Hidden Dragon Legend

 PlayStation 4
User Score
5.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 25 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 25
  3. Negative: 13 out of 25

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  1. Darkbook120
    Dec 27, 2018
    5
    Pros:
    -The combat system can at times be pretty fun, especially when executing combos.
    -Some abilities are pretty useful like slowing down time -Graphics are pretty good for an indie chinese game -Puzzles, while simple, are nicely designed. -Art direction is fantastic -Surtras are useful for additional buffs and work as they should -Menus are nicely designed -The final boss was    Pros:
    -The combat system can at times be pretty fun, especially when executing combos.
    -Some abilities are pretty useful like slowing down time
    -Graphics are pretty good for an indie chinese game
    -Puzzles, while simple, are nicely designed.
    -Art direction is fantastic
    -Surtras are useful for additional buffs and work as they should
    -Menus are nicely designed
    -The final boss was okay
    -There's a lot of weapons to unlock...

    Cons:
    -...which sadly consists of the same weapon but with a different design and different amount of damage.
    -Knives, which are ranged weapons, are rather useless.
    -Platforming is very stiff and it shows is issues during the later levels, especially when you get the grappling hook.
    -Story doesn't know if it wants to be a cheesy kung fu movie or a serious one
    -characters are forgettable and lacks any personality
    -Bosses are either easy (first boss) or tedious (the samurai guy with a polearm)
    -Some abilities are rather useless like the boomerang, either due its ineffectiveness or its damage.
    -Costumes are nicely design but aren't worth playing the game again just because of it.
    -Soundtrack is okay but forgettable. There's a good reason why the menu theme barely managed to break 100 views on YT. I like its chinese instrumentals but the generic "epic" instrumentals ruins its rhythm.
    -The "challenge" in the game is just getting ganked by enemies with large pools of health, turning its fun combat segments into chores.
    -Collectables feels like they were added just because the developers needed to, because none provide a good story exploration
    -Issues during combat moments, such as janky hit detection and enemy Ai
    -Cut scenes are awkwardly animated
    -NG+ consists of obtaining EVERY weapons again because the ones that you got on your previous playthrough does jack ****
    -Character models during daylight look like they were from a PS2 game, while textures during nighttime in stages look dated.
    -You can just complete the game by just mashing square and triangle button and dodging when enemies glow yellow.
    -Lacks any quality of life additions, like grabbing on ledges, parry, combo canceling, blocking, etc.

    I feellike people are only defending this game solely because it's an over the top action game, which is the equivalent if defending a crappy japanese game just because it has cute anime girls. I mean, just because it's action, that doesn't mean it's good. I like JRPGs, but that doesn't mean I like JRPGs like Omega Quintet, Akiba's Beat Last Rebellion, etc.

    Also, since when chinese games are immune to criticism? Just because it has chinese aesthetics, that doesn't mean it automatically saves itself from flaws. So what, if games like Umbrella Corps where chinese, people will start defending it? Now that doesn't mean Hidden Dragon is bad, is just that it's not worth $20. If anything, just get the PC version instead since it's $5 less. The only big compliment I can give to Hidden Dragon is that it's probably the best mediocre chinese game on the PS4. Yes, a lot better than Unearthing Mars, The Walker, Dying Reborn, Ace Banana, Gene Rain, etc.    … Expand
  2. SuperkenGaming
    Sep 19, 2017
    7
    HIDDEN DRAGON LEGEND: Shadow Trace
    From challenging to cheap
    Hidden Dragon is a 2.5 d action platformer set in imperial china where you play as Sword Master Lu out for vengeance and his memory... The first half of this 6 hour game is really enjoyable.. It mixes platforming and combat to not make one or the other seem too much, it keeps the pacing of this game really great you’ll run    HIDDEN DRAGON LEGEND: Shadow Trace
    From challenging to cheap
    Hidden Dragon is a 2.5 d action platformer set in imperial china where you play as Sword Master Lu out for vengeance and his memory...
    The first half of this 6 hour game is really enjoyable..
    It mixes platforming and combat to not make one or the other seem too much, it keeps the pacing of this game really great you’ll run into chests to pick up health items as you’re hopping across roof tops and along your way you’ll be stopped by a variety of different enemies that all offer a different challenge for you to deal with..
    The combat seems spongy at first because you expect this to be a platformer with combat dashed in there... but this is actually more of a combat focused game with platforming dashed in there…
    in combat you have a light and have attack and you’re able to pull off a few different combos with them, eventually unlocking throwing daggers for ranged attacks.. You’re also able to evade and build up combos to fill up a meter to pull off one of 3 different special moves at first... more to be unlocked with the in game currency dropped by enemies you can also use these soul stones to upgrade different skills you unlock and find in chests around the different maps, and you’ll occasionally run into brute enemies that glow before they attack to give you a cue to dodge making encounters feel just the right amount of challenging.. You aren’t just hacking and slashing in this game... you actually have to pay attention as enemies do dark souls level of damage…
    and each chapter of course has a boss battle which like brutes are just the right amount of challenging as well and will take multiple attempts to overcome... though you feel like if you try just one more time you can get it even if you’ve been at it for an hour…
    halfway through the game though the game just starts feeling cheap as it all of a sudden wants to focus more on platforming.. And the platforming here is just extremely awkward...
    you have a claw to attach to things and you’ll be using this in moment but it just never feels intuitive
    and the double jumping has weird unexplained ruled where it sometimes just doesn’t happen like the game has invisible black holes that if you get close to will just suck you in..
    I was stuck on one platforming section for over an how because of these awkward unpolished and unintuitive controls...
    only to face an overpowered boss with no real patterns after I just got out of an extremely tough boss fight that I needed all of my health pickups to defeat.. And there were no health pickups on the way to this boss...
    So while the first half is a satisfying challenge…
    the game throws an insanely frustrating hurdle for you to climb over to see the game out to the end..
    One I don’t see most players having the patience to overcome...
    with a pretty generic story not giving you the fire to want to do so either
    Hidden Dragon Legend is a great and challenging action platformer game..
    It’s a shame its lack of polish in platforming and unnecessary difficulty spike half way through hold it back from being a classic
    that being said, if you’re a gluten for punishment, this most of the time is a decently solid game
    I give HIDDEN DRAGON LEGEND: Shadow Trace
    a 7/10    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
52

Mixed or average reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 13
  3. Negative: 3 out of 13
  1. GameCritics
    Jan 16, 2018
    35
    Hidden Dragon Legend has some good visual design but not much else, and it’s a shame. I appreciated the style, but the actual game is so shoddily produced that it’s impossible to enjoy. I don’t care that enemies look good if fighting them is sluggish and repetitive. With tighter controls and fluid combat, Hidden Dragon Legend could have been a minor gem, but it’s just an attractive failure.
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  2. DarkStation
    Oct 27, 2017
    50
    Hidden Dragon Legend’s cover art should appear in any search engine’s results for mixed bag. The combat it offers is challenging and genuinely fun, but the traversal that comes between it is far too often broken and unfair. As you run through Imperial China, you’ll be enchanted by the mood, only to be brought right back out by stiff cutscenes and terribly compressed weapon sounds. Upon reflection, I truly believe that MegaFun Games put real passion into this project, though; even the elements that don't work are laid out in a way where they'd be very enjoyable if they did. It's just a shame that the finished project is so deeply flawed.
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  3. Gaming Age
    Oct 12, 2017
    75
    At 20 dollars, it is a tough ask as a purchase since this developer with no discernible track record in the west. Those who take the leap will find a rather solid title with high replayability and a visual style seldom seen on our shores. One can only hope that the publisher can put some more marketing dollars towards this title so that it can find some sort of audience.
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