Xuan-Yuan Sword: The Gate of Firmament

About

In "Xuan Yuan Sword: The Gate of Firmament," a direct connection between heaven and earth has been established, causing chaos in the mortal realm. Players must stop forces of evil and prevent wars in this action-packed RPG based on ancient Chinese mythology. Help Emperor Zhuanxu and the Queen of Huaxu protect the realm from the demon Chiyou, using powerful divine weapons and skills.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Xuan-Yuan Sword: The Gate of Firmament screenshot

83%

Audience ScoreBased on 402 reviews

story184 positive mentions

grinding20 negative mentions

The game features a captivating story with rich character development and emotional depth.
The graphics and art design are visually appealing, showcasing beautiful environments and character models.
The soundtrack is excellent, enhancing the overall atmosphere and experience of the game.

The English translation is poor, with numerous grammatical errors and awkward phrasing that can detract from the story.
The combat system can feel repetitive and simplistic, lacking depth and strategy, especially with AI companions using up resources inefficiently.
The game is heavily reliant on lengthy cutscenes, which may frustrate players who prefer more interactive gameplay.

story
574 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
63%
5%
The game's story is a mixed bag, with some players praising its rich narrative rooted in Chinese mythology and character development, while others criticize its pacing, translation issues, and predictability. Many reviews highlight the emotional depth and engaging twists, but also note that the lengthy cutscenes and convoluted quest design can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the story is seen as a strong point for those who appreciate narrative-driven RPGs, despite its flaws.
- “The story is based on characters from Chinese myth and takes place in the Shang dynasty, over 3000 years ago, in a world where the gods participate in events as much as the historical figures themselves.”
- “Our heroes are very different characters (a man who only wants to keep his village safe, a priestess looking for her betrothed, a nobleman who wants to save the kingdom, and a mysterious woman who may have fallen from the sky...) who, over the course of the story, come together as a team as events test their endurance, their trust in each other and their principles.”
- “The story has twists and turns, surprising discoveries, tragedy, and love.”
- “The story just never gets anywhere, so I'm pretty sure all the good stuff will happen exactly by the end of the game, and I do not have the patience.”
- “Worst of all, the story/ending was kinda crappy, and the characters lack depth and are not memorable at all.”
- “The poor translation is so distracting that I can't follow the story.”
music
182 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
46%
2%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its beautiful orchestration and effective synchronization with the game's atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience. Many reviewers highlighted the impressive variety of tracks, with a strong influence from traditional Chinese music, although some noted a slight deviation towards Western styles in certain pieces. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the storytelling and emotional depth of the game.
- “The soundscape is also enhanced by the excellent music, which helps set the mood and has lots of catchy tunes.”
- “The music and voice acting, in particular, feel like home runs and deserving of higher production values across the board.”
- “The music is simply beautiful.”
- “However, I find that some (but not all) of the background music in the Gate of Firmament to have a bit of a Western style music feel to it, which steers away from the overall authentic Chinese feel to the game unfortunately.”
- “The soundtrack is pretty hit or miss.”
- “For example, during events, music often changes abruptly, with no transition or fades.”
graphics
154 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
56%
17%
The graphics of the game are generally considered decent, with many reviewers noting a blend of beautiful artwork and vibrant environments, though they acknowledge that the visuals are somewhat dated, especially for a 2015 release. While some players appreciate the unique aesthetic and lighting effects, others criticize the character models and animations as stiff and lacking detail. Overall, the graphics receive mixed reviews, with scores averaging around 7/10, highlighting both their charm and limitations.
- “Just from the preliminary hours I have played, I can tell the game has a large amount of both depth and scale to its world building, sort of melding of Chinese aesthetic with high fantasy.”
- “The artwork, costumes, backgrounds, and character graphics are fantastic.”
- “The graphics in the game are really interesting and vivid.”
- “While the rough looking graphics mix with poorly localized UI to make the game rather confusing in some areas, the plot is both linear and cohesive.”
- “The graphics are middling to bad in terms of texture and model quality (PS2 era at its worst).”
- “Even though the game is in 3D, the graphics are still horrible for a year 2015+ game in my opinion.”
gameplay
128 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
90%
2%
The gameplay is generally user-friendly, featuring easy maneuverability and a skill tree that enhances player experience, but it suffers from repetitiveness and a lack of depth in combat mechanics. While elements like crafting and capturing enemies add some variety, many players find the combat simplistic and grindy, often devolving into button-mashing. Overall, the gameplay is seen as decent but not groundbreaking, with a stronger emphasis on story and character development than on innovative mechanics.
- “The gameplay is pretty interesting; it has many locations, quests, equipment, forging, enemies, and so many easter eggs hidden inside.”
- “There are also some other gameplay elements that add some depth to the game, such as crafting, upgrading your equipment, or capturing enemies.”
- “Overall, the story is nice with likeable/memorable characters you can relate to, a decent gameplay system (for a 2015 game), graphics are nice for 2015 standards, and the game as a whole is well-polished and refined.”
- “The problem is it doesn't do anything better than these respective series, and it doesn't even do any of it particularly well either on a mechanical level.”
- “Gameplay-wise, the maps are very corridor-like and fairly linear, as with most games of this style.”
- “The gameplay is grindy and devolves into musou-style button mashing the majority of the time.”
character development
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
69%
19%
12%
The character development in the game is highly praised, with players noting its rich storytelling, engaging dialogues, and the ability to form attachments to the characters as they evolve throughout the narrative. The contrast in character designs, from beautiful humans to unique monsters, enhances the overall experience, contributing to a fantasy world that feels both immersive and realistic. Overall, the game excels in creating well-rounded characters that fit seamlessly into the story.
- “I didn't mind it, in fact I liked it a lot because it was rich in story, world building, and character development with a lot of dialogues.”
- “There's great character development as the story progresses, and you can't help but get attached to them as you watch them interact with each other and the world around them.”
- “I would say this game has a fantasy-like world yet with realistic character development.”
- “Game reminds me of 'Blade and Soul' in terms of character design.”
- “I would say this game has a fantasy-like world, yet the character development feels unrealistic.”
- “Character development is lacking and doesn't meet expectations.”
optimization
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
54%
23%
Overall, the game's optimization has seen improvements, particularly with a significant patch that addressed many issues, yet players still report inconsistent performance, including frequent framerate drops and stuttering during cutscenes. While some users experience smooth gameplay on max settings, others note that certain graphical elements and animations remain unoptimized. Fans of RPGs may find the game enjoyable despite these optimization shortcomings.
- “Game runs smoothly with max settings.”
- “Runs smoothly on my machine.”
- “This Steam version has been given huge optimizations.”
- “The performance is a bit wonky as the framerate drops frequently on my PC even though it doesn't look like a graphically-intensive game.”
- “The CG and the video graphics have not been optimized.”
- “However, the optimization leaves much to be desired.”
grinding
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
91%
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being repetitive and tedious, leading to a sense of boredom and wasted time. While some players appreciate the ability to dodge battles and the gradual increase in difficulty, many find the gameplay devolves into monotonous button mashing, especially after maxing out combos. Additionally, there are calls for more endgame grinding opportunities, as the current system feels unbalanced and lacking in depth.
- “As long as you are not grinding excessively, the difficulty pleasantly increases as you move into the 6-7 hour mark.”
- “The game is actually extremely repetitive and tedious to go through.”
- “I just can't recommend it, it's too boring and tedious and it feels like a waste of time.”
- “The gameplay is grindy and devolves into musou style button mashing the majority of the time.”
humor
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by a mix of funny moments, emotional storytelling, and unique NPC dialogue that often includes jokes and cultural trivia. While some players find the characters' stiff animations and broken English translations amusing, the overall humor is described as off-beat and charming, contributing to a touching and engaging narrative. Despite the graphical limitations, the game successfully weaves humor into its storyline and side quests, making it a delightful experience for those who appreciate its quirky style.
- “All NPCs in towns have unique dialogue, occasionally explaining some history or cultural trivia, or just making jokes - a lot of detail and humor is in this game if you are willing to look for it.”
- “I liked the characters, and the humor had a nice off-beat quality to it.”
- “Broken English translation which sometimes can be hilarious, but you still can understand the story fairly easily.”
atmosphere
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
68%
19%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its diverse and immersive settings, each with unique charm, from deserts to enchanted forests. The synchronization of background music enhances the experience, complementing the rich cultural elements and character interactions that provide a deep dive into Chinese mythology. Despite some graphical limitations, the overall atmosphere is considered engaging and thoughtfully crafted, avoiding repetitiveness.
- “A lot of time was placed in creating a good atmosphere that was not overly repetitive or generic.”
- “The pros is the Chinese feel and atmosphere of the game, even though the graphics are not that good and it feels like an Asian MMO, I enjoyed it.”
- “The atmosphere of the game, the interactions of the different characters, the personal growth that each character experiences and presents, all come together to bring the player a unique perspective into Chinese mythology.”
- “Every setting (there are many) is different in its appearance and atmosphere (a desert, a snowy area, enchanted forests, a swamp that doesn't look muddy but colorful and very sunny, an area where you walk between high mountains, a bamboo grove, etc.).”
emotional
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
88%
13%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its strong character growth and impactful storytelling, with players experiencing a range of feelings from sadness to humor. While some side quests contribute to these emotional narratives, the overall experience can feel like an emotional rollercoaster, blending touching moments with moments of levity. However, some critiques mention poor graphics and a boring main storyline, which may detract from the emotional engagement for certain players.
- “Even regarding some side quests, you find sad or funny and often strong emotional stories.”
- “There are some real and emotional character growths in this game. I tried my best not to spoil but still giving you the general description of their growths.”
- “Without getting too much into spoilers, this is my experience with the story... imagine yourself on an emotional rollercoaster, and while you experience all the feels at the same time, you've decided that you want to cut onions and rub that into your eyes while downing some strong alcohol.”
stability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game exhibits notable stability issues, with players frequently encountering bugs such as characters falling through the map, getting stuck in walls, and experiencing minor graphic glitches. While some users acknowledge that the game is playable despite these flaws, the overall consensus is that the stability is lacking, with various elements like the battle and fusion systems also criticized for being flawed and overly complicated.
- “The game was buggy; the battle system is flawed and unfair, and the fusion system was overdone and over-complicated.”
- “Only cons we have here are some graphic glitches with sudden character movements, some subtitles not in sync, and some untranslated portions (I had some monsters appearing without translation).”
- “The game can be a bit buggy with characters falling down through the map and sometimes getting stuck.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players generally find the game's replayability low, as many can complete a significant portion of achievements in a single playthrough, leading to little incentive for subsequent runs.
- “I was able to finish 90% of the achievements in my initial run through the game, and I probably will only play it once, so the replay value isn't much.”

Buy Xuan-Yuan Sword: The Gate of Firmament

45h Median play time

39h Average play time

5-75h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 18 analyzed playthroughs

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軒轅劍外傳穹之扉(The Gate of Firmament) Steam CD Key