Wuchang: Fallen Feathers Faces Harsh Player Reception on PC
The highly anticipated action RPG, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, developed by Chinese studio Leenzee, has stumbled out of the gate, facing an onslaught of “overwhelmingly negative” player reviews on Steam. Despite largely positive initial impressions from game journalists, the community has voiced strong dissatisfaction, pushing its Steam rating down to a dismal 19% based on over 5,000 reviews.
Key Issues Driving Player Frustration
Two primary concerns have dominated player feedback: severe optimization issues and a controversial post-launch price reduction. Many players who pre-ordered the game were particularly upset to see the price drop significantly shortly after release, with some even noting that the Deluxe Edition became cheaper than the standard pre-order price. To add insult to injury, it appears that content originally exclusive to the Deluxe Edition was made available in the standard version, further frustrating early adopters.
Performance has also been a major sticking point. Players report significant frame rate drops, stuttering, and high GPU usage even on high-end systems (like RTX 3070, RTX 3080, and RTX 4060 configurations). Many found the game unplayable without advanced technologies like DLSS or frame generation, and even then, visual fidelity suffered or latency became an issue. One player with a top-tier PC noted that they spent 30-45 minutes simply tweaking settings, only to find the game still struggled to maintain stable performance, leading them to believe the game is simply not optimized, especially with GPU load seemingly increasing over longer play sessions.
Beyond pricing and optimization, some players highlighted strange control decisions, such as the inability to rebind the sprint key on both keyboard and gamepad, which was described as unintuitive and a significant step back from other recent action games. There were also reports of double input from gamepads, though one player offered a workaround by suggesting users disable Steam’s controller input system.
A Glimmer of Hope Amidst the Criticism
While the overwhelming sentiment is negative, a few players have offered a counter-narrative. One reviewer, while acknowledging the optimization problems, defended the game against some common criticisms, stating that impact from hits, blocking mechanics (with certain weapons), and a sprint function do exist, contrary to what some negative reviews claimed. They also felt the graphics were superior to other titles in the genre. This reviewer suggested that the game might be unfairly targeted, describing it as a “good game with problematic optimization” after an hour of play, especially for soulslike fans.
The Road Ahead for Leenzee
As of now, Leenzee has not released any official statements addressing the player backlash. The community is eagerly awaiting crucial patches that could fix the underlying performance and technical issues. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers launched simultaneously on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, Microsoft Store), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, and was also available day one on Game Pass.
For prospective players, the current situation suggests caution. While Wuchang: Fallen Feathers may hold promise with its combat mechanics and world design, its rocky launch due to optimization and pricing controversies means it might be best to wait for significant updates and community feedback before diving in. The success of the game will heavily depend on how quickly Leenzee can address these fundamental issues and regain player trust.
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