Path of the Yaoguai
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Press release
RedKardia and publisher Samar Studio are bringing Path of the Yaoguai to Steam Next Fest, with a free demo available now. This pixel-art RPG explores the world of Journey to the West from the other side of the legend: as a small, unknown yaoguai trying to survive, grow stronger, and find a path through successive lives.
A different perspective on Journey to the West
Instead of following the famous pilgrimage, players become one of the creatures living in its shadow. Yaoguai, the supernatural beings of Chinese folklore, share this world with immortals, Buddhist figures, and other spirits. For a minor creature at the bottom of that world, survival comes first.
Reincarnation gives each life a place in a longer journey. Players carry accumulated progress into their next incarnation, take on a different form, and explore new ways to develop their character.
What is in the demo
The demo features 21 playable yaoguai forms, each with distinct attributes, abilities, and card combinations. A flower spirit can charm its opponents, while a scorpion can wear them down with poison. Changing forms opens up different approaches to character growth and combat.
Players can cultivate their character up to the Foundation realm and explore one main storyline and 30 side stories. The demo introduces reincarnation, cultivation, combat, exploration, and relationships within the game's broader RPG progression.
A life beyond the deck
Card-based battles sit alongside character levels, attributes, weapons, clones, and transformations. Encounters, battles, and cultivation all contribute to how a character develops, giving players room to adapt their approach as a life unfolds.
Outside combat, players can steal food, medicine, equipment, Mystic Treasures, and materials from NPCs; gather resources to advance their cultivation; and build relationships that can lead to marriage and camp interactions. Defeating bosses and capturing locations also opens the way to recruiting yaoguai and managing a camp of their own.
The demo includes more than 80 types of ingredients and dishes, 70 herbs and medicines, 37 pieces of equipment, 33 Mystic Treasures, 42 materials, 150 miscellaneous items, and 939 Fusion recipes. Gathering and combining these resources creates further options for developing a character.
A randomized world and over 100 endings
According to the developer, the game combines a randomized world of 20,000 tiles with more than 1.5 million Chinese characters of narrative text, thousands of random events, and over 100 endings. Choices can shape relationships, character development, and the outcome of a life.
Death leads to another incarnation. Players can return in a new form, build on what came before, and try different decisions across exploration, cultivation, relationships, and camp management.
Path of the Yaoguai is planned to enter Steam Early Access in 2027, with an exact date to be announced. The free demo is available now, and players can wishlist the game on Steam.
English and Japanese localization remains in progress. Players may encounter untranslated text, text extending beyond interface boundaries, and UI presentation that is still being refined.
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3739350/?l=english
Developer: RedKardia
Publisher: Samar Studio
Platform: PC via Steam
Genre: RPG, card-based combat, open-world exploration, cultivation
Early Access: Planned for 2027; exact date to be announced