GuJian 3

GuJian 3 is an action role-playing game and the third installment in the Gujian series, developed by Aurogon Info & Tech. Set in a fantasy world inspired by ancient China and Chinese mythology, the game expands upon the lore of its predecessors. It features a fully real-time combat system praised for its freedom and fluidity, alongside locations and monsters drawn from historical sites and mythological tales. Players embark on a single-player journey through this richly crafted world, which has been compared to the Final Fantasy series for its scale and mythological depth.

GuJian 3: A Monumental Leap for Chinese RPGs and a Testament to Cultural Heritage

In the vast landscape of role-playing games, where Western fantasy and Japanese aesthetics have long dominated, a title emerged from Shanghai in 2018 that dared to be different. GuJian 3 (古剑奇谭三), developed by Aurogon Info & Tech, is not merely a game; it is a profound cultural statement, a technical achievement, and a narrative epic that redefines what a Chinese-developed RPG can be. It is a game born from a tumultuous legacy, carrying the weight of its predecessors’ ambitions and failures, yet managing to soar to heights few in its genre have reached. This is the story of a hidden gem that deserves a place in the pantheon of great action RPGs.

Development History & Context: From the Ashes of a Legacy

To understand GuJian 3 is to understand the turbulent history of Chinese RPG development, a saga inextricably linked to the legendary Chinese Paladin (仙剑奇侠传) series. The game’s director, Zhang Yijun (known as “工长君” or “Work Long Man”), was a central figure in this drama. He was part of the original Softstar Shanghai team that developed the critically acclaimed Chinese Paladin 3 and 4, titles that saved the series from obscurity. However, after years of being underfunded and underappreciated by the Taiwanese parent company, Dayu, Zhang Yijun and the entire Softstar Shanghai team resigned en masse in 2007.

With the backing of a new, more generous investor, Meng Xianming, Zhang founded Shanghai Aurogon and created a new IP: GuJian (Tales of Ancient Sword). This was a phoenix rising from the ashes. The first GuJian (2010) was a success, a turn-based RPG that proved Aurogon could stand on its own. GuJian 2 (2013) was a bold but flawed experiment, attempting a shift to real-time combat that was widely criticized as clunky and hampered by a convoluted story meant to set up a planned MMO.

GuJian 3 was developed under a new shadow: the spectacular failure of Chinese Paladin 6 in 2015, which suffered from horrific optimization, a suspected plagiarized plot, and a disastrous corporate response to criticism. The reputation of Chinese single-player RPGs was at a nadir. Furthermore, Zhang Yijun had left Aurogon due to health reasons partway through development, leaving many to wonder if the team could succeed without its visionary leader.

Against this backdrop, Aurogon spent five years perfecting GuJian 3. Their mission was clear: to create a game without the obvious defects that had plagued other homemade titles—poor graphics, bad optimization, clunky gameplay—and to prove that a Chinese studio could produce a world-class RPG. They chose the older Havok Vision Engine and focused on meticulous optimization, achieving visuals comparable to early PS4 titles. The result, released on December 14, 2018, was nothing short of a revolution for the domestic industry.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive: A Saga of Inheritance and Identity

GuJian 3 tells a story that is both epic in scope and intimately personal. You play as Beiluo, a carefree and powerful fey swordsman of the Shadowchaser race who would rather live among mortals than rule his celestial city, Skyelk. After his twin brother, King Xuange, summons him to help defend their failing city from a demon incursion, Beiluo is thrust into a journey that spans the Mortal, Dream, and Spirit realms.

He is joined by two compelling companions:
* Yun Wuyue: A mysterious Dreamhaunt demon bound by a promise to Beiluo’s brother to protect him. Her relationship with Beiluo evolves into one of the game’s most poignant and understated arcs, a slow-burn romance where glances and subtle actions speak louder than words.
* Cen Ying: A brilliant, witty, and courageous mortal girl, a descendant of the legendary Yellow Emperor, whose knowledge of ancient trigrams is key to saving Skyelk. She provides the moral compass and human heart of the party.

The plot is densely layered with Chinese mythology, philosophical discourse, and political intrigue. It involves a resurrected ancient hero, the tragic demon Wuzhao, reincarnation, and a conspiracy that threatens the balance of all realms. The narrative is unapologetically complex, requiring players to pay close attention to its deep lore encyclopedia, which updates with character bios, historical events, and mythological explanations.

However, the true brilliance of the narrative lies in its central theme: inheritance (传承). This theme operates on multiple levels:
1. In-Game: The story is about the literal inheritance of knowledge, culture, and responsibility from one generation to the next, from the ancient masters to the present-day heroes.
2. Meta-Narrative: It reflects Aurogon’s own journey. Without Zhang Yijun, the team had to inherit his vision and spirit for creating culturally rich games and carry it forward successfully.
3. Cultural: The game is a love letter to Chinese civilization. It argues that the preservation of culture—its art, stories, crafts, and philosophies—is a heroic act in itself. This is most beautifully exemplified in the “Undersea Palace” chapter, a dungeon presented entirely in the style of Chinese shadow puppetry (皮影戏), complete with characters speaking in Beijing Opera cadences.

The writing is mature and often somber, evoking a tone similar to The Witcher series. It avoids simplistic good vs. evil dichotomies, instead presenting characters with understandable, often tragic motivations. The English translation, while functional and enough to follow the plot, is its weakest aspect, often described as mediocre and stiff, occasionally hindering emotional connection for Western audiences.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems: Fluid Combat and a Living World

GuJian 3 successfully accomplishes what its predecessor could not: it delivers a fast, fluid, and deeply engaging real-time action combat system.

• Combat: The system is a highlight. Fights initiate seamlessly in the world without transition screens. It revolves around light and heavy attacks that can be chained into combos, a dodge, and a block. Success hinges on managing your Stamina for evades and parries while building Energy and Morale meters to unleash powerful Special and Morale attacks. The game offers a staggering number of abilities—over 50 across a skill tree—allowing for significant customization. You can equip four special moves at a time, trigger AI companion abilities, and summon Pact Creatures for support. The combat demands strategy, timing, and a “dance-like” flow that feels authentically wuxia.

• Progression – The Constellation System: Each character’s skills and attributes are governed by a Constellation map. Players spend points to unlock “stars” on this map, which can be passive stat boosts or new active abilities. This provides a clear and visually intuitive way to build your characters.

• The Lotuscape – A Home Base Par Excellence: Early on, players gain access to the Lotuscape, a customizable pocket dimension and one of the game’s most innovative systems. This is not just a home; it’s a full-blown economic and crafting simulator.

  • You can recruit artisans (blacksmiths, chefs, tailors) to research and craft better gear, food, and items.
  • Pact creatures can be assigned to farm, mine, and explore for resources.
  • You can decorate your estate with a vast array of buildings, furniture, and flora.
    While incredibly deep, this system can become overwhelming. Managing a chain of exhausted NPCs who need specific, high-level food crafted by other exhausted NPCs can feel like bureaucratic micromanagement. Fortunately, on normal difficulty, engaging with its deepest complexities is optional.

• Mini-Games & Side Activities: The world is brimming with diversions. The card game “Lost Tales” is a fun, strategic pastime similar to The Witcher‘s Gwent. There’s fishing, cooking, and a quest board offering Witcher-style side stories that flesh out the world. Notably, the game avoids senseless slaughter; defeated wildlife simply gets knocked out and crawls away, a thoughtful touch.

One significant flaw is an always-online DRM requirement. Saves are stored on servers, and a constant internet connection is mandatory, a contentious design choice that locked some players out of their games during server outages.

World-Building, Art & Sound: An Oriental Fantasia Brought to Life

This is where GuJian 3 truly ascends into greatness. The game is visually stunning, not due to cutting-edge graphical technology, but because of its breathtaking art direction and meticulous optimization.

• Art Direction & World Design: The game is a virtual tour through ancient China’s most fantastical landscapes. From the ethereal, floating spires of the fey city Skyelk to the bustling mortal towns, mist-shrouded bamboo forests, sun-scorched deserts, and snowy mountain peaks, every location is a masterpiece of environmental storytelling. The attention to architectural and cultural detail is phenomenal, creating a sense of a lived-in, historical world. The much-praised Undersea Palace chapter is a bold artistic triumph, seamlessly blending 3D gameplay with 2D puppet-show aesthetics.

• Sound Design & Music: The soundtrack, composed by Joe Chou, is a character in itself. Each region has its own haunting, melodic theme that perfectly complements the atmosphere, from the serene tranquility of peaceful villages to the epic grandeur of celestial realms. The voice acting in Mandarin is superb, conveying a wide range of emotions with nuance and power. The environmental soundscape, however, is less detailed, a rare shortfall in an otherwise impeccable audio presentation.

Reception & Legacy: From Domestic Triumph to Cult Classic

Upon release, GuJian 3 was a monumental critical and commercial success in China. It was hailed as the first homemade RPG without any major flaws, a technical and artistic benchmark. It sold over 1.3 million copies by July 2020, a huge number for a single-player PC title in the Chinese market.

Internationally, its release was quieter. The English localization arrived nearly a year later in November 2019. While it initially flew under the radar, it slowly gained a fervent cult following among Western RPG enthusiasts. On Steam, it boasts over 47,000 reviews with an “Overwhelmingly Positive” rating. Players praised its combat, world design, and mature story, though the translation and online requirement were consistent points of criticism.

Its legacy is profound:
1. Industry Impact: It restored pride and confidence in Chinese AAA single-player game development, proving it could compete on a global stage in terms of quality. It directly contrasted the failure of Chinese Paladin 6 and set a new standard.
2. Cultural Showcase: It stands as one of the most authentic and deeply integrated showcases of Chinese mythology and culture in a video game, much like Ghost of Tsushima did for Japan.
3. The “Chinese Witcher”: It earned frequent comparisons to CD Projekt Red’s masterpiece for its mature tone, seamless combat, card game, and monster-hunting side quests, a comparison its developers welcomed as the highest compliment.

Conclusion: A Defining Achievement

GuJian 3 is a masterpiece of cultural storytelling and a triumph of action RPG design. It is a game that confidently strides onto the world stage, not by imitating Western or Japanese trends, but by proudly and authentically expressing its own cultural heritage. While hampered by a middling English translation and an unpopular always-online requirement, its strengths are undeniable: a complex, mature narrative; fast, fluid, and customizable combat; a breathtakingly beautiful world; and one of the most engaging home-base systems ever implemented.

It is more than just a great game; it is a testament to perseverance. Born from a studio with a fractured past, developed under the shadow of its rivals’ failures, and completed without its original visionary, GuJian 3 emerged not only successful but transcendent. It inherited the spirit of Chinese RPGs past and carried it forward into a new era. For anyone with an interest in deep RPGs, exquisite world-building, or the rich tapestry of Chinese mythology, GuJian 3 is not just a recommendation; it is an essential play. It is, without a doubt, one of the most significant and beautifully crafted RPGs of its generation.