Review of Wandering Sword - A captivating offline martial arts game for Kim Dung enthusiasts

Undoubtedly, the first impression one gets when encountering Wandering Sword is its striking resemblance to Octopath Traveler. Inspired by Square Enix's game graphics style, Wandering Sword has crafted a game with its own unique elements, recounting a story set in the distinct martial arts world of China.

Martial Arts Vendetta

The storyline of Wandering Sword revolves around the protagonist named Yuwen Yi. He is a young man devoid of martial arts skills living on the outskirts beyond the Middle Kingdom. Alongside his comrades, he engages in the profession of caravan escort, specializing in safeguarding individuals and goods along the trade routes to and from China from the desert territories.

The Middle Kingdom is in disarray due to external adversaries, leading the imperial government to gradually lose its ability to combat bandit incursions. Consequently, Yuwen Yi's escort profession is lucrative yet perilous. During a vulnerable escort mission, the entire group becomes embroiled in a conflict between the Tianlong Gang and rival factions.

Despite sustaining severe poisoning, Yuwen Yi is fortunate to be rescued and taken into the Middle Kingdom for treatment by a benevolent expert. Nevertheless, martial vendettas continue to ensnare those close to him, propelling everyone into a vortex of tragedy. Through fortuitous circumstances, Yuwen Yi acquires martial arts skills and navigates the martial world amidst a web of grudges and vengeance.

As this is a narrative-driven game, revealing too much would spoil the experience; you need to immerse yourself in Wandering Sword to fully grasp all the intricate details of its storyline.

Straightforward Gameplay Yet Challenging

Wandering Sword employs a traditional turn-based role-playing style on a grid battlefield. Each character possesses 5 equipment slots including weapons, armor, helmets, boots, and talismans. While other items can be shared, weapons are specifically graded according to martial arts disciplines. Each discipline has techniques tailored to specific weapon types. For instance, Võ Đang will feature 3 martial arts disciplines for Sword, Staff, and Saber. When equipped with a certain weapon, only the corresponding weapon skills can be executed.

Developing skills is also quite intricate as the components interact in a cross-referential manner. Skill points are acquired by studying martial arts literature or directly earned through battles. These points progressively enhance skill levels, with higher levels demanding more points.

Among the skills, there exists a special type called 'Qi Gong,' or meditation. Qi Gong manifests in various forms, but each level-up not only boosts regular stats but also generates Meridian points. These points are utilized to clear the meridian system, augmenting internal attributes.

This meridian system essentially facilitates attribute point increments, segmented into various enhancement categories such as attack, defense, health limit, Qi limit, and more.

Wandering Sword presents a vast map composed of a series of small locales including forests, camps, villages, and cities. Each city hosts blacksmiths, merchants, and taverns for player utilization. Other locales like forests or bandit camps feature storyline events or side quests.

Players can recruit additional members to the team or forge friendships, undertake quests based on friendship points with NPCs, and even engage NPCs in 1v1 duels once they reach 20 friendly points. Upon reaching 60 friendly points, they can invite NPCs to join the team to explore the world together.

Mixed Combat Elements

Wandering Sword employs a turn-based combat system with action points akin to classic Final Fantasy games. The distinction lies in the utilization of 'Qi' instead of AP. When this Qi gauge is full, characters take their turns. However, the game introduces another element: formation. Characters must maneuver on a grid and possess specific attack and movement ranges.

Each type of weapon delivers a distinct AoE attack and range. Swords thrust in a straight line, sabers sweep three tiles ahead, hammers strike in an area around, and throwing weapons can be utilized from a distance. Skills also have cooldowns, necessitating a certain number of turns to recharge after usage.

Wandering Sword offers two distinct combat styles: real-time and classic turn-based, granting players the freedom to choose according to their preference. In real-time mode, the Qi bar continues to fill, unabated while selecting moves for the character. Essentially, while planning subsequent steps, surrounding enemies continue to advance and strike rather than awaiting their turn as in traditional turn-based combat.

Inconvenient Details

If you're an action-oriented player unconcerned with the storyline, Wandering Sword might prove somewhat irksome. The game prioritizes storytelling, resulting in verbose dialogues akin to classic JRPGs. While in towns, interaction mostly revolves around conversations and quest gathering, but when venturing into forests or bandit camps, you're compelled to engage in continuous battles until the area is cleared, with no option for temporary departure.

Due to the game's narrative emphasis, there are instances where you become reliant on NPC circumstances. These NPCs, elevated to martial arts mastery due to fate, temporarily join your party as companions. However, they vastly outmatch the player character and essentially carry the team, rendering the main character somewhat redundant throughout the journey.

Wandering Sword is also a rare turn-based game that proves more cumbersome to play with a mouse than with a keyboard. This is attributed to some buttons being inconveniently assigned for mouse clicks. Combat lacks an auto-battle feature, rendering repetitive battles against monsters tedious. Moreover, monsters respawn after a while, making traversal through the same map back and forth almost torturous.

Conclusion

Wandering Sword is a moderately challenging game with a rich storyline steeped in martial arts vendetta. The game is tailored for a leisurely pace, affording ample time to explore its unique martial world. The application of a new 2D graphic style is also a positive, rendering the game world more vibrant and intriguing.

Game download link:

• Steam