Yao-Guai Hunter
- April 3, 2023
- MòGames
- 379h median play time
Get on Steam"Yao-Guai Hunter" is an early access game where you play as a Yao-Guai hunter, battling magical beasts threatening human and Yao-Guai coexistence. Techniques are presented as cards, and success depends on strategic deckbuilding and combinations. Each journey offers different choices to deepen your martial arts skills and expand your deck.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features gorgeous artwork, unique character designs, and engaging animations that enhance the overall experience.
- Each character has distinct playstyles and multiple build archetypes, providing depth and variety in gameplay.
- The game offers a fun and challenging deckbuilding experience, with interesting mechanics that encourage strategic thinking.
- The English translation is poor, leading to confusion with card texts and game mechanics, which detracts from the overall experience.
- There are performance issues and bugs that can disrupt gameplay, particularly in later stages of the game.
- The game currently lacks content and can be completed relatively quickly, leaving players wanting more after finishing the initial runs.
- gameplay43 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this roguelike deckbuilder is praised for its unique mechanics, including a tactical mana points system and diverse character playstyles, which set it apart from similar games like "Slay the Spire." Players appreciate the engaging art, smooth animations, and the variety of enemies and cards, although some note issues with translations and minor bugs. Overall, the game offers a solid and enjoyable experience, blending martial arts and card battles in a distinctive wuxia-themed setting.
“The gameplay is fun and well thought out.”
“Yao-guai hunter is a beautiful roguelike with unique gameplay mechanics, fresh character design, a lovely art style, and Chinese-driven theming that makes it really stand out from the pack.”
“The core gameplay is already pretty solid, the three characters available all have their own distinctive playstyle, and it has everything to be a great addition to the genre.”
“The issues I have with the game have to do with the translations; there are some undefined mechanics and a little inconsistency with the terms, and a couple of straight-up untranslated Chinese cards and bosses.”
“Smoll content, repetitive gameplay.”
“The core gameplay is already pretty solid (and directly inspired by Slay the Spire), but it just needs more polish.”
- graphics19 mentions
- 68 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning artwork and unique art style, which features beautiful animations and immersive visuals that enhance the overall experience. Many reviewers highlight the game's Chinese-inspired aesthetics and character designs, noting that the visuals and music create an engaging atmosphere that sets it apart from other roguelike deckbuilders. Overall, the art direction is considered a significant strength, contributing to the game's charm and appeal.
“The art style is gorgeous.”
“Yao-guai hunter is a beautiful roguelike with unique gameplay mechanics, fresh character design, a lovely art style, and Chinese-driven theming that makes it really stand out from the pack.”
“The artwork is absolutely stunning, and I enjoy all the character and enemy models.”
- music15 mentions
- 80 % positive mentions
- 7 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its immersive quality, featuring pleasant melodies and a charming use of flutes that enhance the overall atmosphere. However, some players noted issues with repetitiveness and slow transitions between tracks, which can disrupt the experience. Overall, the music is considered a strong point, complementing the game's beautiful visuals and engaging gameplay.
“Music and graphics: the music is really nice, a lot of flute and nice melodies, very immersive and the graphics/art is very beautiful.”
“The music, art, and writing in this game are great.”
“Fun gameplay, music, fun atmosphere; it's a super friendly card game, and I'm glad to have a chance to play it.”
“Just played a bit of this and it's really good for card game fans, my only small gripe is that the music is a bit repetitive.”
“Now to issues that I suspect may have to do with my potato of a PC, but I'll still be honest: sometimes the music transitions between the end of a track and the start of a new one may be a bit slow, leaving some dead air for a moment. Starting from Chapter 2, I experienced slowdowns in combat, but it's very possible these issues are related to my hardware, so take that with a grain of salt.”
- story6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's story features a heroic demon hunter battling yao-guai, providing a captivating narrative enriched by challenging battles and unexpected encounters. While some players note a lack of depth, the atmosphere and character individuality enhance the overall experience, making it satisfying for fans of card games and martial arts. Collecting fragments throughout the game helps uncover the hidden truths of this intriguing world.
“These events provide a taste of the strange world of yao-guai and offer opportunities to collect fragments that help uncover the hidden truth behind the story.”
“There is not much story to speak of, but the atmosphere and the music are top notch.”
“The game's story follows a heroic demon hunter who battles against hordes of yao-guai.”
“It really lends to the sense of individuality between characters despite sharing the same overall story.”
- humor5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its dark yet cheeky humor, which complements its overall tone and enhances the experience of navigating a whimsical yet grim world. Players appreciate the clever writing and character design that infuse humor into gameplay, making it a standout feature alongside its tactical elements and artistic style.
“The text events you'll get as choices in the game give you a peek into a world full of dark yet cheeky humor.”
“It has rich dark tones and it really ties into the overall tone of living in a dark and humorous world.”
“It has a unique art style and I like the sense of humor.”
- character development3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is highlighted by its unique character designs and playstyles, which are enhanced by engaging ability animations and thematic elements. Players appreciate the variety of skills tied to character design, adding depth to gameplay, though some have noted the need for improved translation and controller support. Overall, the game stands out for its fresh approach to character mechanics within the roguelike genre.
“Yao-guai Hunter is a beautiful roguelike with unique gameplay mechanics, fresh character design, a lovely art style, and Chinese-driven theming that makes it really stand out from the pack.”
“They are giving a bunch of passive (or active) skills based on the character design, and some funny words were written during the inner skill picking phase.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game offers solid replayability through features like speedruns, daily challenges, a custom mode, and Steam Workshop support, enhancing the overall experience. While the base game is already enjoyable, future updates and higher difficulty levels may further increase its replay value.
“Replayability is strong; they are building on it with speedruns, daily challenges, custom modes, and Steam Workshop support.”
“The higher difficulty levels might enhance the replayability even further.”
“Replayability: they are building on it, but the base game is quite good with challenges like speedruns, daily challenges, custom mode, and Steam Workshop.”
“Who knows, maybe the higher difficulty levels will add more to that replayability.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by a fun and friendly vibe, enhanced by engaging music that contributes to an enjoyable experience. While the narrative is minimal, the overall ambiance is highly praised, making it a delightful card game to play.
“There is not much story to speak of, but the atmosphere and the music are top notch.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been criticized for performance issues and poor sound design, which detracts from its otherwise impressive visuals. Additionally, players noted translation problems and found the base difficulty too easy, although it improves as the game progresses.
“Performance issues are prevalent throughout the game, making it frustrating to play.”
“There are numerous translation issues that detract from the overall experience.”
“The sound design is very poor and does not match the high quality of the visual design.”
