It’s 2026, and the soulslike subgenre continues to grow, with new contenders all aiming high to be the next great hit. It’s an appealing genre, to be sure, but to truly make an impact, you need not only a great hook, but also stellar combat fundamentals that run deep. That’s where the upcoming Swords of Legends is looking to put its best foot forward, as developer Aurogon Shanghai reinvigorates the long-running Chinese RPG series into a faster, more fierce action game that’ll push players to master its wuxia-inspired martial arts.
Swords of Legends recently left an impression at Summer Game Fest 2026, and we’ve finally got over an hour of hands-on time to get a feel for its slick fighting systems and the visually stunning and tense boss encounters. It’s a type of soulslike that embraces the journey of a mythical hero in the making with its heightened action-focused jaunt through Chinese mythology. So far, Swords of Legends plays like a promising new soulslike that has me eager to see where this grand spectacle will go next.
A Mythical Saga Reborn
For many Western players, this may be the first time you’ve heard about Swords of Legends, which is actually part of a larger series of role-playing games and a live-action TV show based on the Chinese cross-media series Gujian. Swords of Legends is a reboot of sorts that takes the series into the realm of soulslike action, bringing the wuxia-inspired spectacle – the marrying of Chinese-influenced high-fantasy and martial arts action – into an action-RPG that’s all about taking out foes with style and a certain level of grace that’s befitting of a mythical hero.
Taking on the role of Sipan, a fallen swordsman turned agent of the underworld, he’s tasked with traveling to the mortal realm to face off with ruthless demons and mysterious rivals rampaging through the lands. This also includes the added task of claiming as many souls as possible from slain enemies, and using them to augment his expanding arsenal of weapons and artifacts that greatly alter his fighting style.
My hands-on time with Swords of Legends focused on a demo-specific series of tutorials and isolated missions that ran me through some of the larger environments to explore, such as the dreamlike, ethereal landscape of the mythical realm and isolated mountain-top communities overrun by demons in the mortal realm. The signature boss battles capped off each segment, which were not only a great dive into slick martial arts action, but also surprisingly tricky encounters that had me pulling out every trick I could use to keep up with them. One of my favorite bosses – which also shows the tone that Swords of Legends goes for – was the Tri-Tail boss, who turns from a wholesome cat into a totally ripped feline that pummeled me to bits.
Swords of Legends does stick close to that Souls-like structure, and it is an admittedly well-established setup, especially in the wake of recent standouts like Black Myth: Wukong and Wuchang: Fallen Feathers. Still, I was impressed with how well Swords of Legends presents its combat fundamentals. It, of course, sticks with the tried-and-true flow of picking your moments carefully to go in for strikes against both common enemies and some of the more ruthless foes. But it handles that particular dance of navigating combat encounters where you’ll evade, parry, and dodge attacks to strike at the right time as exactly that – a dance of wills and wits.
I was particularly impressed with how these battles have such flair to them – which is a nice contrast from other soulslikes that tend to keep the tone of battles subdued and mostly serious. With the wuxia influence, it really homes in on the tone of a mythical, martial arts fable. There’s a dance-like quality to the flow of these fights, where you’re dishing out combo attacks and reacting to enemy attacks in a way that was really exciting to watch as it was to take part in. It made for a more fun type of engagement that I don’t often feel from soulslike games. Still, there were plenty of moments where the enemies really decked me when I found myself getting too comfortable.
That same sense of satisfaction when taking out a particularly ruthless enemy – and later on once again with ease – is present in Swords of Legends. I got a big kick out of successfully parrying many enemy strikes from a pass, then sneaking in a critical hit to knock them into a stagger. When it comes to fundamentals, Swords of Legends – while very familiar – hits most of the right notes when it comes to matching that compelling, yet still stressful soulslike flow. Unfortunately, one downside of the demo I played was some unfortunate technical hiccups that disrupted the flow and made landing some parries a bit difficult. This can be a very troublesome snag for a soulslike in the making, so hopefully the developers will be able to iron them out prior to launch.
Upgrading a Mythical Adventure
Where Swords of Legends really makes its big swings away from familiar soulslike trends is with Sipan’s arsenal of weapons and skills. Along with a myriad of weapons like glaives and two-handed swords, there’s also a slate of weapon artifacts that outfit Sipan with different combat abilities. His base Cosmic Mirror artifact allows him to summon glyphs that can do group damage, or more importantly, block and parry strikes from enemy combatants. I spent most of my hands-on time sticking with this one for its defensive qualities, as it was incredibly satisfying to successfully smack away attacks like I was in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. Another fun artifact was the Thunder Banner, which added lightning damage to my core attacks and a quick lightning dodge that came in handy during the fiercer fights.
Another fun twist with Swords of Legends is the ability to call in an assist from defeated foes. One of the early bosses I defeated in the tutorial was the hammer-wielding Ox-Head, who then offered his services to Sipan in future battles. In addition to summoning him for quick, powered-up strikes, you can even have him join in key battles against stage bosses, giving you a partner to fight alongside you and even execute cinematic Link Attacks, with Sipan and his companion teaming up to deal critical damage on a staggered boss. This especially came in handy during some of the more intense boss battles, which really sold the more stylized and wuxia-spectacle moments of Swords of Legends.
The demo’s most challenging fight was against a powered-up Ox-Head, who really dished out some serious pain. Even with a powered-up Sipan’s new weapons and gear – such as a shrine guardian armor set covered in talismans – I still had to lock in and find those moments to break through his defenses, and even then, it took me many tries to finally take him out. It was a great capper to the demo, and I was impressed with how well Sipan’s abilities can evolve through the campaign – which is always fun to see in a soulslike.
What makes Swords of Legends such a neat spin on a soulslike is that it focuses on players steadily building up a mythical hero – and that’s an intriguing hook for an action-RPG. Still, much like the sub-genre itself, there is a certain challenge that comes with creating a soulslike that not many developers can fully grasp and turn into a compelling game. But so far, Swords of Legends and its mythical hero’s journey do have the makings of a stylish and invigorating action game that makes its badass character moments count.
Alessandro Fillari is a longtime games media professional. Talk video games with him on BlueSky at @afillari.bsky.social.
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