Wo Long Fallen Dynasty is a Souls-like that gives you a helping hand

Dark Souls too lonely? Elden Ring too daunting? Game Pass has got your back. Kinda.

^Check out our preview video of Wo Long, coming to Game Pass soon!

Wo Long Fallen Dynasty is headed to Xbox Game Pass (inc. for PC) on March 3rd, and for our money it’s shaping up rather nicely.

Borrowing its lore from the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history, it shares a few common elements with Dynasty Warriors, but with a vastly different, dark fantasy twist to proceedings. It’s also a Souls-like, so players can expect a bleak atmosphere and punishing combat, but again with an added twist: a host of AI companions to help you on your journey.

Some characters will seem familiar to Dynasty Warriors fans, but the games are very different beasts.

Wo Long coming do Game Pass day one, and being a high profile title from a very established studio, could make for interesting case study in what happens if a lot of people who aren’t into Souls-type games suddenly have access to one with a very low barrier for entry. For all of Elden Ring ’s hype as being the most accessible Souls game to date, forking out seventy quid for it is still a daunting prospect if you’ve bounced off the genre before. But Wo Long could be a route into the genre for many, given that it’s not quite as daunting and can be accessed for a little as two Meal Deals.

Pow, right in the hisser.

We’ll have to see. But, apart from its allure for those resistant to repeatedly getting the snot kicked out of them, Wo Long has plenty to offer the genre’s proponents too, as Sherif explains in the video above. What’s also clear is that Team Ninja is tweaking this thing until the last second to make sure it feels good to play, and that its systems and UI are easily readable or understandable, so the only barrier between the player and success is their own skill and not obtuse game design.

Imagine that!

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty

Xbox Series X/S

Wishlisted - Our 10 Best Steam Next Fest Demos

Another Next Fest kicks off soon, but we’ve already done the digging for you.

Welcome to Wishlisted, a showcase of our favourite demos from Steam Next Fest: June 2024. Check the video above or watch on YouTube .

Finding the Best NextFest Demos is all about the joy of discovery, but with so many Steam Next Fest demos getting released in such a short amount of time, it can be bewildering. So we’ve decided to show you our ten Best Steam Next Fest games which we think deserve your attention. These are all upcoming Steam Next Fest games that we’re genuinely excited for, and that we think should play nicely on PC handhelds too!

This is just the start of our Next Fest coverage. This week we’ll be previewing loads of upcoming demos across the entire network - right here on VG247, of course, but also over on our sister sites Eurogamer and Rock Paper Shotgun. Bookmark our Wishlisted Steam Fest hub to stay in the loop. And this is well before Next Fest actually starts, so you, dear reader, get to bask for a solid fortnight celebrating all the wonderful new games that are just around the corner. Enjoy!