Developed by Chixin Studio and published by Samar Studio, the pixel-art Journey to the West themed title "I Am a Yokai in Journey to the West" has now appeared at the Steam Next Fest, with a demo released simultaneously for players to experience. In the demo, players can step into this mythological realm with an alternative perspective on Journey to the West, personally experiencing stories centered around yokai.
Journey to the West has been told a thousand times; this time, you play as the yokai
The story of Journey to the West has been told countless times, always focusing on Tang Sanzang and his disciples. "I Am a Yokai in Journey to the West" flips the perspective: this time, you are not the nameless minor monster killed in one blow, but you begin your life from that point.
Without the burden of the pilgrimage mission, players must struggle to survive and break through cultivation limits in a mythological world where gods, Buddhists, and wild spirits coexist. Through "reincarnation," they carry the accumulations of each life into the next—carving out their own path of yokai cultivation across different identities.
Pixel-Art Journey to the West Open World
What You Can Play in This Demo
The demo released for Next Fest already outlines the game's framework: players can choose one of 21 yokai with distinct attributes and abilities to start. Flower spirits excel at charming and disrupting enemy formations, while scorpion spirits rely on persistent poison to seal fate with blood—each yokai has its own skill tree and card combinations. Changing identities through reincarnation rewrites the gameplay logic accordingly.
Past Life Identity Selection
Reincarnated Yokai Selection
Cultivation realms are currently capped at "Foundation Establishment." The story includes 1 main questline and 30 side quests. For a title still in preparation, this scope is sufficient for players trying the demo to fully grasp the core mechanics of this "Yokai Life" system within a single demo cycle.
Character Relationship Events
Cards Are Just the Skeleton; Yokai Life Is the Flesh
Card battles form the skeleton of the game, but they are far from the whole picture. Layered on top of card building is a complete RPG progression system: levels, attributes, weapons, clones, and transformations are all adjusted repeatedly through combat and encounters—players don't need to stick to one deck until the end.
And this yokai's "daily life" is richer than most similar titles: sneak into NPCs' homes to steal food, medicine, equipment, artifacts, and materials—there are rewards, but also the risk of being caught red-handed; gather spiritual herbs in the wild and meditate to break through bottlenecks; build good relationships with various NPCs, even unlocking marriage and camp interactions; after defeating bosses and seizing strongholds, you can recruit soldiers and turn a barren mountain into your own yokai stronghold.
Boss Battles
This sense of realism is built up gradually through quantity: the demo features over 80 types of ingredients and dishes, 70 kinds of medicinal herbs and potions, 37 pieces of equipment, 33 magical artifacts, 42 types of materials, 150 miscellaneous items, and as many as 939 fusion recipes. How to mix, combine, and cultivate is left for players to experiment with themselves.
A 20,000-tile random world with hundreds of endings
Supporting all this is a random open world spanning 20,000 tiles and a script exceeding 1.5 million words. Each "life" may lead you to different branches among thousands of random events; your choices will reshape character relationships, growth paths, and even endings—the official figure cites "hundreds of endings."
Random World Overview
Random World Exploration
And "Cycle Inheritance" ensures that death is not the end: the accumulations of this life carry over to the next, allowing you to start anew with a different yokai identity. In other words, this isn't a card game where you "clear the game after finishing one deck." Reincarnation, cultivation, exploration, relationships, and management interlock, making each new game file a different way of living.
According to the official plan, "I Am a Yokai in Journey to the West" will enter Early Access in 2027, with the specific date to be determined. The Steam store page is now live, offering a free demo download. Players participating in this Steam Next Fest can visit the store page to try it out.
Game Genre: RPG Cultivation · Card Battle · Open World · Xianxia
Early Access: 2027, specific date TBD