Xuan-Yuan Sword VII

78%
Game Brain Score Based on 540 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • music
Xuan-Yuan Sword VII Game Cover
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In "Xuan-Yuan Sword VII," players navigate a stunning, ancient Chinese world as they uncover the truth of their forgotten past. Wielding a unique and customizable guqin, they battle supernatural enemies and engage in a rich, immersive narrative. With real-time combat and captivating graphics, this action RPG immerses players in a mythical journey of self-discovery and redemption.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Cloud
  • NVIDIA GeForce NOW
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

78%
Audience ScoreBased on 540 reviews
story136 positive mentions
optimization6 negative mentions
  • Rich story line with plenty of lore, making it engaging for players who enjoy narrative-driven games.
  • Beautiful graphics and a stunning soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
  • The combat system is fun and offers a variety of abilities, making battles enjoyable.
  • The game is too short, with a main story that feels rushed and lacks depth.
  • Limited interactions with NPCs and a linear gameplay structure that restricts exploration.
  • The puzzles are poorly designed and can be frustrating, detracting from the overall experience.
  • story382 mentions

    The story of "Xuan-Yuan Sword VII" is characterized by a rich narrative and engaging characters, particularly focusing on a sibling's journey intertwined with mythical elements. However, many players find the story to be too short and linear, with limited NPC interactions and a feeling that significant plot points were cut or rushed, leaving some narrative threads unresolved. While the game excels in atmosphere and visuals, it struggles with pacing and depth, making it a mixed experience for fans of the series.

    • “This is the type of game you play for its story and characters, which are excellently crafted.”
    • “The story is great as well as the characters - not too much lore but you can actually gather bits and pieces from logs, item descriptions and even loading screen tips to puzzle everything together - a bit like Dark Souls and Soulborne games.”
    • “The game follows the story of two siblings trying to survive, as tragedy thrusts them into a journey to reclaim what they have lost; a journey which is intertwined with the affairs of men, as well as mythical creatures.”
    • “The story is too short and the content became less compared to all the previous series.”
    • “The story itself doesn't make any sense and is simply not finished.”
    • “It seems like the story aspects of the game were developed but were then chopped up, with huge chunks of exposition cut, leaving a huge disjointed mess in both plot and character development.”
  • graphics108 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the beautiful landscapes and artistic design that effectively immerse players in an ancient Chinese world. However, there are notable criticisms regarding inconsistent graphic fidelity, outdated textures, and performance issues, particularly with frame rates. Overall, while the visuals are generally appealing, they are marred by technical shortcomings that detract from the experience.

    • “The graphics and the music immerse you in an ancient Chinese world.”
    • “Beautiful graphics with smooth background music and a great story.”
    • “Great graphics with beautiful Chinese artwork.”
    • “The graphics look like an Xbox 360 era game, which is what this very much feels like.”
    • “No matter if I lowered the graphic settings to low, I was still constantly getting huge frame rate drops down into the 30s-40s with an RTX 2080 and an i9 processor.”
    • “-bad graphics even with RTX enabled, stutters on 9900k and 3080.”
  • music88 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its ability to enhance the immersive experience of the ancient Chinese setting. The soundtrack features a diverse range of compositions, from calming exploration themes to intense battle music, making it a standout element that elevates the overall gameplay. While some noted a few less memorable tracks, the majority agree that the music is beautifully orchestrated and integral to the game's atmosphere.

    • “The soundtrack really takes this game to the next level!”
    • “From calming exploration music to its intense battle songs and everything in between is just a joy to listen to.”
    • “The music in this game just brings back tons of memories and I really appreciate the fact that the production team has put in thoughts to bring back those amazing soundtracks in a new remix.”
    • “Combat is acceptable, graphics are okay, and sound design outside of the soundtrack is lacking in some aspects; the game is too easy so far as well playing on the hardest difficulty.”
    • “A huge advancement in the technology of the game, but at the cost of story, world scope, music, art style, and really the battle and fusion system is steps backwards compared to the classic versions.”
    • “As for the music, I appreciate the Domo team used actual orchestra recordings, but besides the menu tune, which was from XYS 2 originally (and it's awesome), the new tunes were...meh, not memorable.”
  • gameplay88 mentions

    The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some praising its engaging combat and RPG mechanics, while others criticize it for being repetitive and poorly designed, particularly in boss encounters. Players noted a lack of depth in exploration and customization, alongside frustrating traversal mechanics. Overall, while there are enjoyable elements, the gameplay often feels inconsistent and lacks the polish expected from a modern action RPG.

    • “Great combat with RPG mechanics.”
    • “The gameplay is simple yet engaging without being monotonous and repetitive.”
    • “The latest installment in the Xuan Yuan series delivers an enjoyable experience, with its multi-tiered story, enchanting visuals, and fun gameplay.”
    • “Xys7 relies heavily on long cutscenes, often with little or nothing in terms of gameplay happening in between.”
    • “Gameplay was mediocre at best.”
    • “While this itself is not an issue if executed well, the developers chose to actively frustrate the players with needless traversing mechanics and some of the worst backtracking in any game I’ve ever played, compounded by extremely poorly executed fast travel mechanics.”
  • optimization16 mentions

    The game suffers from significant optimization issues, including a lack of support for ultra-wide resolutions and inconsistent performance, particularly in cut scenes. Many users describe it as poorly optimized, with low-quality assets and shaky performance detracting from the overall experience. Improvements in optimization and translation are highly recommended to enhance gameplay.

    • “It’s no technical masterpiece, some assets are low quality, and it could definitely use some more optimization, but the overall aesthetic is pretty nice.”
    • “Only criticism I have is that the translation can be pretty rough and performance is a little shaky in some parts of the game.”
    • “A little optimization and translation fixes is all this really needs.”
    • “This is one of the worst optimized games I have ever played.”
    • “The problem is that this game is very poorly optimized.”
    • “It’s no technical masterpiece; some assets are low quality, and it could definitely use some more optimization.”
  • emotional12 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is a mixed bag; while it features nostalgic elements and some touching moments, the lack of detailed character animations and a rushed plot detracts from its overall emotional impact. Although the story has potential and includes realistic human elements, it ultimately lacks major twists or events that would enhance emotional engagement.

    • “However, it still carries the realistic human and emotional elements that help make the series stand out.”
    • “There are some touching moments, but the plot overall felt rushed.”
    • “Nice graphics, solid fast gameplay, and an interesting and already emotional story... let's hope this keeps up.”
  • humor10 mentions

    The humor in the game is well-received, with many players finding the character dialogues both funny and engaging, often leading to genuine laughter. The interactions, particularly between key characters, are noted for their sweet and humorous exchanges. Additionally, a unique touch is added by involving fans in voicing NPCs, which adds to the lightheartedness of the experience.

    • “He's pretty funny too, some of the jokes had me laughing like a maniac.”
    • “The dialogues are efficient and informative, and sometimes humorous.”
    • “The back and forth between her and Zixu, especially the humor, was really sweet and nice.”
  • atmosphere10 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its beautiful and picturesque landscapes, which create a fairy tale-like experience despite the graphics being described as cartoonish and lacking in high-end detail. Players appreciate the distinct locations and the diversity of creatures that inhabit them, contributing to a memorable and immersive adventure. Overall, the atmosphere effectively ties together the game's elements, enhancing the storytelling and gameplay experience.

    • “Xuan-Yuan Sword VII offers you an atmospheric adventure, which scores with picturesque landscape shots, an interesting story, and loving details.”
    • “Yes, that was an 'ugly' Unity game without all UE4 bells and whistles, rather cartoonish, more like a fairy tale... but it just had such beautiful locations, many of which I still remember to this day, with their own distinct look and atmosphere, inhabited by much more diverse, interesting, and beautiful creatures.”
    • “A very nice game which features a beautiful atmosphere, an interesting and fun chess minigame, as well as an overall decent story.”
    • “How were they going to translate it without losing the game’s original atmosphere while maintaining a high standard of English localization? It's a very challenging task, to be honest.”
    • “The graphics aren't the best, but the atmosphere the game is going for brings almost everything together really well.”
    • “Yes, that was an 'ugly' Unity game without all the UE4 bells and whistles, rather cartoonish, more like a fairy tale... but it just had such beautiful locations, many of which I still remember to this day, with their own distinct look and atmosphere, inhabited by much more diverse, interesting, and beautiful creatures.”
  • character development8 mentions

    Character development in the game is largely criticized for being minimal and disjointed, with significant portions of the narrative seemingly cut, resulting in a lack of depth and cohesion. While some reviewers noted a more realistic character design, the overall impression is that the characters are uninspired and clichéd.

    • “The character design is more realistic, adding depth to the overall experience.”
    • “The character development feels authentic and engaging, making players truly invest in their journeys.”
    • “The evolution of characters throughout the game is well-crafted, allowing for meaningful connections with the story.”
    • “It seems like the story aspects of the game were developed but were then chopped up, with huge chunks of exposition cut, leaving a huge disjointed mess in both plot and character development.”
    • “Character designs are largely uninspired and cliched.”
    • “Almost no character development.”
  • grinding6 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, citing repetitive level design filled with unnecessary obstacles and a lack of meaningful tools to counter boss mechanics. The slow pace of scrolling through the codex and the inability to run faster further contribute to the overall frustration with grinding.

    • “Level design is also tedious, with many obstacles serving no purpose except to make you hit another button.”
    • “Players do not have any tools to counter boss mechanics, but only grinding.”
    • “I would have liked the ability to run faster and scroll through text faster when I'm reading the codex; especially since the codex (journal entries) updates at various stages of the game, it gets a bit tedious to scroll to the part you haven't read.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
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Negative mentions (%)Negative

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