Wuchang: Fallen Feathers reviewed decently, garnering a 75 on Metacritic. Featuring solid mechanics, the more significant negatives facing the title by 505 Games have been performance-related.
Whether console or PC, many users have been affected by some form of performance hitch. Console, for example, faces a mixture of issues that are different depending on whether you're running in 60Hz or 120Hz mode.
Most notably, players on 60Hz displays will face sub-60 FPS in performance mode, while 120Hz players see 100+ FPS held back by severe screen tearing. Needless to say, console players are suffering, but that's not even the worst of it. Windows PC users are the ones getting their feathers ruffled. So much so that 505 Games has taken to Steam to apologize for the gamer experience.
We have received reports regarding issues such as the game's optimization not meeting expectations. These problems should never have occurred, and we deeply regret the inconvenience and negative experience some players are currently facing
505 Games
However, its apology felt a little short-lived, as they followed it up with, "We are confident in the game's performance within our recommended spec, but we're working on optimization."
After reviewing online testing results and my own experience, I have a problem believing that they thoroughly tested these recommended specifications. For starters, the recommended GPU is an RTX 2070 and an AMD 5500.
My laptop, which runs a mobile 4060, should more than cover it. Under Medium settings with DLSS enabled, I somehow drop below 60 frames per second at 1080p resolution. Notably, this happens outside of combat. (What?!)
To make matters worse, from the desktop 4060s I've seen tested, they're having identical outcomes. Even my 3080 is seeing some hitches, with a user named RE-L on Steam giving their own review with very similar specs to my desktop setup.
Expending far too much time attempting to fix it, he stated, "I had spent, probably the first 30-45 minutes on just fiddling with the graphics settings. Nothing seemed to want to make this run at a decent GPU usage, FPS, and latency. I even had it set back down to 1080P with mid settings."
All of these issues for a game that, when running at these settings, doesn't look like it should be running that badly. Compared to something like Black Myth: Wukong, Wuchang runs worse while looking notably lower in terms of fidelity.
I've been thrilled about Wuchang: Fallen Feathers since its reveal, but it seems I'll need to hold off a few weeks — or longer — before diving into the world crafted by Leenzee and 505 Games. I just hope it doesn't take too long.
In a genre that seems to have another Dark Souls competitor every month or so, developers have one chance to make an impression on the community. Failing so hard on your first appearance doesn't bode well, but I'll circle back sometime around the end of August, if I can find the time before the busy holiday release schedule ahead of us.
That, and Black Myth: Wukong is releasing on Xbox next month. I might have to skip Wuchang entirely.
Have you tried Wuchang: Fallen Feathers yet? If you have, did you play it on a Windows PC or a console? Let us know what you thought below or on social media. I'm willing to bet that there are many similar stories out there!
