xiuzhen idle Review Summary

Addictive cultivation, satisfying progression: The game is lauded for its engaging cultivation and progression systems, drawing players into a compelling power fantasy. The interconnected mechanics, diverse activities, and constant sense of progression create an addictive experience, especially for fans of the Xianxia genre and idle games.

Deep, interconnected systems: The game features a variety of systems, including sect management, divine kingdoms, alchemy, and forging, which add depth and complexity to the gameplay. These systems are well-designed and interconnected, providing players with numerous ways to enhance their characters and progress through the game.

Great for casual, idle play: The game is praised for being a great way to pass time, especially with its idle gameplay features. Players can leave the game running in the background and periodically check in, making it suitable for work breaks or when multitasking. The simple controls and accessible mechanics contribute to its casual appeal.

Meaningful reincarnation, quick progression: The reincarnation mechanic provides a satisfying sense of progression and allows players to quickly catch up after rebirth. The incremental improvements and talent system enhance the experience, making each reincarnation feel meaningful and impactful.

Simple, accessible gameplay: The game is easy to understand and play, with simple controls and accessible mechanics. This makes it suitable for casual players and those with limited skills, allowing them to enjoy the game without feeling overwhelmed.

Reincarnation resets too much progress: The reincarnation mechanic, while intended to provide progression, resets too many character stats and skills, leading to repetitive grinding and a feeling of lost progress. Players are forced to repeat the same tasks each reincarnation, making the game feel tedious and unrewarding. This also limits the effectiveness of certain skills and systems.

Hoping for more content updates: Players are hoping for more content updates and additions to the game. Some recent negative reviews are due to the developer not announcing a six-month period without updates, leading players to believe the project was abandoned.

Sect management is illogical: The sect management aspects of the game are illogical and frustrating. Resource management is difficult, disciple recruitment is limited, and the player's individual strength overshadows the sect's contributions, making the entire system feel meaningless.

Lack of mod support: Players are frustrated by the lack of mod support and the inability to modify the game. The game has anti-cheat engine (CE) protection, making modification difficult and tedious.

Hybrid idle/active gameplay: The game blends idle and active gameplay, requiring manual input early on but transitioning to a more hands-off experience as players progress. However, some reviewers are unsure if the game is truly an "idle" game. The core gameplay loop revolves around numbers and progression.

Reincarnation-based progression system: Reincarnation is a central mechanic, resetting progress but granting permanent boosts for subsequent playthroughs. The Longevity system feels meaningless because reincarnation is readily available. Destiny Stones are used to increase experience gain, attributes, cultivation speed, and "Reincarnation - Talent."

Deep cultivation system: The cultivation system involves practicing techniques to increase stats and progressing through levels. There are five worlds, each with 15 sub-levels. Cultivation provides reasonable character growth, with extra rewards every 50 levels, and no apparent level cap.

Late-game industrial management: The Divine Kingdom is a factory-style, logistics micromanagement game inside the main game. The game transitions from a cultivation focus to an industrial management style in the later stages (God Realm). The 'Divine Kingdom' gameplay is neither a fully-fledged idle game nor a complex resource management simulation, resulting in an awkward middle ground.

Skill leveling strategy matters: The effectiveness of a new skill depends on its contribution to the character's overall skill benefits and the difficulty of mastering it. Lower-level skills that are easily leveled to 100 can be more useful than higher-level skills that are difficult to level beyond 30-50. Prioritize leveling skills to 100 before switching.

Poor optimization and memory leaks: The game suffers from memory leaks, optimization issues, and frequent crashes, especially during 'Beast Tide' and 'Chaos' events. Switching to more powerful hardware improves performance, suggesting that the game's hardware requirements are not well-optimized for its 2D graphics.

Low CPU mode and travel mode: The game offers a low CPU mode and a "divine travel mode" that minimizes the game interface, allowing players to run it in the background while working or playing other games. These features provide options for players with limited hardware resources or those who want to multitask.

Inability to increase game speed: Players are unable to increase the game speed, even with speed-up options. This can make the game feel slow and tedious, especially during longer play sessions.

Achievement issues in English version: Some achievements are not working correctly in the English version due to it being behind on updates. Players can work around this issue by loading their save in the main version of the game.

Loud and jarring startup sound: The game opens with a loud, jarring sound, which some players find unpleasant. This is a minor issue, but it can create a negative first impression.

Recommended idle/cultivation game: The game is generally recommended, especially for fans of the idle/AFK and cultivation genres. Many reviewers find it addictive and enjoyable, particularly those familiar with Chinese cultivation novels or seeking a simple, engaging experience. Some suggest it's a great time-killer or a good fit for casual play.

Awaiting future content updates: Reviewers are looking forward to future updates to address the lack of late-game content and improve the game. They hope the development team continues to update the content and balance the stat values.

Talisman DLC speeds progression: The Talisman DLC speeds up progression but isn't essential. Some reviewers advise against using talisman skills early on, as it reduces the sense of pressure from lifespan limitations.

Improve reincarnation mechanics: Reviewers suggest allowing stat point resets after reincarnation. They also suggest retaining skill books, pets, equipment, challenges, and abyss levels after reincarnation to avoid repetitive actions, as well as retaining money.

Optimize CPU usage/performance: Reviewers suggest improving the algorithm to reduce CPU usage, even if it means the data doesn't look as impressive. They also suggest adjusting the numerical scaling to improve performance, even if it means the numbers aren't as large.

Long-term development and replayability: Players are interested in the game's long-term development and replayability, particularly how the developers will balance content updates and progression systems to maintain player engagement in the idle game genre. The reviewer with 100+ hours hopes for continued quality of life improvements.

Imperfect translation; English patch available: The game's translation is imperfect, but an English patch is available via a forum or Discord. This makes the game playable for English-speaking audiences, although the original translation may add to the game's charm.

Reincarnation gameplay loop: The player character is a cultivator who reincarnates with memories after their lifespan ends without a breakthrough. Mechanics are rated highly before reincarnation, and players are assessing how long one life can last.

Collaboration rewards location unclear: Collaboration rewards are stored in the Great Formation Sacred Beast interface, accessible after reaching the Immortal Rank, and are not items that appear in the inventory. This may be confusing for new players who expect rewards to be directly added to their inventory.

Strategic reincarnation is important: Efficient reincarnation requires strategic choices, such as focusing on weapon crafting and metalworking, and avoiding spreading stats too thin. This suggests that character optimization and resource management are important aspects of the gameplay loop.