flexibility so new players can find their footing and grow into the game at their own pace.
Why set Wuchang: Fallen Feathers during the Ming Dynasty? What about that particular period of history did you want to explore?
The Ming Dynasty felt like the right backdrop because it was a time of transition and uncertainty. There was political collapse, widespread conflict, and major shifts in how people saw the world. That kind of instability gave us room to explore deeper themes like decay, fate, and transformation in a grounded way.
It also allowed us to draw from real places and events, especially in Sichuan, where many of the team’s cultural roots are. Stories like the Jiangkou sunken treasure and the legends surrounding Sanxingdui gave us a rich foundation for world-building. We were drawn to how myth and history could coexist in that setting, and how it could help shape a world that feels both authentic and unsettling.
What inspired the decision to make Bai Wuchang a former pirate?
At that time, the Ming Dynasty was facing both internal and external turmoil, with pirates rampant across the seas. Many maritime merchants struggled to survive, and He Youzai was one of them. After meeting Bai Ziyun, he greatly admired her swordsmanship and invited her to join him. Together, they hunted pirates and used the spoils to aid those in need. From then on, Bai Ziyun never left an enemy alive, earning her the nickname “White Wuchang.”
The creature and boss design in this game is absolutely phenomenal and one of the first things that made it stand out to me. Can you walk me through some mythological and artistic inspirations behind some of them?
Creature and boss design was one of the most collaborative parts of development. A lot of the inspiration came from regional myths and archaeological finds, especially from Sichuan. The Sanxingdui relics, for example, gave us these beautifully strange bronze masks and figures that feel otherworldly even today. We used that sense of mystery as a foundation for some of the game’s more surreal or ancient boss designs.
It also seems as though the game’s art, music, weaponry, and narrative are also all very focused on celebrating Chinese history and mythology. How did you ensure accuracy and what were some of the most meaningful inclusions for you?
Getting it right was important to us, not just visually but emotionally. We drew from a mix of historical research, academic sources, and personal memory–many of the team grew up in Sichuan, surrounded by these legends and landscapes.
We also visited museums and studied artifacts from places like Sanxingdui and the Jinsha ruins to understand the craftsmanship, symbolism, and spiritual meaning behind them. One of the most meaningful elements we included was the use of oracle bone script on golden foil, tied into the game’s lore. That detail, like many others, helped us connect the world of Wuchang to the deeper roots of Chinese myth and history in a way that feels grounded and purposeful.
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, and is available at no additional cost to Xbox Game Pass subscribers. In our Wuchang: Fallen Feathers review, we wrote, “Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a great experience filled with far more satisfying battles than frustrating ones, wonderful ideas, and truly gorgeous locations.”
The above interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
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