Faith of Danschant: Hereafter, preview of an action between God of War and Chinese mythology
Faith of Danschant
The productions from China continue to amaze for the technical level that often transpires from the video materials and in the preview of Faith of Danschant: Hereafter we will discover that this game is fully part of this group. We should probably get used to it: the oriental school is churning out technically very capable developers and their titles are often at the level of western triple A, even if they are often carried out by even very small teams. There remain some shortcomings in terms of originality or vision - something that could be associated with the authorial elements of video games - but it is clear that the matter is evolving quickly and that we would do better to look to the East with ever greater interest regarding the near future. .The glittering graphics of various MMOs and actions that made up the first wave are now adding increasingly important identity characteristics, which make the games truly recognizable and special: we saw it for example with Black Myth: WuKong or the strange and impressive DokeV, which for many was the most interesting game shown at Gamescom 2021.
Among the products to keep an eye on we must also include Faith of Danschant: Hereafter, which could be less incisive from the graphic point of view, but it has a considerable substance on its side and above all it is a de facto title already consolidated by a first chapter or available from 2017 on Steam, although never translated into Western languages.
Between wuxia and videogame
Faith of Danschant: Hereafter stages a story involving the protagonist Xing Yuan and what appears to be his daughter The language obstacle makes it rather difficult to understand precisely the narrative origins of Faith of Danschant: Hereafter, but what clearly emerges is that the protagonist, Xing Yuan, is a skilled swordsman who dedicates his life to hunting monsters and demons, in the company of a colorful party of companions including also the young Xing Xia, the daughter of the protagonist, also initiated into the fight as a promising sorceress.In the little information released by the Joyfun team and the publisher Wangyuan Shengtang, the fact emerges that the story has to do with issues related to "life and death" and "family", which could have something to do with to do with the link between Yuan and Xia, but we still know very little about the plot. The war against demons and various creatures within a torn land seems to be a constant, as befits a title focused on the epic deeds of a hero who fights against evil.
What transpires is in short the translation into a video game of some typical themes of the wuxia genre, that is the adventure literature focused on martial heroes of the Chinese tradition, a term then extended to include entertainment products belonging to different media such as films and, indeed, video games.
In these, the hero fights following an iron code based on justice and the fight against oppression, clearly providing a classic idea, but perfectly adaptable to video games, especially to action of this type, even if possible digressions are not excluded more particular and modern between history and characterization of the characters.
It is no coincidence that in the short demo shown some typical elements of the genre appear: the fighting at the ar but white, the wandering warrior on a mission or more specific details such as the agile ride on the bamboo that closely resembles The Tiger and the Dragon, a film that has finally made wuxia known in the West after decades of only gongfu, or the most specifically linked to martial arts.
Combat and dynamic exploration
The agility of the protagonist allows you to move on top of trees and bamboo Compared to the previous chapter, Faith of Danschant: Hereafter features a gameplay substantially modified and transformed into a real third-person action, compared to the more classic RPG adopted in the original. Even at first glance, the comparison that easily emerges is with God of War, as a general structure and direction, but the presence of a more agile and fast protagonist who is not powerful and furious also recalls other suggestions, as regards the Western panorama. One thinks of Prince of Persia, for the interaction and dynamic movement in the scenarios, or Devil May Cry for the rather stylish setting of the fighting, which enhances the use of the sword and the typical choreographic qualities of martial arts. Xing Yuan is able to strike with great power, but also to move gracefully and agile, sliding along walls or using bamboo canes as support points to move to an elevated level.The use of the sword as the main weapon is assisted by the inevitable magical powers, which give the protagonist additional possibilities of attack, giving more power to the sword or increasing the speed to superhuman levels. The result is a classic action combat system, but also quite rich, with a remarkable variety of moves and combo possibilities.
The fights of Faith of Danschant: Hereafter are fast and gory Although the thing has not been specified by the developers, the precedents of the series point to the possibility of RPG-style elements in Hereafter too, so we can probably expect a certain progression of the protagonist, with the subsequent acquisition of further enhancements and a general enrichment of the possibilities of attack and defense. In addition to the clashes with enemies of various types, some also faced in groups, there is no shortage of disturbing and spectacular bosses, introduced and punctuated also by well-paced cutscenes.
Technique and good inspirations
Faith of Danschant: Hereafter presents rather particular moments As we said at the beginning, Faith of Danschant: Hereafter also stands out for its truly remarkable graphics, which also shows some decisive steps forward compared to the previous chapter. It is clear how this sequel was designed as a large-caliber production, able to break through even in Western audiences, both in terms of the choice of a genre more related to the videogame blockbuster and for the rather impressive aspect.The game is built on Unreal Engine and, in the PC version, it will also use the features of Nvidia RTX with ray tracing and DLSS, therefore it is proposed as a title definitely in step with the times.
The boss fight shown in the demo is truly spectacular Beyond the mere technical characteristics, however, there is also a certain style in the design of monsters and scenarios, which contributes to giving a rather marked identity to Hereafter, which obviously owes much to the charm of Chinese mythology.
Creatures and settings derive largely from local folklore and from the recovery of real elements of some geographical areas, obviously filtered through the fantastic vision, but the whole assumes an aspect easily recognizable as deriving from Chinese culture and is something particular and fascinating for an action video game of this type. Of course, the style does not present particular strokes of originality, but the source of inspiration is still able to offer quite peculiar elements, visible for example in the strange design of some enemies and bosses, often presented in a particularly spectacular way thanks to the direction of the cut. cinematic.
There is always room for good third-person action and if this is also characterized by a particular setting and rather atypical sources of inspiration, everything becomes even more interesting. Faith of Danschant: Hereafter seems to fall into the more traditional canon of the genre, but the idea of a game of this type inspired by the Chinese tradition of wuxia makes the title take on a very particular thickness, even more so if it is also remarkably taken care of from the point from a technical point of view. Everything remains to be evaluated as regards the gameplay, which may not really shine for originality, but the elements that make up the whole, between fast and challenging fights like God of War and the dynamic movement system in the style of Prince of Persia, are certainly a excellent business card.
