A Sword By Any Other Name: A Yasha: Legends of The Demon Blade Review

Manuel

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, XBox One, XBox Series XS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC (Steam)

I've had the pleasure of playing plenty of action roguelike games in recent years, but I have to admit that things are getting a bit crowded within that particular scene. It truly feels like a handful of new roguelike games release every week, and it can be hard to stand out amongst the crowd. Yasha: Legends of The Demon Blade is one such game, and it's currently available on all major platforms. We're going to be playing it on the PlayStation 5, and see if this game is worth your time. There's going to be a lot to go over in this one, so let's dive right in!

​Yasha: Legends of The Demon Blade takes place in a fantasy-heavy version of the Edo period. I actually wouldn't say that the setting resembles anything close to real world or historical, but the game's official description claims otherwise. Either way, this is a world where humans and demons manage to co-exist in an uneasy peace. Occasional fighting and wars do break out, but both sides see the benefits of working with each other over a struggle for supremacy. Humans and demons might well have continued on like this if it weren't for the arrival of a powerful demon known as the Nine-tailed Fox. This all-powerful demon wants to rule the world, and just might have the power to do it. He's already rallied much of the Demon World behind him, and he then declares war on any others that are left. Among those that stand in his way are our three heroes: a human female ninja named Shigure, a demon emissary for the Demon King named Sara, and a humanoid tiger samurai named Taketora. These three are the characters you'll be playing as, and each of them have their own reasons for wanting to stop the Nine-tailed Fox.

One of the strangest aspects of Yasha: Legends of The Demon Blade is that you must play each of the characters' story modes separately. Whereas most games of the genre would just allow you to switch between them in your home base, here you have to go through the entire game three times if you want to see everything the game has to offer. Another odd quirk about this system is that each character has their own story. I know that might sound like an obvious thing to point out, but I mean that each character's story actually conflicts with the others, and there isn't really a "true" single storyline going on in the game. The same cast of characters and villains show up in each of the three main stories, but they have different roles, characteristics, and even backstories. I don't want to give away too much for fear of spoiling plot elements, but a good example of this is Shigure. You'd be forgiven for thinking that Shigure is Yasha: Legends of The Demon Blade's "true" main character, and she does portray herself as such in her own story. If you only played her campaign you'd still believe that she's the main protagonist, but that gets a bit twisted if you play anyone else's. Rather than being the hero destined to save both worlds, she suddenly takes on the role of an empty-headed crybaby in Sara's campaign, and a young child that has to be protected in Taketora's. It made me question why these stories weren't all created to properly tie into each other, and I can't help but wonder if three different teams worked on the three campaigns separately. It makes for a very uneven story, and one that I guess I can't really cover in any great detail here, even if I wasn't wary of spoilers.

I've not played the 2020's roguelike hit game Hades, but every so often I come across a game of the genre that I particularly like, and I'm often told that it's a "Hades Clone". Whether that's true or not is something I have yet to verify myself, but I am starting to notice that there are certain trends one finds in action roguelike games of the past few years. I mention all this to point out that Yasha: Legends of The Demon Blade is as basic as they come, and doesn't really have anything that'll surprise roguelike veterans. Yasha: Legends of The Demon Blade starts you in a central village where you can interact with NPCs and prepare for your next run, with each run being the actual meat and potatoes of the gameplay. A typical run is separated into core areas which are separated into smaller stages. You'll typically fight through enemies in two short stages, face a sub-boss, fight in two more stages, and then fight the area's actual boss. You'll be able to visit a safe are in-between these runs, and it's there that you'll be able to heal and upgrade your skills. You'll also gain enhancements to your weapons by clearing the smaller levels, and other bonuses can be obtained in ways not worth mentioning here. Losing all your health usually means death, and death means an end to the current run. You return back to the village, and you can begin a new run as soon as you're ready. Successfully clearing a run in its entirety actually opens up another chapter in the game, and you can eventually keep playing with ever-increasing difficulty. I'll leave the details of that last bit for players to discover for themselves.

Defeating most enemies will grant you two forms of currency, one to spend in the safe festival area in between stages, and one to use back at the village to unlock permanent upgrades. Bosses will also drop materials to unlock and upgrade weapons. Even though the game implies that some of permanent upgrades might share across all three characters (Why else put them into two separate screens?), they're all locked to the current campaign. I guess that makes sense when you think about it, but it does yet another level of tedium, since you'll be purchasing the exact same upgrades three different times. On the other hand, unlocking new weapons is a bit more interesting, as these can greatly alter how one plays the game. Each character has several weapons to choose from, with some giving bonuses for performing certain actions, or others focuses in on a specific type of attack. Each character starts out with a weapon that's fairly balanced, but you can equip another that better fits your particular playing style. I personally prefer faster light attacks, so I usually went for weapons that favored those. I really have to give credit to the game for giving players plenty of options. Other than weapons and upgrades, there really isn't anything else for players do in the village. There are NPCs to interact with, but they rarely have anything interesting to say. I typically just checked on all my upgrades, made sure my favorite weapons were equipped, and went on my way. I also never figured out how to save the game outside of winning, losing, or suspending a run, so I often left anything having to do with the village until my next session. Yasha: Legends of The Demon Blade offers a gameplay loop that's not without its charm, but there are some aspects that keep it far from perfect.

I didn't really discuss combat up to this point because there really isn't all that much to it. Each character can do light and heavy attacks, and you can dash to get out of most tricky situations. Taketora is a bit unique as his light attack is a long-ranged one, but that's about it. You can also perform special attacks with the use of a shoulder button, and that button also performs several parry-based actions. If there's one thing I absolutely loathed about Yasha: Legends of The Demon Blade's battle mechanics, it's the emphasis it puts on parrying. Most enemies will flash a ring around themselves right before they attack, and pressing the special attack button will allow you to perform a parry. The timing of this is very precise, and there's actually more to it that's hard to explain in writing. Besides simple parries, some can be charged up, and each parry has a powerful counter attack that can be performed by pressing the button again. If the regular parry was the bane of my existence, than the charged parry made me want to rage quit more than once. Not only is the timing of the charged parry even trickier, but you'll often find that you're facing the wrong direction to actually pull it off. The controls simply don't allow for parrying to be pulled off with any semblance of regularity, and the entire mechanic felt broken.

Some of you are probably wondering why I bothered parrying at all if I couldn't pull it off very well, but that's because the game truly does require you to master it. I'm not exaggerating when I say that many enemies require a parry to defeat with anything short of time and luck, and most boss battles will take twice as long to clear if you're not properly executing every parry possible. I mostly soldiered through the game the old fashioned way anyway, but it was anything but easy, and barely much fun. Parrying is also nearly impossible to do when there's more than one enemy on the screen. Sometimes enemies flash close to each other, and the game seems to have trouble figuring out what it is you're trying to do. Other times I'll successfully pull off a parry, only to be hit by another enemy whose attack also breaks the counter I was hoping to land. It really is more trouble than it was worth, and that one wonky bit of gameplay brought everything down a notch or two. It's one of the worst systems I've ever seen in any action game, let alone a fast-paced roguelike. Sadly, it's the only thing that makes Yasha: Legends of The Demon Blade unique, and it's the one aspect of the game I suggest ignoring if you want to retain your sanity.

That's not the only problem I had with the game, as it also doesn't take long for you to see everything that Yasha: Legends of The Demon Blade has to offer. Even though the three characters all have different stories that are largely independent from each other, they all go through the same stages, and fight the same bosses. Speaking of which, the bosses you face will never change between runs, and the stages themselves will often feature the exact same enemies too. I'm sure there has to be some sort of variety to each run, but don't expect too much on that front. There also isn't a whole lot that the character upgrades do. Most of them feel like minor upgrades, and it makes most character builds have a "same-y" feel to them. In other words, it won't take long before you realize that you're playing through the game with a largely generic character, and are clearing the same dozen or so stages over and over again. Some will argue that I'm describing much of the roguelike genre with that statement, but things are different here. I cleared a run fully with Shigure in my first ninety minutes with the game, and was shocked to realize that nothing changed over the next few hours. Sure the game got harder, but it was the same game. It got boring fast, and there was nothing to do once that boredom took hold.

Not only does Yasha: Legends of The Demon Blade get boring quickly, but the plotlines don't do the game any favors when it comes to keeping players invested. Each of the campaigns somehow felt both weirdly complicated, and totally irreverent at the same time. I never really knew if the game was supposed to be taken seriously, and there was also plenty of humor that just didn't land. There's tonal whiplash all over the place, and I never grew to accept the inconsistent characterization between campaigns. I found it very hard to sit through some of the game's dialogue sections, and probably would've skipped them entirely if it weren't for the fact that I knew I had to write about the game. The overall thin story had me wondering if this game was even finished at all.

It's not all negatives though, as I can go on and on about how great Yasha: Legends of The Demon Blade's visuals and music are. I played the game on the PlayStation 5, and it ran without a single hiccup. It didn't push the hardware anywhere near its limits either, so I have to assume that it'll run decently on the other platforms it's on as well. Yasha: Legends of The Demon Blade features a cool anime art style, with the stage, character, and enemy designs all looking unique and interesting. It's actually disappointing that the game is so short, as I would've loved to see more of what it has to offer. There were times where I felt like things vaguely looked like something I'd seen before, but I think that mainly has to do with the generic nature of the plot and setting. Outside of those issues, I don't have anything but positives to say about the graphics. The level of detail is such that things still look great when the camera is zoomed out, and even small things like the Game Over and results screens have visuals that made me want to instantly take a screen shot. Visuals may not be the most important aspect to a game, but they do lift this one above the rest. At least a little bit.

Outside of graphics, the music and voice acting are both top notch as well, even though the latter was brought down a bit by the weak writing. Easily skipped banter and jokes aside, the voice acting does hold up well, and the game does feature a complete English track. I was totally not expecting to find that in an indie release like this, so that was a pleasant surprise to say the least. I'm not sure if any of the voices are big names in the industry, but the cast all do as great a job with their roles as they can. Elsewhere, the music made up for a lot of the game's other failings, and was full of music that fit each and every scene it was placed in. Several tracks stuck in my head long after I was done with the game, and I mean that in the best way possible. It eventually got to the point where I began wondering if I should look up the soundtrack to the game for me to listen to on its own, but maybe this is one experience I don't want reminders of. Good music can only go so far.

At the end of the day, I really don't know what to say about Yasha: Legends of The Demon Blade. It's not a horrible game, but there isn't a whole lot to it. It's priced relatively cheap ($29.99), and looks and sounds impressive, but it's hard to recommend it when there are so many other good roguelike games out there. Maybe if this had released a couple years ago it would've stood out in the crowd, but I can think of several other games that do this gameplay formula far more justice. I guess diehards of the genre might find something to enjoy here, and it is easy enough for casuals to dip their toes into, but there's not much reason to play it beyond that. I'm far from hating it, but I'm also very glad that I don't have to pick it up again anytime soon. I guess you can just take that as you will, and I'll take my leave on that note. See you in the next one!

Check Out Yasha: Legends of The Demon Blade on PlayStation:
https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/HP5249-PPSA27100_00-0743603662012908

---

Story: B-
Gameplay: C
Graphics: A
Music/Sound: A
Value: B-

Overall: B-

Pros:
+ A visually unique action roguelike game that has a charm to it that's hard to define.
+ Just about everything having to do with the visuals, such as character and enemy designs, are top notch.
+ Music and voice acting are both on point, and the game even features a full English dub.
+ The variety in weapons, and play styles between the three characters, does make each campaign feel unique.
+ Though the challenge can be raised once you've cleared the game, the base difficulty is low enough that this could serve as an entry point to those new to the genre.

Cons:
- The reliance on the parry system nearly made me quit the game. Nothing about it feels precise, and the game pretty much requires that you master it if you want to do well.
- There isn't a whole lot of variety here. There are only a handful of stages, bosses, and even enemy types and mobs. It won't take very long for you to see everything the game has to offer.
- It's not only strange that each character has their own campaign, but even stranger that the stories themselves seem totally independent of each other.
- There just isn't enough variety in gameplay and character customization to make this feel like a truly excellent roguelike game.
- With so many other similar games coming out these days, it's hard to recommend one as middle-of-the-road as this one is.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

---

I did find Shigure's constant appetite to be rather amusing.