Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade opens with a stylish anime intro that immediately sets the tone — a vibrant blend of myth, mystery, and sword-swinging action. It’s an effective hook, and it got me hyped to dive in. I first tried this game during February’s Steam Next Fest and was eager to see what the full release had to offer.
Set in a world inspired by Japanese folklore, Yasha spins a familiar tale: Long ago, the warrior Yasha quelled a demonic uprising during the infamous “Blood Moon” event. Afterward, she vanished, and the demons retreated into legend. Humans and the remaining yokai learned to coexist — until, of course, peace shattered. Demons are attacking again, and the balance is crumbling.
Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade, released on May 14, 2025, was developed by 7QUARK, an indie studio based in Taiwan that has largely made mobile games like Mr. Catt and Zombie Defense up until now. This Japanese-inspired roguelike will help players scratch a Hades itch, but unfortunately doesn’t live up to its inspiration.
Story and Looks: Striking, But Dull
You’ll play through this story as one of three characters, each offering a different perspective and slightly different starting point. There’s Shigure, a ninja searching for her missing master after acquiring a mysterious sword; Sara, a mischievous demon girl banished from the underworld on a quest to find a prophesied child; and General Taketora, a tiger warrior seeking to assist his lord, whose blend of bow and hand-to-hand combat made him my personal favorite.
Each character begins in a different place, but they eventually converge in Konpeki Village, the game’s main hub, and follow the same series of boss encounters. Most storytelling happens through static anime-style illustrations and dialogue boxes — nicely drawn but often stiff. Some cutscenes use lightly animated art to depict bigger action moments, but don’t expect elaborate cinematics beyond the opening anime intro.
To see the full story, you’ll need to beat the game multiple times. Each completed run unlocks more story content and harder challenges. It’s a familiar roguelike loop, and if you’ve beaten Hades five times and want more of that structure, Yasha might scratch the itch.
The overlapping narratives weave a decent story with themes of duty, redemption, and revenge, though it never quite reaches the depth it teases.
Combat: A Familiar But Satisfying Loop
Yasha’s gameplay is heavily inspired by Hades, offering fast-paced, top-down hack-and-slash action. Each character uses light and heavy attacks, as well as a parry system called Mystic Arts — powerful special moves that can decimate enemies with a timed parry. Parrying itself is more than just defense: If you time it just right with enemy attacks, you can unleash a Grand Mystic Art, a devastating counterattack.
Each stage in a run ends with a reward — Soul Orbs — which you can spend on new weapon traits. These add effects like burning enemies or trading attack speed for raw power. Shrines can grant you Amulets that provide buffs, or Forbidden Amulets that come with risky tradeoffs. The variety of buffs and debuffs keeps things spicy for a few runs, but eventually, it starts to feel a little too familiar.
The yokai enemies offer a decent mix, from standard foot soldiers to spell-casting hands and spooky ghosts. Bosses are a highlight, with creative designs like a massive demon crab or a wooden spirit with floating hands. While the combat feels great moment-to-moment, its staying power weakens over time due to limited weapon variety; most weapons feel like stat changes rather than new toys to master.
After you die — and you will — Yasha sends you to a mysterious in-between realm, then back to Konpeki Village. You’ll spend Soul Power to buy permanent upgrades and unlock new abilities or blessings. After your first death, you’ll also unlock weapon forging, which lets you get new weapons imbued with elemental or stat-based effects like fire damage, shield generation, or critical hit boosts. But functionally, the weapon combos stay the same — it’s a reskin with perks, not a fundamentally new tool.
This is where Yasha starts to falter. Compared to Hades, where every weapon feels distinct and changes how you play, Yasha gives you a different flavor of the same moves. The one exception? Taketora’s bow. His play style forced me to rethink my approach and offered some genuine mechanical variety. His ranged options and alternate bow types felt like the closest the game came to introducing true new weapons.
Presentation and Progression
Konpeki Village is a cozy hub with a mix of human and yokai villagers. In between levels, you’ll encounter a second hub, a demon village, with NPCs that offer healing, blessings, or small bits of lore. But these villagers rarely say anything interesting, and they lack the personality or narrative depth found in similar games. They’re functionally vendors — not characters you grow attached to.
There are some neat extras, like collectible items that improve your ramen vendor’s menu, which offer you temporary buffs like shields, increased evasion, or damage boosts mid-run. It’s a nice touch that adds a bit more to the gameplay loop.
Final Thoughts
Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade is a visually striking and mechanically competent roguelike that doesn’t quite break new ground. The anime art is strong, the action is satisfying, and the parry system adds some welcome depth, but the lack of true weapon diversity and limited character interactions hold it back. (If you’re looking for some fast-paced, top-down action with some genuine weapon diversity, Kill Knight is a strong alternative.)
The story is enjoyable but predictable. The gameplay is exciting but repetitive. Yasha is a decent entry in an increasingly crowded post-Hades roguelike scene, but it rarely rises above imitation.
If you’re looking for something to play after finishing Hades for the umpteenth time, Yasha is a fine distraction. But much like a forged copy of a legendary blade, it’s sharp, stylish — and ultimately a little hollow.
Score: 7.0/10
Yasha Legends of the Demon Blade, developed by 7QUARK and published by Game Source Entertainment, released on May 14, 2025, for PC, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. MSRP $29.99. Version reviewed: PC.
Disclaimer: A review code was provided by the publisher.
Donovan is a lifelong gamer with a love for fast-paced, single-player action games—especially Devil May Cry, Metroidvanias, indies, and action RPGs. He’s also an “advanced scrub” at fighting games and will play just about anything fun. Donovan is passionate about seeing more diverse characters and creators in the industry—or at least better hair options for Black people. With over a decade in journalism, he joined The Punished Backlog in 2023 to write more about what he loves. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @dono_harrell.
