Xuan Yuan Sword Mists Beyond the Mountains Review (Nintendo Switch OLED)

by Jim Smale · Published December 12, 2023 · Updated December 7, 2023

For this Xuan Yuan Sword Mists Beyond the Mountains Review, presents its narrative using mythological and historically-inspired architectural styles, garb, cuisine, and customs, blended with traditional turn-based RPG mechanics and HD hand-painted sprites. Recruit new characters to your party, capture enemies in battle using the Spirit Fusion Pot, and then craft new items and monsters from Eastern or Western altars for different resulting appearances and properties. Only by uniting the powers of East and West can you hope to challenge the ambitions of the dark lord who tears at the seams of civilization!

Xuan Yuan Sword Mists Beyond the Mountains Review Pros:

Decent graphics.
2.1GB Download size.
Action RPG gameplay.
Five text speed choices.
Isometric view with a 2D combat sequence.
Has a retro RPG feel to it with a small pixellated character running around but a tall smoother-looking character in combat.
Save and load when you want.
Earn EXP and level up to get stats upgrades.
Full inventory manager.
Load out – weapon, helmet, chest armor, boots, accessories, and jewelry.
The map is huge and when leaving a town/city you run around the map as a big character.
Random battles.
Turn-based combat.
Handy auto attack button.
The graphics use a mix of hand-drawn and pixel art.
You see the damage and heal numbers on screen.
Play how you want.
The creature catalog is like a bestiary that fills in as you encounter enemies and creatures.
Items and gear will show arrows up and down to denounce if it’s better or worse.
Shops let you buy and sell gear.
You can equip new items when still in the shop.
A big world to explore.
In-game cutscenes and interactions.
Multiple choice encounters.
Plays like an old-school RPG.