Xuan-Yuan Sword VII Reviews
My final thought is that Xuan Yuan Sword 7 is a great game with a rich story into Chinese mythology. You really create a bond with the characters and you just wish it had a longer playtime. For me, twenty hours is nowhere near enough for a game of this much potential. Even with some graphical flaws I had an absolute blast playing it and would highly recommend it to any RPG fan. So I would like to give Xuan Yuan Sword 7 the Thumb Culture Gold Award.
Xuan Yuan Sword 7 reminds me a lot of why people dislike trailers. You could easily watch the launch trailer for this and get the wrong impression. Everything shown happens, it’s just behind a couple of hour commitment and sandwiched between an underwhelming story and an equally underwhelming world. If you’re willing to invest the time and give Xuan Yuan Sword 7 a good try, it can potentially be a good game. However, for everyone else, there are better adventures out there.
Xuan Yuan Sword 7 tells a compelling story with gorgeous scenery and loveable characters, but it’s difficult to recommend to just anybody. I’m usually not one to knock game length, but a linear 15 – 20 hour experience for $49.99 is a harder sale than most. If you prefer story and style over combat and gameplay, Xuan Yuan Sword 7 is a no-brainer, its focus on familial bonds between brother and sister absolutely heartwarming. If you’re looking for a little more action in your ARPGs, Xuan Yuan Sword 7 probably won’t give you the satisfaction you’re expecting.
For me Xuan Yuan Sword 7 was a wonderful surprise, discovered shortly before release and convinced by a trailer to take a look, I was not disappointed. The game is so wonderfully unobtrusive and definitely doesn't crave the "RPG Hit 2021" trophy, and despite a fast travel system, it's so pleasantly linear. It offers pretty much all the aspects you'd expect from a role-playing game and still only has one thing in mind, which is to keep the player well entertained and I really liked that. That's why it's also a 内幕消息 for me.
Review in German | Read full review
So overall while Xuan Yuan Sword 7 doesn’t really do anything new mechanically, it’s still enough of a solidly built title especially if you’ve been needing a break from the open worlds that have been all the rage of late. With a duration of a dozen plus hours, the world looked great on the Series X and there’s enough bad dad jokes from Zixu to his sister to make you either laugh or groan while they explore the lands to get her real body back.
Xuan Yuan Sword 7 has some interesting ideas and an exciting backdrop but it won’t be for everyone. The game's battle system has is decent but lacks the depth that makes actually playing the game memorable.
Xuan Yuan Sword 7 is an RPG with a really engaging story. Based on Chinese legends, it offers a solid experience that proves the series value as an Oriental classic. Despite a few small issues, it's a title that any fan of the genre should have the chance to experience. Hopefully one day it'll be possible to also play the other games in the franchise in English and maybe even Portuguese.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
An ancient Chinese character tale rather than an epic, Xuan Yuan 7 is a linear RPG that takes inspiration liberally from the best games around, but has no idea how to implement anything it’s stolen. Combat is farcically easy, systems are barely explained, puzzles feel decades out of date and there’s that stamina bar that does nothing. Sometimes there’s a reason you haven’t heard of a series.
Despite the notable jump in quality and budget, Xuan Yuan Sword 7 does not get to take full advantage of all its mechanics and leaves the feeling that with a little more time and effort a magnificent RPG could have been achieved. Despite that, it is a highly recommended game for fans of the genre and a great entry into the West.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Xuan Yuan Sword 7’s biggest sin is that it’s boring. Really boring. It might look nice, sound great, and be steeped in culture, but actually playing is closer to a chore than anything else. It’s also really long, coming in at 20+ hours. The gameplay on offer here can barely sustain a game half – or even a quarter – of that length. This is scratching at the heels of mediocrity, and it’s not with the time.
Xuan-Yuan Sword VII has promise, but it fails in delivering a consistent and manageable experience. In meshing hack and slash games like Dark Souls, Bayonetta, and any mid-2000 mid-card action game out there, this action RPG feels like a hybrid that doesn’t know what to excel & focus on.