Xuan-Yuan Sword VII

Xuan Yuan Sword 7 is a fantastically well-rounded and enjoyable action RPG with a thought-provoking narrative.

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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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

78%

Audience ScoreBased on 270 reviews

story68 positive mentions

atmosphere3 negative mentions

Rich story line with plenty of lore, making it engaging for players who enjoy narrative-driven games.
Beautiful graphics and immersive soundtrack that enhance the overall experience.
Fun combat system with a variety of abilities and enemy types, providing a satisfying gameplay experience.

The game is quite short, with a main story that feels rushed and lacks depth compared to previous entries in the series.
Linear gameplay with limited exploration and repetitive enemy encounters, which can lead to a monotonous experience.
Technical issues such as poor facial animations and optimization problems, which detract from the overall polish of the game.

story
191 mentions
36 % positive mentions
58 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The story of Xuan-Yuan Sword VII is rich in lore and features well-crafted characters, but many players find it disappointingly short and linear, lacking depth and meaningful interactions. While the main plot is engaging and easy to follow, it often feels rushed, with significant portions of the narrative delivered through cutscenes rather than gameplay. Overall, the game is appreciated for its atmospheric storytelling, but it leaves players wanting more in terms of content and character development.
- “The story is simple to follow and I genuinely wanted to know how it will end.”
- “This is the type of game you play for its story and characters, which are excellently crafted.”
- “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.”
graphics
54 mentions
54 % positive mentions
39 % neutral mentions
7 % negative 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 prevent them from being truly outstanding.
- “The graphics and the music immerse you in an ancient Chinese world.”
- “Great graphics with beautiful Chinese artwork.”
- “Beautiful graphics with smooth background music and a great story.”
- “First, I mentioned that the game is a feast for the eyes, and for the most part that's true, but there are areas where the graphic fidelity just drops.”
- “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.”
music
44 mentions
64 % positive mentions
30 % neutral mentions
7 % negative 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 range of compositions, from calming exploration themes to intense battle music, which are described as beautiful and memorable. While some critiques mention a few less impactful tracks, the overall consensus is that the music significantly elevates the game's atmosphere and emotional depth.
- “The soundtrack is a banger; I usually lower the music volume in games, but not this one.”
- “From calming exploration music to its intense battle songs and everything in between, it's 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 thought 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 a step backwards compared to the classic versions.”
- “As for the music, I appreciate that 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.”
gameplay
44 mentions
25 % positive mentions
64 % neutral mentions
11 % negative 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 and level design. Many players noted the linearity and lack of depth in exploration and customization, leading to a somewhat mediocre experience overall. Despite these issues, certain boss fights and mechanics were highlighted as standout moments, suggesting that while the gameplay has potential, it often falls short of expectations.
- “The game itself can feel quite repetitive, but the combat and the gameplay are both engaging and won't bore you.”
- “Great combat with RPG mechanics.”
- “The gameplay is simple yet engaging without being monotonous and repetitive.”
- “Xys7 relies heavily on long cutscenes, often with little or nothing in terms of gameplay happening in between.”
- “The gameplay UI is cluttered with quest markers and other useless stuff which cannot be removed or customized (you can only untrack side quests).”
- “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.”
optimization
8 mentions
38 % positive mentions
25 % neutral mentions
38 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, particularly with support for ultra-wide resolutions and inconsistent performance during cut scenes. Many users note low-quality assets and overall shaky performance, indicating that it requires further optimization and translation improvements to enhance the experience.
- “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.”
emotional
6 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is mixed; 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. Despite these shortcomings, the story retains realistic human elements that contribute to its appeal. Overall, players appreciate the emotional undertones but desire deeper engagement and more significant twists.
- “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.”
humor
5 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is well-received, with players noting that the dialogue often elicits genuine laughter and features clever exchanges between characters. The inclusion of fan voices for NPCs adds a humorous touch, enhancing the overall comedic 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.”
atmosphere
5 mentions
40 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
60 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its beautiful and picturesque landscapes, creating a fairy tale-like experience despite its less advanced graphics. Players appreciate the distinct locations and diverse creatures that contribute to a memorable and immersive adventure, complemented by an interesting story and engaging minigames. Overall, the atmosphere effectively ties together the game's elements, enhancing the overall experience.
- “A very nice game which features a beautiful atmosphere, an interesting and fun chess minigame, as well as an overall decent story.”
- “Xuan-Yuan Sword VII offers you an atmospheric adventure, which scores with picturesque landscape shots, an interesting story, and loving details.”
- “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 development
4 mentions
50 % positive mentions
-25 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is largely criticized for being minimal and disjointed, with significant portions of the story seemingly cut, resulting in a lack of depth and inspiration in character design. However, some users appreciate the more realistic approach to character design, suggesting a potential for greater engagement.
- “The character design is more realistic, adding depth to the overall experience.”
- “The character development feels rich and engaging, allowing players to connect with the story on a deeper level.”
- “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.”
- “Almost no character development.”
- “Character designs are largely uninspired and clichéd.”
grinding
3 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, citing level design that includes unnecessary obstacles and a lack of meaningful tools to counter boss mechanics. Additionally, the slow pace of scrolling through the codex and the inability to speed up text reading 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.”