Wuchang: Fallen Feathers players have reacted negatively to a new update preventing them from killing many historical figures, altering the storyline in the process.
Released last month, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is set during the late Ming Dynasty and tells an alternative history of the period, with players controlling pirate Bai Wuchang as she combats the Feathering Disease affecting the region.
The game received Patch 1.5 earlier this week, fixing various bugs and adjusting gameplay. However, players were puzzled by one patch note stating: “Animations, values, and level design for certain NPCs and AI have been adjusted. Dialogue has been added for some NPCs to complete plotlines. We’ll further optimize exhaustion animations in the future to improve narrative performance.”
Players discovered (via VGC) this refers to a crucial change: players can no longer kill certain bosses and NPCs based on real historical figures. Instead of dying, these characters now collapse from exhaustion. Some also deliver new dialogue to the player, effectively rewriting history to maintain narrative coherence.
In an X thread, modder Lance McDonald heavily criticized the changes, calling it “the censorship of truth due to pressure from Chinese players upset about killing historically significant late Ming figures.”
Citing specific examples, McDonald noted the game’s fourth chapter is “now incredibly easy since 50% of enemies are no longer hostile and can’t be attacked during the rebellion’s outbreak.”
“They even added new protagonist narration where after defeating (sorry—’exhausting’) certain historical bosses, she says ‘I will continue your legacy’,” he added.
McDonald asserted these changes not only alter the story but “ruin the game’s entire thematic purpose about impermanence,” explaining: “The whole plot revolves around the Ming Dynasty’s decline, the madness of refusing to let it end, the protagonist’s sister’s death, and the insanity of denying mortality. Now they’ve made this mess and I don’t even understand what…”
One example is the Zhao Yun boss fight. Instead of battling Zhao Yun himself, players now appear to fight his spirit. Previously, when defeated, he died declaring: “The mortal dream fades, my story ends, I now comprehend—all is as it should be.” Now, he laughs and says: “Ha! Still on this path? Excellent! That was the trial’s purpose all along! Hahaha!”
