Together Forever’s standard main- and sub-quests, as well as MMO-influenced movesets, might bring to mind 2012’s Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. And yes, there’s a procession of pulls on the heartstrings, most accompanied by affecting orchestral swells. Pleasingly, Together Forever is fairly competent with injecting light comedy between the more serious plot points. As peacemakers who carry weapons, there’s some entertaining interaction between members as well as a few other characters, such as Yue’s grandfather. In their travels, the duo meets Bai Moqing and Sangyou, and the whole team sets off to untangle a disagreement between humans, demons, and deities. But depicting a synergistic bond between the pair wouldn’t offer much narrative substance on its own. There, Xiu meets Yue Qingshu, and it’s not long before their destiny is apparent- they are fated to save a child who is a reincarnated god. But eventually, Xiu Wu begins to lose the battle and is forced to flee, where he loses a divine sword and plunges into the human realm. Like many other action-driven games with light role-playing elements, the fight functions as both a tutorial and a sample of what a powered-up character feels like to control. The first is a battle between Xiu Wu and a demon general set across a procession of volcanic crags. Perhaps I’m fatigued by dystopian games but being able to reconnoiter such a relentlessly picturesque realm felt like a virtual vacation.īut naturally, there are some villainous disruptions on the retreat. And when the visuals are accompanied by music that draws on traditional Chinese instruments like the guzheng (a stringed zither) or the dizi (a bamboo flute), Sword and Fairy is transcendent. Much like Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’s intoxicating sense of autonomy, it is easy to forgive any issues given the ambition and artistry here. Like most wuxia, everything is impossibly beautiful, which might help you overlook the game’s minor technical transgressions.
Deity Xiu Wu channels the arresting androgyny of the best Chinese drama series leads, while human swordswoman Yue Qingshu’s movement and clothing embody absolute elegance.
And when Together Forever offers close-ups of its characters’ perfect complexions and flowing strands of hair, the game threatens to elevate heart rates. Flanked by a mountain of waterfalls, a procession of stone steps led to a stunningly rendered temple. From walking across grassy plains strewn with thickets of deep-green bamboo, a sprawling village bustling with pastoral detail, and a ring where dozens of martial artists practice in perfect unison, Together Forever is filled with exquisite visuals.Īfter scampering up a steep hillside, I found a vista that offered one of the most specular views in modern gaming. Beijing-based developer Softstar delivers a relentlessly breathtaking adventure, that will likely cause occasional pauses so you can admire the artistry. And intermittently, the game’s frequent cutscenes exhibit subdued framerates (but importantly, the action remains persistently sinuous on the PlayStation 5).īut eschewing Sword and Fairy: Together Forever for these blemishes means skipping one of the most aesthetically enjoyable interactive experiences of the last few years. Boss battles will test patience just as much as ability. When it comes to design decisions, there are an overabundance of straightforward fetch quests. The game’s localization is uneven and habitually dry, and the subtitle fonts can occasionally be muddled by background textures. Sporadically, the sound falls out of sync, undermining the impact of the game’s frequent cutscenes. Much like its predecessors, the latest entry in the Sword and Fairy series suffers from a multitude of imperfections. Price: $39.99 via digital, $99.99 physicalĪvailability: PlayStation store and retailers
Platform: PlayStation 4/5, previously on PC