Enter the world of wuxia...
- Legend has it that the Insanity Sutra is the fragment of the legendary Mogao Scripture...
And the Devil Inside will be born during the training.
When the Dark Side prevails, one will be corrupted and become a monster.
Set in the Silk Road during the Ming Dynasty, in an era where lands are plagued by legions of bandits, a swordsman named Meng Jing has completed his training in the Wudang Hills. The best of many trainees and one of the finest warriors, Meng Jing is tasked by his mentor to deliver the Great Karma Scripture to the Imperial Court in a ten-day journey from the desert to the town of Shazhou, who's currently under the control of the feared Barbarians of Grey Wolf. Besides dealing with ruthless marauders and bandit legions Meng Jing also needs to face an evil cult desiring the Great Karma Scripture for themselves.
Finally, in a choice of fate, Meng Jing may need to enter the spirit realm to stop the root of chaos of the world.
Gameplay-wise, Wind Road follows an open-world exploration style rather similar to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (albeit in a less linear route), with gameplay ranging from interaction with various NPC to having Meng Jing suddenly surrounded by mooks and kicking ass.
The game was released on the PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. According to Steam, Wind Road is the best-selling video game from China from it's year of release; an Expansion Pack was later made available in 2023.
Once Upon A Time, the Silk Road Beckons...
- Amazon Brigade: The all-female acolytes, whom are More Deadly Than the Male mooks, one of the Elite Mooks appearing near the end. They all use metal hoops with jagged blades as weapons. Jiu-Erh notably commands a legion of these during her boss fight.
- And the Adventure Continues: How the game ends, with Meng Jing, returning from the spirit world, resuming his journey to the Capital City with the scriptures.
- Auto-Scrolling Level: The chase scene in the Dunhuang desert have Meng Jing on the back of a caravan and pursued by bandits on horseback. He'll need to snipe them from a distance using his bow and arrows (which he has an unlimited supply of) while avoiding arrows fired by bandits, while occasionally some nimble bandit fighters will actually leap off their horses to attack from up close.
- Battle Couple:
- The Zhous are a bandit couple who attacks Meng Jing, one at a time, firstly against Mr. Zhou and later Mrs. Zhou. They return in the spirit realm as a Dual Boss.
- Jiu-Erh and Ou-Yang, supposedly two disciples training under the same teacher, are a couple.
- Bears Are Bad News: Played straight with the Gobi Bear, a fierce ursine boss fought in... the Gobi Desert.
- Blade Spam: Meng Jing, when his skill is at a level high enough, can unleash a flurry of blade swipes. More than one boss has this ability, too.
- Bloodlust: How the Butcher is introduced - killing a chicken by biting the animal's throat, and drinking it up before he bring out his cleaver. Apparently slicing the chicken's throat is too civilized...
- Chain of Deals: The village quest have Meng Jing tasked with obtaining a poison antidote to heal his monk friend. Sounds easy? But the medicine man requires scales from a rare, silver-scaled fish, so Meng Jing needs to find the only fisherman in town skilled enough to procure said fish. He finds the fisherman, but then the fisherman said the fish can only be lured by pork, so Meng Jing needs to seek the village butcher. The butcher is willing to help, but asks if Meng Jing can save his protege, an Arab boy named Ahmed, who's taken by some bandits, and due to Chronic Hero Syndrome Meng Jing can't say no... luckily, the rescue is the last step of his lengthy subquest.
- Cut Scene Incompetence: Meng Jing can pull off some flashy moves and beat up bosses, but if the game's script requires him to be overpowered, he will be overpowered in the following cutscene after depleting the boss' health, like the first fight against the Demon Butcher and the duel against Master Chou near the end. Taken rather ridiculously in one cutscene where four wolves (easily-defeated enemies in-game) cornering him causes Meng Jing to fall off a cliff, despite how during gameplay (including stages preceeding said cutscene) have him killing dozens of wolves without any problem.
- Dark Action Girl: The female acolytes, as well as Jiu-Erh, deadly opponents Meng Jing faces near the last levels.
- Dual Boss:
- The Masked Freak and his pet boar is fought both at the same time. Their initial battle ends with the defeated boss escaping, but said boar isn't as lucky.
- In the spirit world, the rematch against the Zhous, who attacks together unlike their first encounter.
- Jiu-Erh and Ou-Yang are fought at the same time as well.
- Dual Wielding:
- The large bandit enemies swings dual scimitars.
- Mrs. Zhou, the other half of the Zhou bandit warlord couple, fights using apair of crescent-shaped curved blades. She can perform a Tornado Move with these, in both her boss fights.
- Meng Jing himself, who wields his trusty jian as his default weapon but can obtain an Infinity +1 Sword called the Neptunian Blade halfway through. He will use both to kick ass simultaneously.
- The Butcher, in his last fight, swings two spiked clubs made from bones.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady: Qu Wuxie, one of the bosses, given his flowing long hair, effeminate voice, shapely body and feminine-looking body concealed by robes. In his first cutscene he doesn't have any dialogue and players could very well mistook him for a lady, but when confronted as a boss his voice is a man's. Also, calling him "pussy" or "sissy" is a Berserk Button guaranteed to tick him off.Meng Jing: Well bring it on, pussy!
Qu Wuxie: I hate it when people call me that! Take this! - Falling into the Plot: The first stage opens with Meng Jing falling from the heavens for hundreds of meters before landing in a shallow pool, without a scratch. Then he gets up and gameplay begins in proper.
- Full-Boar Action: The Masked Freak's Attack Animal is a giant boar as large as himself, that repeatedly tries goring Meng Jing with it's tusks.
- Giant Mook: One of the uncommon human enemy types, huge bandit brutes with Meng Jing standing somewhere near their chests. They're several times larger and far more durable than regular enemies.
- Giant Spider: The "Black Widow" boss in the Mogao Caverns, although it doesn't resemble a Black Widow the least. It's crimson, for starters, and has furry legs like a tarantula.
- Gratuitous Ninja: Some of the human Elite Mooks are ninja without being referred as such, being clad entirely in black, wearing face-concealing masks, the ability to teleport mid-battle and moving at greater speed than other regular mooks. In the Ming Dynasty. Although there are historians out there who claims ninjas originated from China
, so there's that. - How We Got Here: The first stage begins with Meng Jing literally falling into the spirit realm for his training, with him defeating three sacred monk bosses - acquiring a new skill from each - before completing the level. Then comes a Title In that reads "7 Days Ago" before the second level flashes back to how Meng Jing wounded up in the realm, which the game catches up roughly halfway through.
- Implacable Man: The Butcher simply can't be put down, no matter what. When first fought as a boss, after Meng Jing depletes all his health the Butcher... automatically takes down Meng Jing anyways in a cutscene. Said boss needs to be fought thrice the entire game, and even then the last battle implies that's not the last of him yet.
- Kamehame Hadoken: Meng Jing gains this ability after exiting the spirit realm halfway into the game, where his chi allows him to send powerful energy blasts from his hands. When upgraded further in the game his blasts turns into shining golden Chinese dragons (!!!).
- Living Shadow: The last stages has Meng Jing fighting shadowy duplicates of himself, depicted as dark silohouttes shrouded in black flames and with glowing red eyes. Luckily, he's not in the human world at that point and could harm the shadows.
- Locked into Strangeness: After Meng Jing defeats Jiu-Erh, as he faces Jiu-Erh's lover Ou-Yang, Jiu-Erh uses the last of her qi to rejuvenater herself, a power that appears to be one-use only (Ou-Yang even tries stopping her). Her hair immediately turns from jet-black to pale silver.
- Lotus Position: There are key checkpoints where Meng Jing can meditate to regain his health, where in typical Oriental fashion he then sits cross-legged and a swirling energy aura builds up around him to refill his Life Meter.
- Malevolent Masked Men:
- The Masked Freak fights while donning a red-and-white mask reminiscient of Peking Opera performers. After the battle, his mask drops in a cutscene while he flees, and in the rematch he's mask-less.
- Master Chou has his face concealed in a sinister-looking metallic mask, one that stays on during and after the boss battle.
- Mind-Control Eyes: In two cutscenes when Meng Jing gets corrupted by the evil spirit residing inside him, his eyes glows bright yellow as he mindlessly tries attacking his allies.
- Parasol of Pain: The spirit-children primarily uses umbrellas to attack.
- Playing with Fire:
- The Fire Elder, as his name implies, and he will send walls of flames on Meng Jing for the entire battle.
- Master Chou can spam fireballs constantly during his boss fight.
- Real-Place Background: The Mogao Caves level is based on the real-life Mogao Caves (a real-life UNESCO World Heritage Site) and the game faithfully recreates the entire interiors faithfully, down to the last cavern. Though we could assume the attached underground tunnels filled with giant scorpions doesn't exist in real life.
- Recurring Boss:
- The Brutal Butcher is fought twice in a row, and the cutscene after the second battle depicts him as Not Quite Dead (as Meng Jing leaves, his fingers suddenly twitches). Meng Jing fights him again at the Dead Village's exit, where he now has a demonic form stronger than before.
- Mr. and Mrs. Zhou, the bandit couple, where their first encounter occurs back to back. They're fought again in the Spirit World as a Dual Boss.
- The Masked Freak is fought twice, firstly with his pet boar as backup. His second encounter is a one-on-one battle however.
- Jiu-Erh is fought twice in a row. When Meng Jing defeats Jiu-Erh in her boss fight, Ou-Yang blocks Meng Jing's sword with his knuckle-claws, before Jiu-Erh restores her own health to reinforce her lover.
- Rewarding Vandalism: Meng Jing frequently comes across crates, vases, various potteries and smashable objects, even in the civilain villages where he's not in the midst of kicking ass. And atypical for these types of games, he can break them apart to earn rewards. The animation even depicts him stomping on stuff!
- Savage Wolves: Meng Jing encounters wolves in two areas, the village outskirts (when he happens to be carrying slabs of beef for side-mission) and later fights a whole pack of them in the wintery wastelands.
- Scary Scorpions: Scorpions who stood to a human's waistline are a recurring enemy in the caverns underneath the Mogao Caves. They reappear in the snow tunnels near the end.
- Scenery Porn: One of the game's main selling point is it's gorgeous, impressively rendered environmental shots, that stretches miles and miles on the end. From the rendition of the Gobi Desert to bamboo forests and wintry landscapes, each one more breathtaking than the next. Special mention goes to the Mogao Caves' interiors - the stage feels almost like the player's exploring the real deal!
- Secret Test of Character: More than one boss fight, like the three monks in the nether realm in the first stage, Master Chou, all their battles were tests for Meng Jing to prove himself; defeat them and he gains the rights to their skills.
- Shout-Out:
- In the desert tavern stage, Meng Jing was warned by the tavern keeper not to leave the tavern at night, because the dreaded Gobi Bear always hunts at dusk. Meng Jing persists anyways, and inevitably fights and defeats said bear in a difficult boss fight. Sounds a lot like the backstory of Wu Sung the Tiger Slayer from Water Margin (except, you know, with a bear instead of a tiger).
- Meng Jing's first stage in the spirit realm ends with him awaking in a massive, shallow pool that stretches for miles on end, beneath a dark sky save for a gigantic moon before he's teleported back to the plane of living. Berserk, anyone?
- The giant alligator boss is introduced stalking Meng Jing before suddenly ambushing him in a cavern, in a manner reminiscient of the alligator from Resident Evil 2. It even Shows Damage when hit, with it's injuries resembling that gator from RE2.
- Jiu-Erh's Locked into Strangeness moment when she uses her chi to revive, only to dye her hair silver in the process, is blatantly based on The Bride With White Hair.
- Sewer Gator: There's a gigantic alligator boss in the Mogao Caverns, who seems to be a Ming Dynasty equivalent of this Urban Legend. While exploring the caverns Meng Jing was informed the legend of some "unknown monster" living in an underground lake, and minutes later said monster is revealed to be the gator.
- Solve the Soup Cans: The dropping cage obstacle. Meng Jing, on the trail of the Killer Butcher, finds himself trapped by a descending cage, and Deadly Gas released around him. How does he get out? Pick up a handful of darts conveniently located on the floor (near some skeletons, which are presumably the trap's ex-victims who failed to solve the puzzle) and throw them to extinguish two flames around the cavern. Somehow the extinguished flames also stops the gas and raises the cage (???).
- Spirit World: One of the level sends Meng Jing to the netherworld, where he needs to contend with vengeful spirits who wantsd to rip him to shreds. Luckily he's also a spirit, and can fight back.
- Sticks to the Back: How Meng Jing travels around with his trusty jian. Somehow he can sheathe and unsheathe it almost instantly despite the weapon's length. When he gains the Neptunian Blade he sticks both swords in his back.
- Sword Lines: Meng Jing, when he receives the Neptunian Blade, and every slash he makes leaves behind flashy blue lines. Many bosses who use bladed weapons have the same ability, notably Jiu-Erh and Ou-Yang with their claws.
- Theme Music Power-Up: In areas devoid of enemies (e.g. the village square) the background score would play peaceful, serene, Oriental music... until Meng Jing enters enemy territory. Then the music suddenly becomes intense as Meng Jing starts kicking everybody's ass.
- Warrior Monk: The first stage contains three Golden Spirit Monks as bosses for Meng Jing to battle. And later on there's the taoist swordsmen in the monastery.
- Welcome to Corneria: Most of the game's dialogue. When scouring the village to find the antidote, every time Meng Jing passes an NPC (the noodle vendor, candy seller, stallkeeper, a woman mourning her husband) they'll repeat the same dialogue, over and over again, and due to the length of said stage it quickly becomes an Overly Long Gag.Noodle Vendor: Tasty noodles! Tasty noodles!
Candy Seller: Delicious iced candied fruit!
Stall Keeper: Take a look! Take a look!
Mourning Woman: Today is the seventh day of your passing... - Wolverine Claws: Sported by Jiu-Erh and Ou-Yang, two among the very last bosses Meng Jing needs to face. The former uses the extended-from-fingertips variety while the latter have straight claws strapped to his knuckles.
- Wuxia: The game's very setting.
- Now that you have the techniques and the scriptures, you are the only hope to save Shazhou.
The real challenge awaits you in Jincheng!
