JIANGHU CHRONICLES
Last updated: 2025-04-11
- Enjoyable Wuxia sect management.
- Appealing ink wash art style.
- Rich sect and character development.
- Repetitive gameplay, lacks content.
- Shallow faction/sect management.
- Excessive grinding, unrewarding progression.
Verdict
Mixed
Summary
Positive 58% · Negative 42%. Score: 42 / 100
Positives:
- The game offers enjoyable Wuxia sect management with a solid foundation and framework. Players appreciate the engaging gameplay loop, potential for replayability, and the blend of simulation and martial arts elements. Many reviewers compare it favorably to classic titles like '天下霸图'.
- The game features a distinctive and appealing art style, often described as Chinese ink wash painting. This aesthetic choice enhances the Wuxia theme and contributes to a strong sense of immersion. Reviewers also praise the combat animations and overall visual presentation.
- The development team is actively updating the game, fixing bugs, and responding to player feedback. This responsiveness is seen as a positive sign and encourages players to support the game's development. Many reviewers changed their rating to positive one, acknowledging the development team's efforts.
- The game features rich sect and character development, including disciple recruitment, training, and management. Players can build infrastructure, assign tasks, and customize their sect's development path. This aspect of the game is highly engaging and rewarding.
- The game features engaging real-time combat with satisfying feedback and a variety of mechanics. Players appreciate the depth of the combat system, which includes parrying, dodging, and unique weapon styles. The combat is more than just pressing buttons.
Negatives:
- The core gameplay loop becomes repetitive due to limited content, monotonous tasks, and uninspired dungeon designs. This leads to player fatigue and a lack of long-term engagement, especially in the late game. Many reviewers feel the game is unfinished and overpriced for the amount of content it offers.
- The faction and sect systems lack depth, with limited building options, small territories, and illogical interactions with other factions. Players are often forced into specific playstyles and cannot annex or loot conquered territories, diminishing the sense of accomplishment and strategic freedom.
- The martial arts system suffers from balance issues, limited skill variety, and difficult acquisition. Many skills are underpowered or ineffective, and the game lacks basic martial arts techniques expected in a Wuxia setting. This makes combat feel generic and uninspired.
- The game relies heavily on grinding for resources, equipment, and skill acquisition, making progression feel tedious and unrewarding. The equipment system features excessive randomization, forcing players to save-scum for desired stats. This emphasis on grinding overshadows other gameplay elements.
- The combat system is criticized for being simplistic, clunky, and lacking impact. The AI is weak, and battles often devolve into unstrategic melees. Many reviewers find the combat mechanics uninteresting and unsatisfying.
Gameplay:
- The core gameplay revolves around martial arts sect management. Players recruit and train disciples, construct buildings, manage resources, engage in diplomacy, and participate in real-time combat to grow their sect's influence and dominate the martial arts world.
- The game features a sect management system with disciple recruitment, training, and task assignment. Disciples have varied stats that influence their effectiveness. A child-rearing system allows for offspring with inherited abilities, but maturation takes a long time.
- The game features diplomacy with other sects, including alliances, trade, and war. However, some reviewers find the rewards for diplomacy to be meager and the crime system illogical. Sieges lack options for annexation or looting.
- Players can customize their sect's initial settings, including location and leader attributes. Building unlocks are tied to sect reputation, creating a progression system. The game offers numerous systems and deep customization options.
- The game is set in a martial arts world with a main storyline focused on the conflict between good and evil factions. However, some reviewers find the storyline disconnected and irrelevant. The game features a Ming Dynasty map divided into five regions, each with unique resources.
Performance:
- Many users report performance problems, including lag, stuttering, and frame rate drops, especially during combat, on the world map, or when going outside. Some players struggle to maintain smooth gameplay even on high-end hardware. Optimization is a recurring concern, with some reviews noting that the game causes excessive fan noise.
- The game is generally compatible with Steam Deck, allowing for handheld play. However, some users note that text and icons can appear too small on the Steam Deck's screen, potentially impacting readability and usability.
- Several players have reported instances where the game freezes or gets stuck during specific actions, such as returning to the sect, entering dungeons, or during the settlement phase. These freezes can interrupt gameplay and force players to restart the game.
- Several reviews highlight long loading times as a significant issue. These delays occur when saving, loading, or starting the game, even on systems with powerful processors and graphics cards, disrupting the flow of gameplay.
- Weapon handling is inconsistent; some weapons feel responsive, while others feel slow or clunky. This variation in weapon feel can impact the combat experience and player enjoyment.
Recommendations:
- The game is in early access and feels unfinished, with many reviewers suggesting waiting for further development before purchasing. They express hope for future improvements and content updates to address the game's shortcomings. Some reviewers feel the game was released prematurely.
- Many reviewers mention the need for more content, faster updates, and continued development to improve the game's overall experience. They hope the developers will address the current issues and add more engaging gameplay elements. Some reviewers caution about slow update schedules.
- Some reviewers criticize the game's repetitive nature and grind, particularly in dungeons. They suggest adding features to alleviate the tedium, such as quick dungeon completion or automated combat. Some reviewers feel the game lacks true freedom and is more linear than it appears.
- Some reviewers feel the game is not worth the full price in its current state and suggest waiting for a discount. Others find the game acceptable for its price, especially considering it is in Early Access. A few reviewers compare the game to simple browser-based games.
- Some reviewers express general support for domestic games and encourage others to support the developers. However, some reviewers feel that most domestic games, including this one, are not worth playing a second time. This point contains some emotional language without specific details.
Miscellaneous:
- The game is in Early Access, with frequent updates and a development plan in place. Reviewers express hope that the developers continue their work and add more content, with some planning to revisit the game later. Some reviewers admit to giving positive reviews to encourage the developers.
- The game is often compared to 天下霸图, with mixed opinions on whether it captures the same essence. The game features a distinct Chinese martial arts theme with an ink wash painting style, contributing to its overall aesthetic.
- Opinions on the game's art style are divided, with some finding it appealing and unique, while others find the character art unappealing. Some reviewers also noted the lack of character portraits. This point reflects mixed feelings about the game's aesthetic presentation.
- Players suggest adding a display for the probability of recruiting or marrying someone, similar to the pregnancy probability display. This would provide players with more information and control over their interactions with NPCs.
- Some weapons, particularly orange ones (excluding the hammer), lack visual effects, making them less satisfying to use. Additionally, god-tier weapons are sometimes less effective than fully upgraded ordinary orange weapons, creating an imbalance in the game's itemization.
