Thanks to Bilibili user "Youxiankan" for the invitation, allowing us to experience the early version of "Tianji Xing: Shadow of the Ancient Dynasty" in advance.
This title is independently developed and published by Jieshideng, a veteran distributor and publisher from Taiwan, China. Intending to capture the spirit of the classic domestic game series "Xuan-Yuan Sword" while refining modern turn-based RPG mechanics, the combination allowed me, during my two-and-a-half-hour demo session, to catch fleeting glimpses of childhood memories.
Compared to a brand-new title, "Tianji Xing: Shadow of the Ancient Dynasty" carries more sense of heritage and lingering nostalgia. It approaches things lightly, perhaps lacking some ambition, but it indeed has the demeanor of an old friend while offering some novelty. Regardless of changes, the core fun of this game still revolves around the three classic RPG elements: story, character progression, and combat strategy.
The story of "Tianji Xing: Shadow of the Ancient Dynasty" takes place during the Tianbao era of the Tang Dynasty. At this time, unrest in Ba-Shu suddenly changes, and the "Xuanji Sect" rises among the populace, showing signs of seizing control of prefectures and governing people. The imperial court sends the inner secret department, the "Tianji Guard," to quell the rebellion. Not only do they suffer casualties, but the commanding general, Cui Yuan, also defects, killing his comrades before disappearing. Only the player-character, severely injured and amnesiac but still breathing, is saved by Li Ling, a fellow Tianji Guard member. And thus, the game begins.
This demo roughly opens two town maps, two dungeon maps, and parts of the world map.
Although individual maps are not large in scale, in terms of story and gameplay content, they are concise and substantial. Even without grinding levels, simply progressing through the main story, clearing chests, completing side quests, and defeating hidden enemies fills the two-and-a-half-hour demo completely. In fact, at the end of the demo, I still had a team of strong enemies left undefeated.
"Tianji Xing: Shadow of the Ancient Dynasty" controls the pacing of the RPG process with a rustic, well-balanced rhythm. The main story is tight while side quests are light, offering no homework-like pressure without being trivially easy. Achieving this is largely thanks to the combination of "form and intent" mentioned at the beginning.
The game's understanding and presentation of map dungeons are very retro. The map of Yangping Pass is a simple inverted T-shape structure, featuring an inn, pharmacy, general store, and a few residential houses. A handful of NPCs are scattered around, showcasing the life of the pass and distributing small,趣味 (fun) quests. Depending on the time of day, different tasks will appear on the map.
However, if you don't actively chat with NPCs or search for hidden treasures, you can skip this area in under two minutes and head straight to the next main story zone.
The dungeons are even more straightforward. After exploring side paths, you simply retrace your steps or loop back to the main path to reach the end. To enrich the dungeon exploration experience, the game includes map interaction mechanics such as grappling hooks and diving, but overall, they are not complex. There are no obscure, hardcore puzzles from the old days, nor any progress-blocking intensity locks.
As long as you don't actively challenge powerful enemies, the game won't make combat difficult for players. Of course, this assumes you can get the hang of and master the turn-based combat system.
"Tianji Xing: Shadow of the Ancient Dynasty" uses a classic "semi-real-time" turn-based combat system, where turn order is determined by action bar speed, followed by strategic execution. Building on this foundation, the game adds more real-time reaction elements such as combos, skill links, and counterattacks, making the combat feel more modern.
Among these real-time commands, there are resource-consuming active triggers for combos, as well as unconditional active triggers for defense. Depending on specific character attributes, dodge and counterattack chances may also trigger. Even if the numerical improvements are not decisive, considering the broad coverage of real-time commands, using or not using this system will certainly create a significant difference in experience.
The most direct feeling is the noticeable acceleration in combat pace.
When players take various actions, especially breaking an enemy's guard using attribute counters to cause them to collapse and become stunned, the character gains a significant amount of "Continuation Energy," currently capped at three consecutive hits. Additionally, the game offers skill combination options, allowing the use of multiple Spirit resources to cast two active skills in succession. Building on this combination, you can further spend Continuation Energy to execute additional follow-up attacks. This means a single character can perform up to five actions in one turn, significantly altering the turn-based decision-making model of this title.
Beyond obvious and traditional attribute counters and synergistic skill effects, the combat ceiling in "Tianji Xing: Shadow of the Ancient Dynasty" largely depends on how much total damage players can爆发 (burst) through skill links and continuous follow-up attacks when breaking enemies. Since enemies suffer high vulnerability while stunned, and the stun window is limited, combined with the semi-real-time system, deciding the action order for breakers, buffer providers, and final damage dealers, as well as allocating Spirit resources, becomes a major strategic highlight of the turn-based gameplay.
Players struggling with mechanic performance need not worry. The QTE system in "Tianji Xing: Shadow of the Ancient Dynasty" does not alter the original combat rhythm of turn-based RPGs. The timing windows for various real-time reactions are very generous; prompts can be triggered nearly a second before or after they appear, making it quite relaxed and easy.
This gameplay loop, centered around action order, break-induced vulnerability, and combo bursts, clearly supports combat enjoyment throughout the entire game. Even though the demo currently only unlocks three characters—half of the cover roster—the turn-based mechanics are already functioning well.
Take the final Boss of this demo, the Luan Bird, as an example. Whether or not you properly utilize the mechanisms provided by the game will qualitatively impact the combat difficulty.
This battle requires at least two techniques: First, use burst damage from skill links and follow-up attacks to handle the Boss's field mechanics, quickly destroying two Spirit Cores to significantly reduce ultimate skill damage. Second, utilize the shield bash effect of the protagonist, Shangguan Shuo, to delay the Luan Bird's action bar order as much as possible, reducing its attack frequency and increasing margin for error. These are mature and sufficiently interesting semi-real-time combat designs.
The cleverness in combat also aligns with the first impression left by "Tianji Xing: Shadow of the Ancient Dynasty." The development team hopes this title will meet players with a light touch. It will have its own designs but won't create a gap in difficulty or depth. There are no earth-shattering achievements; instead, it aims to evoke—or create—pleasant memories.
For the game itself, this poses no issue. Our market is large enough to accommodate games of varying scales. With ARPGs currently dominating the mainstream, there is indeed a need for more diverse game genres. Having a cultural work that inherits past traditions is truly the icing on the cake.
This math problem is much simpler
However, judging from the current progression mechanics and visual art, "Tianji Xing: Shadow of the Ancient Dynasty" clearly has a long way to go. Since the Spirit Core mechanic is not yet implemented, no final conclusions can be drawn regarding progression and skill builds. However, based on the displayed equipment and skill upgrade interfaces, there probably aren't many surprises left for this title.
As for the game's visual presentation and artistic choices, they will likely invite dissent.
Choosing to retain chibi-style character models, fixed camera angles, ink-wash style world maps, and eight-directional movement animations in this era is a touch that longtime fans will surely appreciate. Even so, the visuals of "Tianji Xing: Shadow of the Ancient Dynasty" can only be described as barely satisfactory—though this is indeed a helpless compromise. Rather than a lack of capability in abandoning 2D, it seems more like being dragged forward by the times. Besides, creating high-quality HD-2D visuals is no easy feat.
Of course, it may be too early to say these things now, as the game's release is likely at least until 2027. Whether for "Tianji Xing: Shadow of the Ancient Dynasty" itself or Jieshideng's development team, their single-player journey has just begun. Nothing is achieved overnight. Since predecessors have already walked this thousand-mile path, what difficulty is there in trying again slowly?