One Of 2025's Best RPGs Is Officially Getting A Sequel
2025 was a stacked year for RPGs, with some impressive games covering just about every corner of the genre. Want a classic JRPG style adventure with the grand sweep of the best Final Fantasy games? Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has you covered. More in the mood for something building on the Bethesda tradition? Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is an instant classic.
It only stands to reason that Expedition 33 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 will eventually be graced with proper successors, but until today, the future for one of 2025's best RPGs wasn't looking so bright. Luckily, some surprising good news has landed for fans of soulslike RPGs.
Today, 505 Games and Chengdu Recursive Dolphin Technology Co. announced "a development and publishing agreement for a new chapter of the WUCHANG series," courtesy of Steam. Wuchang: Fallen Feathers made its mark last year as a soulslike rooted firmly in the FromSoft tradition, bringing the maze-like levels and environmental hazards that defined the original Dark Souls to a historical Chinese setting.
Several months ago, a report from GamerSky suggested the development team behind Wuchang: Fallen Feathers had been disbanded, with the game's director, Xia Siyuan, being forced out of the company. Now, Siyuan's new studio, Indolphinity, will be developing the sequel, while publisher 505 Games will once again be handling distribution.
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers wasn't for everyone, with complaints ranging from stuttering performance (a common Unreal Engine 5 problem) to a perceived overuse of traps. While some initial criticisms were addressed in patches, post-launch updates that altered its presentation of historical figures didn't help matters any.
For my money, though, Wuchang was one of the best RPGs to release last year. Gorgeous art and interesting level design elevated it above standard soulslike fare, and some of the boss fights scratched the Sekiro itch in a way that I haven't found elsewhere. The report that its development team had disbanded came as a major disappointment, so I'm happy to see the franchise bounce back from this rough patch.
Hopefully, the "new chapter" of Wuchang: Fallen Feathers will build on the original game's strengths and bring some new players into the fold. 505 and Indolphinity are promising a "close collaboration between the original creator and 505 Games, ensuring continuity of vision, quality, and execution." After the success of the original RPG, that sounds good enough to me.