Yodanji

 Switch
User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 9 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 9
  3. Negative: 2 out of 9

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  1. SplatKat
    Jan 11, 2018
    8
    Yodanji is a rogue-like RPG made in the style and look of old PC games. The player starts out with three Yokai and must journey through a procedural dungeon in order to unlock more. The game is very challenging, making unlocking new Yokai feel accomplishing and getting a chance to try all of their diverse playstyles kept me engaged for more hours than expected from a $5 game.

    For new    Yodanji is a rogue-like RPG made in the style and look of old PC games. The player starts out with three Yokai and must journey through a procedural dungeon in order to unlock more. The game is very challenging, making unlocking new Yokai feel accomplishing and getting a chance to try all of their diverse playstyles kept me engaged for more hours than expected from a $5 game.

    For new players deaths may seem unfair, but every enemy follows strict rules about their abilities and stats. The more one plays the more they learn to deal with abilities that earlier may have seemed cheap.

    Yodanji is full of Japanese folklore, each Yokai having their own backstory and concept art that are filled with the essence of ancient mythology. They feel like the kind of thing that would come in the manual of the game if it were made in the 90s.

    Cons:
    - There is very few musical tracks so the music gets repeative fast.
    - The controls can take some getting used to, a little clunky.
    - The game is $3 on mobile, the Switch version has a few extras but not a lot    … Expand
  2. RingoGaSuki
    Feb 16, 2018
    9
    Excellent value and great fun, there is much more to like about Yodanji than its $5 price tag and developer's history would suggest. Starting with three Yokai, you must traverse an increasingly difficult dungeon, aiming to collect scrolls and defeat the end boss in order to unlock more Yokai and improve your final score. It's graphical style is very basic, and the game is tough as nails.Excellent value and great fun, there is much more to like about Yodanji than its $5 price tag and developer's history would suggest. Starting with three Yokai, you must traverse an increasingly difficult dungeon, aiming to collect scrolls and defeat the end boss in order to unlock more Yokai and improve your final score. It's graphical style is very basic, and the game is tough as nails. You will die many many times. It took more than 5 hours before I finally cleared the dungeon for the first time. I have now racked up 40 hours of playtime and will not stop anytime soon. For $5, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better game on the eShop.… Expand
  3. Bibbidybuff
    Mar 29, 2020
    8
    This is an underrated and cruel little title that I'm too young to know how on earth to improve myself with it. I enjoy trying my best with it and the Yokai are obviously a joy, but geez this game is tough. I haven't had the pleasure of playing the true rouge-style games, so I'm not sure how it compares. Give it a try for history's sake.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
54

Mixed or average reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 4
  3. Negative: 2 out of 4
  1. Nintendo Life
    Jan 18, 2018
    80
    Bite-sized but very tough to chew, Yōdanji is a devilishly tricky roguelike with a fun theme, addictive, goal-based gameplay and massive replay value. Its 21 unlockable characters are the key to the latter, with each yōkai essentially acting as its own unique class, and discovering and trying to master the mechanics of each monster is pure old-school joy. Its anachronistic presentation won’t be for everyone, and clunky controls make for a sometimes confusing crawl, but anyone looking for a tough-as-nails good time with plenty of personality will get more than their money’s worth here.
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  2. Switch Player
    Jan 2, 2018
    40
    Yodanji manages to take Japanese Folklore monsters and turn them into a dull turn-based rogue-like. The random nature of the game completely undermines any interesting ideas and, unfortunately, the whole experience ends up falling a little flat as a result.
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  3. NintendoWorldReport
    Dec 19, 2017
    40
    While there certainly will be a market of people that will enjoy Yodanji I think that selection of people will be fairly narrow. In a year that has seen dozen of roguelikes becoming increasingly popular, one from a text based era may have some issues finding a following. For me personally, although I have enjoyed many of the recently released permadeath titles, the prospect of the collection of yokai just wasn’t enough to overlook the minimalist gameplay and 80s inspired graphic design.
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