Cultivation Story: Reincarnation
- January 30, 2023
- Chi Entertainment Corp.
- 20h median play time
Get on Steam"Cultivation Story: Reincarnation" is a top-down pixel art-style action roguelike game based on Chinese mythology and cultivation. It features hundreds of items and over 200 upgrades, including cultivation methods, techniques, weapons, skills, and Fabaos. The game includes random events and NPC interactions, allowing players to make their own choices and deal with the consequences.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers great replayability with a surprising amount of content and fun combos to discover.
- It successfully blends roguelike mechanics with a cultivation theme, providing a unique and enjoyable experience.
- The developer is responsive and frequently updates the game, adding new features and improving gameplay.
- Some players find the game lacks sufficient content and variety, particularly in boss encounters.
- The learning curve can be steep, with unclear mechanics and translation issues that may confuse new players.
- Balancing issues exist, with certain skills and bosses being perceived as overpowered or requiring excessive health.
- gameplay15 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized as a compelling roguelite experience that combines elements from popular titles like "The Binding of Isaac" and "Vampire Survivors," offering a mix of stat management and weapon merging. While the initial learning curve can be steep, players find the mechanics engaging and the replayability high, with enough variety in builds to keep runs interesting. Minor issues with text visibility are noted, but overall, the gameplay is praised for its depth and addictive nature, making it one of the standout roguelikes of recent times.
“A great roguelike experience, with a lot of replayability that gives you hours of gameplay.”
“After roughly 20 hours of gameplay and experimenting with the game, I can say it's definitely one of the best roguelikes of recent times; I've enjoyed almost every moment I've played so far.”
“The gameplay itself is a combination of Binding of Isaac's stat management and Vampire Survivor's weapon merging and movement, allowing you to hold down your left and right mouse buttons to automatically spam both your attack and skill.”
“Takes a few runs to understand the base mechanics.”
“What you need to understand is that indie games introduce breathtaking in-depth mechanics, but usually lack content.”
“Speaking of gameplay, though the first few runs might feel overwhelming, just like in any other roguelites and roguelikes, once you start to get a feel for it, it becomes very fun and exciting.”
- replayability7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability, offering a wealth of content and unlockables that encourage multiple playthroughs. While some players note that reaching a certain skill threshold can diminish replay value, the diverse gameplay and rogue-like elements keep the experience fresh and engaging.
“Surprising amount of content and replayability for the price.”
“A great rogue-like experience, with a lot of replayability that gives you hours of gameplay.”
“There is a ton to unlock, and if you decide to go slowly and not look up the combinations, there is an insane amount of replay value.”
“Once you're far enough in the game, you can get ~75% of all skills in every run - which lowers replayability.”
“A great rogue-like experience, with a lot of replayability that gets you hours of gameplay.”
“It takes a bit of getting used to, but it is the best, in my opinion, of the current roguelikes in terms of diversity of play and replayability.”
- story7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game is described as a cultivation narrative that lacks depth and a cohesive plot, appealing primarily to fans of xianxia genres. While it offers some engaging elements like character customization, players find the overall storyline to be shallow and repetitive, lacking the substance expected from a AAA title. Many reviewers suggest that a more guided experience and a stronger narrative could enhance the gameplay.
“If you enjoy xianxia novels, the plot should be something you'll quickly understand.”
“However, there is still much to be done in the game, for example: character customization, an engaging story/plot instead of blind progress.”
“It's a cultivation story without any real storyline.”
“But a triple-A game or mainstream game has lots of content (story/repetitive sub-content) and they suffer from very shallow mechanics; beautiful but lacking substance.”
“Take the story aspects of The Binding of Isaac and switch them from biblical to xianxia, wuxia, and cultivation.”
- music5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as repetitive but not annoying, effectively setting the mood without detracting from the experience. However, some players noted issues with abrupt music transitions and short loops during boss fights, which could disrupt immersion. Overall, while the soundtrack isn't standout, it serves its purpose adequately.
“Radio playing songs that I've never heard.”
“The only thing I don't really like is the sharp music changes and some boss music loops are too short; aside from that, this game is superb!”
“It's not a bad game, but the music is repetitive as hell.”
“Oh, and as an afterthought, the music isn't anything special, but it isn't annoying. I didn't find myself muting it despite it being repetitive, and it set the mood very well.”
- graphics5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are praised for their attention to detail and charming art style, which enhances the overall gameplay experience. While the visuals are simpler, they effectively contribute to the fun, especially with dynamic elements like damage numbers. Overall, the graphics are engaging and complement the addictive nature of the game.
“You can tell whoever worked on the game obsessed over even the smallest aspects of it, and it really shows in the final product - not just in the visuals, but in the flow and pacing of the roguelike elements of the game.”
“The art style is great and lends a deceivingly cute and simplistic feel to gameplay.”
“This game has me addicted; the gameplay and graphics are absorbing.”
“This game has me addicted, the gameplay and graphics are absorbing.”
“Thing is, when this dev updates it'll be stuff like 'fixed a graphics bug, adjusted damage on the main sword by 20%, added an entire new skill tree and level...'”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players report a rollercoaster of emotions, experiencing moments of empowerment followed by feelings of powerlessness, which ultimately foster a sense of hope and motivation for improvement in future gameplay.
“I remember having a run that made me feel overpowered, and it was an incredible experience. Then, I instantly got melted in the next one, which led to a sudden event that made me feel both powerless and hopeful, as I learned what I could do to improve my next run.”
