Yao-Guai Hunter

About

Yao-Guai Hunter is a single player role playing game. It was developed by MòGames and was released on April 17, 2025. It received very positive reviews from players.

"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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

91%

Audience ScoreBased on 160 reviews

gameplay22 positive mentions

replayability2 negative mentions

The game features a unique Wuxia theme that adds a fresh twist to the deckbuilding genre, making it visually and thematically appealing.
Each character has distinct playstyles and abilities, providing a variety of strategies and making gameplay engaging and fun.
The art style and animations are praised for their beauty and creativity, enhancing the overall experience of the game.

The English translation is often rough and inconsistent, leading to confusion about card mechanics and game events.
Some players find the gameplay to be repetitive and lacking in content, with a short playtime for the current difficulty levels.
The energy management system can feel unbalanced, as players often struggle with energy regeneration, making it difficult to execute strategies effectively.

gameplay
65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
60%
6%
The gameplay of the game is a blend of familiar deck-building mechanics inspired by titles like "Slay the Spire," yet it introduces unique elements such as a mana points system and diverse character abilities that enhance tactical decision-making. While many players appreciate the smooth mechanics, captivating art style, and character variety, some find the gameplay can become repetitive over time and note issues with translations that may hinder understanding of certain mechanics. Overall, the game is seen as a solid addition to the roguelike deck-building genre, offering both fun and strategic depth, though it could benefit from further polish and innovation.
- “Gameplay is smooth as butter, the art style is fantastic, the characters are unique and fun, and the game is fairly priced.”
- “Yao-guai hunter stands on its own as a great addition to the roguelike deck-building game genre and a must-have for those who want more of this style of gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is fun and well thought out.”
- “I love the art, but the gameplay is boring as hell.”
- “The game is very easy to break compared to Slay the Spire, because the enemies are barely threatening, and the gameplay design is extremely simple.”
- “While the game has potential with its art style, card mechanics, and branching paths... it's not fun to play at the moment.”
graphics
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
25%
11%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning art style, unique character designs, and immersive aesthetics, which contribute significantly to the overall experience. Many reviewers highlight the beautiful visuals and animations, noting that they enhance the gameplay and storytelling. While some mention that the game has potential, the graphics remain a standout feature that appeals to players, particularly those who appreciate artistic flair in gaming.
- “The art style is gorgeous.”
- “The artwork is absolutely stunning, and I enjoy all the character and enemy models.”
- “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.”
- “While the game has potential with its art style, card mechanics, and branching paths... it's not fun to play at the moment.”
- “Some might consider it too derivative; I think it's an overall improvement on the formula, and the art style adds a lot to its appeal.”
- “I love the art style and the playstyles of 2 of the 3 characters differ slightly to greatly from other roguelike deck builders; all in all, a pleasant time off.”
music
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
76%
6%
18%
The music in the game is generally praised for its immersive quality, featuring pleasant melodies and a charming atmosphere that enhances the overall experience. However, some players noted issues with repetitiveness and slow transitions between tracks, which can disrupt the flow. Overall, the music is considered a strong point, complementing the game's beautiful art and engaging gameplay.
- “Music & graphics: the music is really nice, a lot of flute and nice melodies, very immersive and the graphics/art is very beautiful.”
- “The enemy balancing is good, events have a good mixture of risk/reward, and the music is pretty nice too!”
- “Each character feels unique, climbing the ranks (here called auras) is appropriately challenging, the music, sfx and animations are all pretty well done, and I love how well executed the art, the atmosphere and the mythology are.”
- “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.”
- “The music, sound effects, and animations are all pretty well done, but I found the music to be somewhat lacking in variety.”
story
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The game's story is characterized by a captivating narrative that incorporates Chinese tropes, though it may not resonate universally due to its brevity and occasional lack of detail. Players appreciate the unique art style and atmosphere, which enhance the storytelling experience, while the plot follows a heroic demon hunter battling yao-guai and uncovering hidden truths. Despite some bugs and a short main dialogue, the combination of engaging battles and character individuality contributes to an overall satisfying experience.
- “The unique things this brings to the table are the art and story, and it does those well enough that I'm going to go ahead and recommend this game.”
- “Its captivating story, challenging battles, and unexpected encounters make it a satisfying game for any fan of card games or martial arts!”
- “The game's story follows a heroic demon hunter who battles against hordes of yao-guai.”
- “The rough part is mainly how short and not detailed the main story dialogue is, along with some rare bugs.”
- “A lot of it plays on Chinese story tropes, so I am not sure how that translates to a global audience: like the cop character here, usually a heroic archetype in Chinese stories, is a drunk, lazy fellow.”
- “There is not much story to speak of, but the atmosphere and the music are top-notch.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is characterized by a blend of dark and cheeky elements that enhance its overall personality and atmosphere. Players appreciate the witty text events and character designs that contribute to a rich, humorous experience, making the game not only tactical but also entertaining. The unique art style complements the fun humor, creating an engaging and memorable gameplay experience.
- “The artwork and humor add a lot to the game's personality.”
- “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.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game offers solid replayability through various features such as speedruns, daily challenges, a custom mode, and integration with Steam Workshop. While the base game is enjoyable, future updates and higher difficulty levels may enhance its replay value even further. Overall, players find it fun and engaging enough to revisit.
- “Not bad, quite fun and replayable.”
- “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.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization has been criticized for performance issues and poor sound design, which detracts from its otherwise impressive visuals. Additionally, players note that the base difficulty is too easy, although it improves as the game progresses.
- “Performance issues are prevalent, and there are numerous translation problems that detract from the experience.”
- “The sound design is very poor and does not match the high quality of the visual design.”
- “The game is too easy at its base level, but it does improve as you progress.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in the game is highlighted by its unique character designs and diverse playstyles, which are enhanced by engaging ability animations and thematic elements. Players appreciate the integration of passive and active skills that align with character traits, contributing to a fresh and enjoyable gameplay experience. However, some users noted the need for improved translation and controller support to enhance accessibility.
- “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 skill) based on the character design, and some funny words were written during the inner skill picking phase.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its fun and friendly vibe, complemented by well-executed music, sound effects, and animations. Players appreciate the unique character designs and the engaging art that enhances the overall experience, despite the minimal storyline. Overall, the game's atmosphere is described as immersive and enjoyable, contributing significantly to its appeal.
- “Each character feels unique, climbing the ranks (here called auras) is appropriately challenging, the music, sound effects, and animations are all pretty well done, and I love how well executed the art, the atmosphere, and the mythology are.”
- “There is not much story to speak of, but the atmosphere and the music are top notch.”