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You'll take the role of an unnamed new hero. I'm not going to pretend I suddenly became a souls-like expert, but I wasn't frustrated by Wo Long 2 in the way I expected to be. For someone who doesn't naturally gravitate to souls-likes, playing them can sometimes feel overwhelming. Wo Long 2 is more interested in showing me how it works before becoming too punishing. The result is that I began to notice things I probably wouldn't have appreciated if I spent the entire preview session panicking about dying. The open-world structure meant I could explore more, the combat was more approachable without being too easy, and the various systems made sense from the start.  Don't get me wrong: I'm probably still going to swear at it, there will almost certainly be bosses that make me wonder why I'm even playing it, and I'll definitely still make catastrophic tactical mistakes, but I still want to play more. Wo Long 2 has convinced me that I don't actually hate souls-likes, but I'm probably still not going to go and finish the Elden Ring DLC.

Deflecting is still important, but there are deeper mechanics. Fighting enemies is fast and flashy, and Wo Long 2 introduces the Focus system, which adds more combat mechanics to broaden the possibilities, and makes you depend less on deflecting incoming attacks. First, you'll need to build up Spirit, which is essentially a combat momentum meter returning from the first game. You build Spirit by hitting enemies and deflecting attacks. Deflecting is particularly effective as it drains the enemy's Spirit too. However, taking hits will push your Spirit in the negative direction. If the negative side fills up, you'll suffer Spirit Disruption, leaving you stunned and vulnerable. The Spirit Focus Deflect move uses Spirit to counter circular red attacks. It's stronger than the normal deflect, and sends enemies flying backwards, potentially knocking foes into each other. It can also bounce some ranged attacks back at enemies. Focus Jump uses Spirit to deal with linear red attacks, so instead of just parrying, you'll jump over or through the attack to kick airborne enemies down to the ground. Without using this, enemies can pummel you from above, so it's an important mechanic to master.

Magic spells will also play a part. It reminded me of the first game's Shitieshou--a panda-like demon that's completely harmless and grants you a reward by feeding it equipment. They're present in Wo Long 2 too, much to my delight. The world is still packed with enemies, flags, outposts, and encounters, but exploration isn't just about wandering around and finding pretty things. The Morale system is back, and capturing outposts and raising Battle Flags can strengthen you and give you more reason to explore before taking on tougher enemies further on. It also gives me options when I'm struggling--if I run into something that flattens me immediately, I don't have to keep throwing myself at it. I can go elsewhere, explore, and make myself stronger. Or find another squirrel. Of course, the game hasn't suddenly transformed into a cozy open-world adventure about befriending cute creatures. Wo Long 2 still needs you to pay attention. Deflecting attacks at the right moment is fundamental, and you'll still need to adjust your approach to combat to shift between offensive and defensive tactics depending on what's unfolding. But once I understood what the game wanted from me, its combat stopped feeling like a wall I couldn't break through.

This cute squirrel is more than just an adorable face. That was really rewarding at times, too. By completely ignoring the main objective marker and heading to a nearby area that piqued my interest, I stumbled across a tiny squirrel demon in an oversized dragon outfit, called a Fengli. It had a vaguely ridiculous expression, and when I approached it, it started a minigame where I had to parry it to get it to freeze and drop a bunch of rewards. And you can pet it! The loot made stopping to investigate every corner of the map feel worthwhile, and the squirrel was the cutest thing I've ever encountered in a souls-like--that alone probably pushes Wo Long 2 into my official considerations for Game of the Year, because I'm a sucker for cute creatures.

Combat is fast, fluid, and satisfying. My hands-on session gave me plenty of information about its combat systems, and the tutorials are considerably more useful than simply throwing a paragraph of text at you before sending you off to your untimely death. There's a lot to take in, but the game gradually explains how its different mechanics interact rather than expecting you to instinctively understand the entire combat system, and that made a huge difference when it came to my enjoyment. The most notable change is that rather than following the linear design of the original, Wo Long 2 features a vast open world with plenty to discover and no "right" order to discover it all in. That change is exactly what made it click for me. Instead of progressing through one level of enemies after another, Wo Long 2 gives you far more freedom to explore its battlefields. Instead of approaching the game focusing on just surviving, I found myself wondering, "What's over there?" and going off on short exploration quests of my own making. It's that approach that made Elden Ring click for so many people, and in a similar vein, Nioh 3 from the same developer.

Wo Long 2: Wings Of Ember Made Me Rethink My Relationship With Soulslikes https://www.gamespot.com/articles/wo-long-2-wings-of-ember-made-me-rethink-my-relationship-with-soulslikes/ I went into my hands-on session with Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember (https://www.gamespot.com/games/wo-long-2-wings-of-ember/)expecting to hate it. That probably isn't the sort of sentence Team Ninja wants associated with its upcoming action-RPG, but it's an important one. I've never been great at souls-likes. The combination of punishing enemies, precise timing, complicated combat systems, and the possibility that something resembling an eldritch horror might annihilate me in three hits is not my idea of a fun time. Wo Long 2 initially looked like it was going to be another game determined to make me suffer. Instead, I had a surprisingly great time and walked away from my Gamescom preview eager to play more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRdejhi9Oew The sequel to 2023's Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is still built around fast, demanding martial-arts combat, with deflection remaining a crucial part of surviving encounters. After my demo, I went back and played the original, and found it to be far more approachable than I remembered. However, Team Ninja has made some significant changes since Fallen Dynasty that mean I can already confidently say that Wings of Ember feels like a far superior game to its predecessor. My problem with souls-likes isn't necessarily that they're difficult; it's that they refuse to explain themselves. That's great for gamers who enjoy throwing themselves at things repeatedly until they figure them out, but that's not me. Wo Long 2 is more than happy to teach you its ways without holding your hand and making things trivial.

Wo Long 2 Made Me Rethink My Relationship With Souls-Likes – Preview https://www.gamespot.com/videos/wo-long-2-made-me-rethink-my-relationship-with-souls-likes-preview/ Wo Long 2 initially looked like it was going to be another game determined to make me suffer. Instead, I had a surprisingly great time and walked away from my Gamescom preview eager to play more.

Yoasobi Reveal Favorite Overwatch Character | Blizzcon 2026 Interview https://www.gamespot.com/videos/yoasobi-reveal-favorite-overwatch-character-blizzcon-2026-interview/ J-Pop duo Yoasobi chat with us about its collaboration with Overwatch, its favorite OW characters, and what it's like to make a song for the game.

Devs Explain Why Diablo 5 Needed to be a New Game Instead Of An Expansion For 4 https://www.gamespot.com/videos/devs-explain-why-diablo-5-needed-to-be-a-new-game-instead-of-an-expansion-for-4/ We sat down with Diablo 5's Production Director, Tiffany Wat, and EP, Matt Zitterman, to talk about the game, why it was announced now, and how its scope was too grand to be a simple expansion to Diablo 4.

Sharma has said she is considering a "range of options" for exclusives going forward, including "windowing" some games, and that could mean a lot of things for Game Pass and beyond. One possibility is that certain games are kept out of Game Pass at launch and for a period of time, similar to how movies are only available in theaters at first before coming to digital and streaming. The idea is that this pushes people to pay full price as opposed to getting access to new content as part of their membership right away. So far, it's just Call of Duty that is being "windowed" in Game Pass. Minecraft Dungeons II will launch into Game Pass this month, as will Gears of War: E-Day in October. 2027's Fable will be a day-one release, too, (https://www.xbox.com/en-us/xbox-game-pass?ef_id=_k_CjwKCAjw2aPVBhBkEiwA0Cpttyz_qCnMFEFYfN-TbT3Cn3Ecc9dfrQY1tJKAZcKJnoEd2UIcwgeJsxoCmMsQAvD_BwE_k_&OCID=AIDcmm15dxr5ge_SEM_k_CjwKCAjw2aPVBhBkEiwA0Cpttyz_qCnMFEFYfN-TbT3Cn3Ecc9dfrQY1tJKAZcKJnoEd2UIcwgeJsxoCmMsQAvD_BwE&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=23979689446&utm_adgroup=203539256851&utm_term=kwd-335761554191&utm_content=814197904045&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23979689446&gbraid=0AAAAADcJh_uTQoqTgxDpSnb1hR0syoIXl&gclid=CjwKCAjw2aPVBhBkEiwA0Cpttyz_qCnMFEFYfN-TbT3Cn3Ecc9dfrQY1tJKAZcKJnoEd2UIcwgeJsxoCmMsQAvD_BwE&wfExp=381CT) in February 2027. As for the cloud gaming changes, earlier this month, Microsoft announced that in November, the company will put limits on how many hours per month people can use the service. People can then pay more to unlock more time (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/game-pass-is-getting-worse-and-more-expensive/). In addition to making Game Pass more affordable, Sharma might look to partner with Netflix (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-xbox-ceo-could-make-game-pass-less-expensive-report-says/1100-6538978/) on some kind of bundle offering for Game Pass. Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said he and Sharma have “kicked around ideas” for how Netflix and Xbox could work together on subscription bundles. Nothing has been confirmed, but Peters said he “wouldn’t eliminate any possibilities.” Speaking generally about Game Pass, Sharma has said one of her ambitions is to "fortify" the service with "clear differentiation and sustainable economics." Sharma is also trying to get Xbox as a platform and company back into a healthy place, and that has meant drastic cuts of late (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-after-the-layoffs-studios-left-and-what-theyre-making/) involving layoffs, studio divestitures, and game cancellations. In regards to growth, Sharma recently oversaw the signing of Hideo Kojima for his new game, Physint (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/kojimas-physint-dropped-by-playstation-rescued-by-xbox/), which was previously in the works at PlayStation. The game was reportedly over budget and late (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/death-stranding-franchise-likely-barely-broke-even-could-explain-sony-dropping-physint-analyst/), which contributed to PlayStation's decision to part ways with Kojima.

Microsoft responded to the rumor in a statement to GameSpot, originally obtained by Paul Tassi of Forbes (https://x.com/PaulTassi/status/2099926111912120360). The statement reads: "We regularly test different Game Pass offerings and look at what works best for players in different markets. We don’t have any changes to announce today or plans that have been finalized. There are no changes to previously announced games coming to Game Pass Ultimate on day one." Not a random leaker Reputable leaker NateTheHate said on ResetEra (https://www.resetera.com/threads/rumor-leak-how-gamepass-will-work-next-year.1633327/page-2#post-160554376) that Slayven has a track record for accuracy, at least somewhat, so "the individual giving them information clearly has knowledge of some matters." However, NateTheHate did not corroborate the reporting. Slayven said on October 1, 2025 that Microsoft was raising the price of Game Pass Ultimate to $25--they were right about an increase, but it actually went up to $30/month (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/game-pass-price-hike-announced-now-costs-30-month-for-ultimate/1100-6535138/). They were also right about the names changing from Game Pass Core to Game Pass Essential and Game Pass Standard to Game Pass Premium. They didn't get everything right, though, as Slayven said PC Game Pass was being removed, but it wasn't. In any event, this latest rumor of a massive Game Pass shakeup should be taken with a grain of salt until Microsoft officially makes an announcement. Game Pass has undergone big changes already While it remains to be seen if this rumor proves accurate, Xbox's new CEO, Asha Sharma, has already made efforts to shake up Game Pass. One of her first moves after becoming CEO in February 2026 was to cut the price (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/game-pass-gets-price-drop-new-call-of-duty-games-no-longer-included/1100-6539523/) and remove new Call of Duty games from the service (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/game-pass-gets-price-drop-new-call-of-duty-games-no-longer-included/1100-6539523/) when they release. Sharma previously said Game Pass was too expensive (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/game-pass-is-too-expensive-and-it-will-change-xbox-ceo-says/1100-6539369/) and that she had big changes in store for it. She also alluded to a longer-term vision after the price cuts. "Long term, we will evolve Game Pass into a more flexible system which will take time to test and learn around," she said. That sounds like exactly what the rumor is suggesting. If the rumor is correct, or even parts of it, the new evolution of Game Pass would offer more options and possibly become cheaper for those who are OK with ads. On the subject of ads, Microsoft just recently rolled out a test for an ad-supported version of cloud gaming (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/free-ad-supported-gaming-is-now-available-on-xbox-in-a-test/), and it's not a stretch to imagine this could be expanded in new ways to help Game Pass reach more people by way of lower prices. Not everyone wants this (https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-is-putting-ads-before-games-and-it-feels-gross/), of course, and Microsoft is sure to face pushback just like other entertainment companies have for their own ad-based tiers of their own subscription services. With regards to removing day-one releases, Microsoft is already doing this with Call of Duty, as this year's Modern Warfare 4 won't be available on the service at launch. Getting access to all of Microsoft's first-party games at launch as part of Game Pass was previously one of the membership's top selling points. New Call of Duty games will not come to Game Pass until the following holiday season, so people shouldn't expect Modern Warfare 4 until late next year.

Microsoft Reacts To Xbox Game Pass Rumor That Could Change The Service In A Big Way https://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-reacts-to-xbox-game-pass-rumor-that-could-change-the-service-in-a-big-way/ Microsoft has released a statement in response to a new rumor that claims the company is considering a massive shakeup to Xbox Game Pass in 2027 that would include numerous significant changes. ResetEra user Slayven (https://www.resetera.com/threads/rumor-leak-how-gamepass-will-work-next-year.1633327/), who has accurately reported on unannounced Xbox news before (https://www.resetera.com/threads/rumor-big-changes-to-gamepass-including-a-free-cheaper-tier-with-ads.1313263/), said the changes could include the bifurcation of Game Pass into two tiers: one with ads and one without. The tier with ads would be $13/month, while Game Pass without ads would cost $20/month, according to the report.

Xbox Game Pass September 2026 Wave 2 Lineup Announced https://www.ign.com/articles/xbox-game-pass-september-2026-wave-2-lineup-announced Microsoft has announced the Xbox Game Pass September 2027 Wave 2 lineup, and it includes Dune Awakening, plus Minecraft Dungeons 2 and Gears of War: E-Day for Ultimate and PC subscribers.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2's Nintendo Switch 2 Version Delayed to Early 2027 https://www.ign.com/articles/aliens-fireteam-elite-2s-nintendo-switch-2-version-delayed-to-early-2027 Cold Iron Studios, developer of the recently released four-player co-op PvE sequel Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2, has announced that the Nintendo Switch 2 version has been pushed back to early 2027. It was originally planned to ship this month.