There is no shortage of open-world sandbox games. Think of any setting or IP; there is probably an open-world sandbox for it or heavily inspired by it. There are plenty of games in this genre, and at times it can feel oversaturated. It can be hard to stand out, especially on PC, where the genre thrives. I sometimes have trouble clicking with the genre, but I like trying these types of games because when they click, I love them. That’s a feeling developer HuanMos Game comes very close to with their game, The Matchless Kungfu.
The Matchless Kungfu is an open-world sandbox RPG set with a wuxia background, and you can explore the world in any martial arts role. The game wants you to build your story and give you the tools to experience it. From the start, you can play the game as you see fit. This means you can progress the narrative, explore to your heart’s content, level up any skill, or even build a home to live a quiet life. The game lets you do a lot and it’s incredibly ambitious, but problems come with that. Even after everything, I’m still left with a game I keep returning to and will pay attention to for a while.
A Fresh Start
The Matchless Kungfu throws you into its world right away. You start with the character creator, and while it’s not the most in-depth, it gives an idea of how you will play. After that, you wake up in a strange bed without remembering how you got there. You have no clothes or items but are greeted by a stranger who says they found you and decided to help. They explain things about this world, where you might need to go, and how to fight. After this tutorial, they give you some clothes and items and then walk off as the main quest line opens up.
If you’re going to prioritize the main quest line, you can start on that and begin to explore/expand the world as well. You can start looking at the game’s various systems and begin to max anything out that seems valuable and useful to you. The game doesn’t push you in any direction but shows each option you can take. If I can praise anything about The Matchless Kungfu, it’s the freedom of choice and ambition. It wants you to build your story, which I did during my main playthrough.
This is a very ambitious game with many systems, so I decided to start by describing how I tackled it. I let my character die on my main file and restart twice before committing. I did the tutorial each time and explored a few sections before restarting to get a feel of the game. When you die the first time, you can restart easily and carry over some progress to continue your legacy. When I got to the third version of my character, it all started to click fully, and I prioritized filling out the map. This is when I fully committed, and I’m glad I did.
The possibilities are seemingly endless for a main playthrough. I became a fisherman who found every central town. You can tame beasts, and I had a horse, monkey, and eagle follow me everywhere. There was an NPC I helped with a lot, so we ended up getting married and having a child. I accidentally made a prison because bandits kept attacking my family’s home, and I needed a place to put them. For a while, I made a profit by flipping houses, and that was how I funded anything I did. This is just a fraction of what I did during this playthrough.
Piece by Piece
The world in The Matchless Kungfu is divided by blocks. When you start a new game, you are on a singular plot of land. After you finish the tutorial, you get a second block to place, creating a new environment on the map, and you expand the world by placing blocks of land as you get them. When you place a block, you’ll be given options that show different environments as well. Each block has a list of requests attached to them, outside of quests you already have. You unlock blocks by completing these environment requests, accepting a request from an NPC, or even buying a new one.
Each new block of land comes with different properties. The blocks might have effects that harm you, but they also could be full of resources you need. For example, blocks can have towns, clinics, or buildings that help you max out different stats. Pay attention to your options when placing blocks because they will affect how you play. There are also special blocks that will remain the same, and you can unlock them by meeting specific requirements. These special blocks are the size of four regular ones and are usually big towns important to the story, so they’re rarely used outside of that.
Block synergy is worth keeping in mind since the blocks will have to go off each other, and it’s up to you to ensure they work. My world is somewhat messy with areas that have nothing but poison and fire. Others are peaceful, and I even have a nice plot of land that I’ve started building off of. Crafting is another significant part of the game. I fell in love with crafting and even flipped houses, and I’ve also started trying to make a little town. The gameplay loop turned out to be quite addicting as a result.
The Kungfu
This game wouldn’t be called The Matchless Kungfu without some kung fu. The combat is unique, and I haven’t encountered anything like it. It took some time to get used to the combat system but after a couple of fights, I enjoyed it and couldn’t stop playing. The combat is turn-based, with some interesting twists. The screen will fill up with attacks based on your current gear and special moves. The five base attacks are a fist, kick, palm, weapon, and throwables.
You start by clicking on one move and then try to connect it to others to make a combo. Only the same move types can connect, but some connectors will help extend your combo. You will get at least one connector each turn, and it’s up to you to string a lengthy combo. When you finish stringing together your combo, hover over the end turn section and let go. Once more, your goal is to make a longer and better combo than your opponent. Some moves completely wipe out others, like rock paper scissors, so if you know what you are doing, you can have battles where you never get hurt.
On top of that, you also unlock special moves the more you play. You can equip up to six, each with unlock requirements to use in battle. For example, a move might require you to have three fists in a row during your combo. You can also plan around these moves so multiple will unlock when you do a specific combo. When you unlock these moves, you activate them like a combo, and they take up a complete turn. It’s worth noting that opponents can use special moves too.
I typically prioritize combos of fists and kicks because it enable three different moves. Nothing feels better than pulling that off and having three turns where I buff myself, debuff them, and do maximum damage. The combat can be a lot of fun, but also it does not feel balanced. Not all fights are the same but I still have fun, even if some battles fall flat.
In addition to regular fights, The Matchless Kungfu also has verbal battles. NPCs will approach you and ask you to engage in verbal battles. A verbal argument is presented in front of you, and you can select prompts in your text bubble to support your side of the argument. These are optional, but succeeding in them will improve their opinion of you, which also helps with trading items.
When the fight starts, the argument follows a path, increasing your score and multiplier. When the argument ends, you and your opponent compare the final scores, and the winner does more damage. Unfortunately, I do not like verbal battles, since they’re confusing and poorly explained. I had to open a guide to get through a lot of these arguments.
Mind and Body
The Matchless Kungfu has another interesting system for buffs, debuffs, and improving your abilities. It is called the Meridian system, and it is a page filled with different nodes you can connect. You connect the nodes using chi, which you can get naturally by playing. You will want to fill out as much of it as possible because doing so will also heal wounds and ailments. Keep in mind that wounds and ailments can disable some as well.
The nodes can unlock different buffs depending on what you connect and how you connect them together. These buffs can help and improve your kung fu builds and other stats in the game. This is another moment when you will want a guide open, however. I didn’t focus on it too much but made sure I could at least heal wounds and ailments for myself.
Certain areas also have enlightenment stones, which are areas where you sit and meditate and can learn different moves. Two things can happen at each enlightenment stone. One is unlocking a skill, but you have to meet the requirements. The other is getting a Mnemonic, which you can use to buff your martial arts skills. Both are very helpful, especially if you want to excel in combat. I’ve tried to find every enlightenment stone I can, and I’ve gotten the skills from most of them, but I have trouble getting Mnemonics. This system confuses me, but I still want to perfect it and keep coming back for more.
Lost in Translation
Throughout this review, I’ve come back to two things. Firstly, The Matchless Kungfu is very ambitious and, at times, confusing. I brought up having a guide open for different systems for a multitude of reasons. Some of these systems are very broad, so it makes sense to have a reference point if you’re new. Many games are like this, so I see no problem with that. I also kept having a guide because the game’s translation has issues.
Many of the in-game tutorials are confusing to read and/or lack enough explanation. The Matchless Kungfu still hasn’t done a complete localization, and it harms different aspects of the game. I had to open fan guides for many of the systems, and when I tried to look at the in-game guide, many were not there. A few weren’t translated, and I still don’t know what they are for. This also affects the dialogue when talking to NPCs. Some options lead nowhere, and even those that aren’t translated. I found conversations challenging and tried my best to proceed after getting the necessary information.
That also leads to another significant issue, bugs. As big and ambitious as the game is, it should be no shock that it is buggy. I’ve had the game crash on launch, characters disappear or slingshot across the map, and even stop working for a minute. These may sound bad, but they aren’t as frequent as I expected. The developers are actively working on the issues, and they have a bug report tool and updates on a near-daily basis. The team is passionate and want this game to succeed, showing a roadmap and listening to bug reports. In a year, I feel many of these issues could be sorted out, and I will gladly check in now and then to see.
Return to Kungfu
The Matchless Kungfu is an incredibly ambitious title, and it encourages you to build your story and gives you every opportunity. No matter your playstyle, you will find something to enjoy here. It tries to do everything and doesn’t always hit the mark, though. I barely went into some systems in this review because no matter how much I played, they just didn’t click. The localization doesn’t feel complete, hurting the dialogue and all the systems it juggles. You will encounter bugs while playing, but on the bright side, they aren’t too frequent. Even with all the issues I have, I find myself coming back to play more.
I enjoy the game’s open-world sandbox. Expanding my world and thinking about where to place blocks can be really fun. The combat grabbed me, even if the game has balance issues. Most importantly, I could build my own story and live it how I want to. Who cares if I haven’t progressed in some quests? I’m too busy starting a family and making a town. The Matchless Kungfu lets me play how I wanted to, so I will keep returning and pay attention to its development. The game gets frequent updates, and a promising roadmap is ahead. Keep an eye on this game because its potential is unmatched, and I can’t wait to see where it goes.
Disclaimer: Bilibili provided Final Weapon with a Steam key of The Matchless Kungfu for review purposes.
