Wandering Sword - This Retro RPG Caught Me Totally Off Guard...

[@Obloms]

Thank you for covering this one. Seems really interesting and hopefully enough folks play this game so devs can support it.

[@Xygor]

Agreed, I hope a lot of people give it a try!

[@JayTee2985]

This game is surprisingly good. For those who love Wuxia, Donghua, Manhua, Cultivation…etc. The Untamed got me interested in these kind of games.

[@joeycohen7533]

My biggest gripe with this game is no quest markers or even reminders for where some people are sometimes

[@geraq0]

I'm a sucker for wuxia movies so when I learned about this game thanks to your previous review I installed the demo immediately and it blew my mind. I've been playing the full game for about 9 hours and I'm glad to see it has improved several aspects about the UI, although I agree that playing with a controller is quite cumbersome, and I'm with you about the turn-based over the real-time mode. I hope more people hears about it and give it a try. One more thing, fist weapons and hidden weapons are different, hidden weapons are things the characters can throw like daggers.

[@SpiralUpGames]

Thank you so much for sharing about Wandering Sword, Xygor! :)

[@Xygor]

My pleasure, thanks for publishing it!

[@perryteo1406]

This game is one of the best game I have played in a very long while. Especially if you are familiar with Jin Yong Novels.

[@whiteiswong]

Digging the new thumbnail designs, hope you grow your channel more!

[@Xygor]

Thank you!

[@pacer2310]

This game rocks. I play a lot of Chinese games if I get the chance because I love the world of Wuxia. I played an MMO called Age of Wushu for quite a while. It's not as crunchy as Cultivation Simulator, either. There are a lot of threads from Chinese culture to this game. For instance, the Beggar's Sect unarmed stance is directly from Legend of the Condor Heroes, a famous Wuxia novel that was taken from serials and compiled into a spanning collection. The move Haughty Dragon Repents is a key move of the main character, which I was delighted to find referenced in this game. There is another part directly referenced from Legend of the Condor Heroes when you meet Lu Xian'er in Gusu City. In Legend of the Condor Heroes there is a man attempting to find a suitor for his headstrong daughter, Mercy Mu. This results in numerous people challenging her. The one to defeat her is one of the antagonists of the story, Yang Kang who defeats her and then refuses to marry her, bringing her shame. A lot of the story revolves around her shame at this incident. My main complaint is the Main Character is very poor compared to his companions for a good deal of the story. Once you reach high enough mastery to gift masters, however, you can start learning their cultivation techniques and surpass your peers.

[@Xygor]

Glad you like it too, thanks for all your feedback! I agree when it comes to the main character vs. some of the characters you can recruit.

[@engineerofthemachine]

This has been on my list for awhile! I can wait to give it a go!

[@Xygor]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@suthipankartanyoo8958]

I love the game so much The Game is easy, there so many way for you to get stronger like crafting and espectially "Consult" which is simply raise your affinity with charactors and learn martial art from them it's the way we can learn powerful move from other sects.

[@Xygor]

I didn't really discover the Consult feature until so late in the game. I need to go and collect a lot of those now!

[@nintenjoel]

This may be a strange comparison, but hear me out.... I'm playing through the Shadowrun Returns series, and am currently near the end of Dragonfall. Having points that you assign to certain attributes, having weapons that all have different uses and strategies to use them, and having cooldown times for certain actions are all present in the Shadowrun Returns games. Even icons for every single item. Strategic combat as well, just in an isometric view, and the setting is cyberpunk. The similarities and this review have convinced me I need to buy Wandering Sword. Amazing video, as always... hopefully this game comes to consoles!

[@LanEXHikari]

I just found about this title as it launched, glad you share this video as I was curious how this game is beyond its looks 👍🏼

[@NinjaaPaw]

Damn!!! I’m definitely going to play it

[@Xygor]

Definitely give it a try!

[@Brandon-dq4pm]

Great review, think I will grab a copy and give it a try

[@Xygor]

Right on, I think it's worth it!

[@RasenRendanX]

You are the reason i discovered this game last year. I'm excited for the PS5 version!!

[@Xygor]

Great! I didn’t realize one was on the way.

[@powersm1980]

Thank you for this 1 I just got it on my steam deck great game and review

[@josephzamer5802]

I feel sad this game is not getting more love, I believe the style deserves more a console release, mostly switch if we need to decide....

[@Xygor]

Me too, I'm surprised it's flown so under the radar for how it looks and plays.

[@joshuapatrick682]

I for one welcome the old-school RPG Renaissance!

[@despawn7663]

Hmmm looks pretty good will need to pick it up, a few nit-pick points off for the font and some of the UI elements. Seems like RPG Maker default.

[@belisariussmith9095]

This was not made by RPG maker, it might even be an original custom engine

[@janyeen93]

Just a tip, utilize the real time battle mode. Made the game much easier, especially for 1 on 1. With real time battle you can choose to move at the moment opponent attacks, and if done correctly you can evade the skill completely. Even with 0 evasion ;) I managed to spar much earlier with stronger character. Just gotta cheese them perfectly

[@steamdeckknights8978]

I'm downloading it now a little worried about controller support

[@Xygor]

Yeah, it isn't very good, but the game is extremely easy to play with mouse and keyboard.

[@belisariussmith9095]

I've been playing for about 60 hours on controller I love it, then again I have a badass 8bitdo controller and customized my settings so YMMV

[@sylehu7056]

Great video as usual. The battle system seems fun. It made me even more eager to have the never coming shining force 4 😂

[@femtrooper]

Great review! This game looks amazing but I am a bit worried about the difficulty haha Other than that though, wow, it looks really neat!!!

[@Xygor]

Thanks, I agree! The difficulty level is definitely high, but hopefully they change it. I'm afraid people will feel forced to grind a lot otherwise.

[@joeycohen7533]

@@Xygoris it bad I’m thinking the opposite albeit I’ve been cheesing a bit. U can easily get too strong in this too fast as u get the women in red and that dude from ya sect as temp party members and can do side quests with em. I got 90 def boots when my prior were30

[@diascourt3351]

​@@joeycohen753320 hours in and i am already as strong as elders of sect with 1k atk deff and 5k ho

[@myathtoohtet2952]

Only one thing I don't like "too many missables". Dev said no time restrain missables but many can be miss once you reach certain point in story. And it is not one or two, lots can be miss. Other than that, this is a great game.

[@manyblock4192]

Yeah alot thing is missable, even can bugged Quest progress I have Side quest in Town where to investigate murderer (the massacre quest iirc) and you need to talk to Chen Linxi as one of conditions to get progress The problem is I don't know the quest need him and instead I triggered Chen Linxi quest and resulting him get arrested Now I can't progress through the quest as Chen Linxi is missing in Map lmao

[@myathtoohtet2952]

@@manyblock4192 In my case, I was lucky for that quest coz I tried finishing side quests first. My problem is at 2nd playthrough, Xiaotong's wooden sword is no longer at the house. I tried resetting, delete the saves, start the new game.... nothing work. Now reinstalling the game is the only thing I haven't try.

[@manyblock4192]

@@myathtoohtet2952 Xiaotong Sword can be found in Jiang/Wutang Village (Xiaotong House) Bed (where u can sleep beside Wudang sect or Inn) After Clearing Bandit Quest I think with Red girl, go to Xiaotong house, MC will trigger dialogue founding Xiaotong wooden sword SPOILERRRR . . . . U don't really need Xiaotong sword if u aim ending beside Xiaotong (Im personally choose Harem) BUT THE PROBLEM IS The game is pretty meany, because u can miss a lot thing, like there's 3 Companion u can't recruit if u miss their event after certain Main story and miss choice from side quest u do And some also can be miss but easy to figure as u just have questions Help or not (which you already know the answer lol) And one missable companion have a lightness manual book that really great for passive equipment (Swan Step), unlike Chen linxi u can get all his manual even he dead (also he needed alive to recruit Di Zi lmao), Ye fei is dead if u don't meet him before Xunngu Pass Main Quest which hurt so much on your run because you can't get your companion to learn a QOL Lightness skill which free Agility point when you equip it (and it has nice range increase) Basically too further on story can make u miss a chance to recruit companion and there's also some Event that doesn't get mentioned which kinda suck for me

[@belisariussmith9095]

They've been fixing that with the constant updates, fixes, QoL improvements. Altho some stuff should be missable, that way choices you make on replays have different experiences

[@myathtoohtet2952]

@@belisariussmith9095 yeah, the devs are on point. Just that.... I have to travel the whole map after every events if I want to really immerse in the story in one playthrough. That is killing me.

[@ophidianmind333]

Your thoughts on this game are very similar to my own. Even though the game is rather unbalanced to the point where it becomes difficult in negative way and it has some issues with bugs, there is so much in the game that is great that I still had a lot of fun playing it. If the developers can learn how to make a more balanced game in the future, then they'll go on to make some truly great games. I would still recommend it for those who can handle this kind of difficulty because I had a great time with Wandering Sword.

[@Xygor]

Right on. I saw they actually dropped a patch shortly after the released today. I'm not sure what they changed, but I asked my publisher contact and am awaiting to hear back from him. I hope it included balance stuff.

[@whatfruit7965]

This game feels like its the verge of being a classic. Its been one of the most joyful ,but at other times frustrating, experiences of the year.

[@malakatan3235]

​@@htf5555there always overpower built in most games

[@CoinSlotKitty]

Wow this looks really good

[@Xygor]

It's really fun!

[@CoinSlotKitty]

@@Xygor I wish I had a comp to play it All I have is an op tablet

[@ahmedfalahy9337]

Is there a plan for wandering sword to be added to home consoles like Switch?

[@Xygor]

I'm honestly not sure about this.

[@lucasallods]

I'm thinking of buying this game, there is not a lot of reviews so thanks for your work

[@Xygor]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@vathisss]

this game needs a sandbox mode

[@AnthonyIsToeKnee]

Looks interesting, I'm not on steam though 😵‍💫

[@rikib3652]

I read xianxia, so I want this. Is there any news on it coming to any other platform?

[@Xygor]

Not that I'm aware of.

[@rikib3652]

@@Xygor damn. Thanks

[@belisariussmith9095]

No, just play on PC or get a steam deck bro

[@PHmee]

Love this game. If you also read many famous Wuxia's novels before, you will know that this game took many tropes from them which are really enjoyable. I agree that soundtracks are great but very few. Also I found item drops and even in the most chests are quite useless. Relationship system is ok but not fresh out enough. It's just give them gifts to raise the stat. Some characters will open their new scenario but just too few.

[@KVR020]

Is it on Switch?

[@Xygor]

No, only Steam. I'm not sure if there will be a console release eventually.

[@digitaldevil7522]

If it comes to consoles I'd get it.

[@xacoswso6976]

This game is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy better than octopath

[@Xygor]

Why do you think so out of curiosity?

[@xacoswso6976]

@@Xygor The combat system, the power progression system and the storyline of octopath are just subpar compared to Wandering Sword.

[@diascourt3351]

​@@Xygorand also the freedom given, i grind too much early and become too op😂

[@HaikalAzmi25]

​@@xacoswso6976hmm but you know all 14 companions with sub quest unique story like miss Shangguan, Bai Jin, Len Wuqing, I like but why master Di Zui from Shaolin temple not have story for encounter Kama.

[@xacoswso6976]

@@HaikalAzmi25 He does it's just a secret storyline.

[@planescaped]

I had my eye on this already, but since I don't own a Steam Deck it's one I'm waiting on a Switch release for.

[@Xygor]

Hopefully it will eventually come out on that!

[@belisariussmith9095]

Theres no way I would wait to play this game, I've been waiting for a title like this for 30 years. If I didn't already have a few gaming pcs or my steam deck I would have bought one just for this game. I've spent way more for shitty titles, its nice to finally have something amazing to sink into.

[@Lamasis2]

It looks like that it is to open for me.

[@belisariussmith9095]

Yeah if you didn't like Chronotrigger, Secret of Mana, Dragon Warrior series, BG I & II, and Witcher series, then you are definitely not going to like this.

[@Lamasis2]

@@belisariussmith9095 I liked these games, except Secret of Mana which I have yet to play, and only the Witcher 3 is something where you can go to every place after the prologue.

[@belisariussmith9095]

@@Lamasis2 you can't even get out of the country of Ning until you're way deep in the game and have gotten at least one or two levels above Master. You definitely can't go "anywhere".

[@Lamasis2]

@@belisariussmith9095 Well if I hear you can go anywhere from the start than I might think that I can go anywhere from the start. But I might try it if it isn't that open.

[@belisariussmith9095]

@@Lamasis2 to be fair, I dont think the reviewer got very far in the game. Ning seems big, but I wasn't even able to get out of Ning country until I was like 50 hours into the game. If you tried as fast as possible and skipped a lot of companions and side quests.. you could probably do it in like 30 hours

[@animedudenumber1]

That game us enjoyable so far but yeah like you said in the video controller setting suck in this game.

[@Ronsilk-pu5hr]

I love the look of this game. Is it out on consoles too? If not I hope it does come to consoles

[@Xygor]

No it isn't, unfortunately. But I agree, the look is great!

[@BrianHallmond]

Can you put your own name on the protagonist?

[@manyblock4192]

Nope, the game is Kinda linear story, u can't costumize anything but only Weapon, skill and cultivation set MC only have 2 clothing and it's unchangeable as it follow the story Dev said they gonna take a Player wish into their next game such like they as if MC can be enter different Sect so there will be different storyline depend on path you choose Tbh this game have a lot potential if they really can do that, especially this game/story lack of magical thing, like Animal in here just normal animal (No magical monster like most of Donghua/Manhua I read) I mean we already have thunder strike, Fire strike, why not add magical thing in?

[@belisariussmith9095]

This is the story of Yi Yuwen, its a tale told through the game. More games should be like this instead of the awful generic garbage we've been getting for past 10 years.

[@DrChud616]

Not your why you felt the need to go through the whole story intro, thought this was a review.

[@diascourt3351]

Play it like an classic rpg, enemy too strong? Grind level up. I am 20hour in and already as strong as sect elders... Always consult and learn cultivation method to get meridian point

[@safruddinaly5822]

Can't wait far you review hero adventure road to passion

[@Patrick-vv3ig]

How is this a "Retro" RPG???

[@MatijaHan]

Please remove the spoilers from the review. It doesn't matter that things you retell happen early on, they are still meant to draw the new player in, and the element of surprise is an integral part of that process.

[@gallyggg376]

Made the mistake of buying this game... bland story, bland quests, bland combat, bland controls, bland menu and many more

[@ramqi6239]

I love it actually