Ok guys let’s get my traditional thank you to the guys and gals over at Plan of Attack and Softstar for hooking me up with a review copy of this one. I had never even heard of this series until recently as this is the first one to come west, and now that I have played it, I can understand why.
I don’t mean that last sentence as an insult, this game is beautiful with a capital B. The game takes place about 2000 years ago in China, and the attention to detail is fantastic. There are huts with little shrines outside and bamboo writings and such on walls and the clothes people wear just match what you think the time would have.
The sound and music also do not disappoint, each song in the game is put there specifically to make you feel like you are in danger, or in a mythical holy place. I loved the atmosphere of the places I visited.
The combat? Honestly I can not praise the combat enough, it is fluid and delightful to play. You are blocking and stabbing and there are executions, it is just top notch. You can level up your character and the weapons and armor by collecting items that are strewn about the beautiful map that has a good amount of fast travel places on it. Nothing feels forced, even the mini game which I played for hours (I won’t spoil how it works) but you are set the task to find people worthy to play against.
Now you may be wondering why I said I understood why it never came west after I said such great things about it. Honestly as a stand alone title and the 7th in the series, the story leaves very heavily on Chinese culture and lore and right from the very beginning after an intro you will start out as a hunter taking jobs to take care of your sister, and things will go from there as you and and family member fight side by side many times. There was a time when western audiences probably would not have taken the time to play this series, or at the very least companies wouldn’t want to risk that happening.
All that being said, any fan of action RPGs owe it to themselves to give this game a go. I won’t beat around the bush here, it is one of the better games I have played in 2021. 9/10, must play game this year. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.
Never heard of this series before but honestly sounds like fun. I also think if a story is presented well enough, it shouldn’t matter if the source material isn’t familiar to the player.
I absolutely agree it shouldn’t, I just understand that with the money it cost to localize and translate a game why many companies wouldn’t want to risk it.