Challenging boss battles are the highlight of any Team Ninja action game, and it looks like Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is no exception.
For today’s IGN First, here’s an exclusive first look at one of the game’s first bosses, Aoye.
Aoe is a fictional creature from the ancient Chinese text Shan Hai Jing, also known as the Classic of Mountains and Seas. He is described as a bull-like creature with long hair that resembles straw capes to keep out the rain.
In Wo Long, Aoe appears as a giant monster that attacks with its long hair and fearsome tentacles. Although he is often attacked, each of Aoe’s strikes are heavy and can be fatal. Aoye also has an attack that covers the entire combat area in ice, requiring the player to be careful in more limited areas.
In our Aoye gameplay video, the player character wields a Halberd, a type of weapon never seen before. Here’s what director Masakazu Hirayama has to say about it.
“The halberd is best known for Warlord Lu Bu’s Sky Piercer Halberd. This is a heavy weapon that can mow down enemies like the Glaive. halberd, this type of weapon also has a martial art (a powerful move that differs from weapon to weapon) in which you can catch a distant enemy with your blade. You can use this attack to pull the enemy towards you and attack closer.”
Knowing that you can quickly replace it with another type of weapon (probably something more intimate here), we can easily imagine dual swords paired with a halberd, for example.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty releases on March 3rd on PS5/PS4/Xbox Series X|S/Xbox One/PC and will be available on the first day of Xbox Game Pass. With Wo Long as IGN First in January, expect many more exclusives this month. Be sure to check out our gameplay video about the Tianzhushan region, as well as a detailed article about weapons in the game.
Esra Krabbe is an editor at IGN Japan.