Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, the debut Soulslike action RPG from Leenzee Games, launched with strong sales numbers and an impressive peak of over 100,000 concurrent players on Steam.

But despite this initial success, the game has been met with a wave of criticism due to major performance issues, resulting in a “Mostly Negative” rating score on the platform.

Performance Issues Plague the Launch

While many players praised the game’s concept and combat, the most common complaint is its poor optimization on PC. Reviews describe the game as “a stutter fest” and “unplayable even on high-end GPUs”, with users reporting severe frame drops, black screens, screen tearing, and input lag.

Some players even joked that the first boss wasn’t a monster, but the loading screen. Others couldn’t get past the shader compilation stutters. Even those with top-tier RTX 40-series cards claimed the game was barely running smoothly at default settings.

Adding salt to the wound, many players pointed out that the visual quality didn’t match the hardware requirements, with some calling the graphics “mediocre” despite the performance drag.

Clunky Combat and Translation Woes

Beyond technical problems, several reviews criticized the combat system, calling it “sluggish”, “unresponsive”, and “janky”. Players also struggled with inconsistent enemy patterns and awkward multi-enemy encounters, both of which hurt the experience.

Another major pain point was the English translation, which many players described as poor or confusing. Tutorials, quest directions, and dialogue often lacked clarity, adding unnecessary frustration.

Developers Respond: Apology and Roadmap

In response to the backlash, Leenzee Games and publisher 505 Games posted an official statement on the game’s Steam news page, thanking fans for their support while acknowledging the issues.

“We have received reports regarding the game’s optimization, pricing errors, and pre-order reward bugs. These problems should never have occurred, and we deeply regret the inconvenience,” the team wrote.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the fixes they’re working on:

• Optimization Patch Incoming: The devs are working on a patch to improve performance, especially for players meeting the recommended specs.
• Pricing Errors: Regional pricing bugs are being corrected with help from Steam.
• Pre-Order Rewards Fix: A bug prevented Standard and Deluxe Edition buyers from receiving their rewards. This will be addressed in the upcoming update.
• Free Soundtrack Gift: As an apology, all Steam players will receive a free copy of the original soundtrack.
• Exclusive Costume for Deluxe Buyers: A future update will include a new exclusive costume as compensation.

Should You Play Wuchang: Fallen Feathers Now?

If you’re a Soulslike fan tempted by Wuchang’s dark aesthetic and historical setting, it might be worth waiting for a few performance updates before diving in. While the game does show promise, the current state—especially on PC—makes it a rough experience for most players.