Yokai Tales is an upcoming roguelike game from VP Games that blends exploration, turn-based combat, and a rich infusion of Japanese folklore. The game follows three tanuki siblings on a quest to confront a malevolent force known as the “Void,” which is corrupting yokai, supernatural creatures from Japanese mythology, into hostile entities. With no official release date yet, the game is wishlistable on Steam.
To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what to think of this game. It brings a lot of interesting ideas to the table, but it feels rough around the edges. I had hoped the progression would be more rewarding, but it strikes a strange balance, challenging without being overly punishing. The combat is decent, though the lack of clear indicators for each yokai’s strengths and weaknesses makes it tough to adapt effectively.
Yokai Tales Brings Some Really Interesting Ideas
At its core, Yokai Tales embraces the roguelike structure, known for procedural generation and high replayability. You lead the tanuki trio through ever-changing environments like forests and shrines, battling yokai corrupted by the Void. Combat focuses on strategy rather than pure aggression, with a unique twist: the ability to transform into defeated enemies. This mechanic allows you to adopt yokai abilities, such as a kappa’s water mastery or fire manipulation, adding depth to both combat and exploration.
In the campaign, you’re presented with a grid-based map filled with normal and elite battles, treasure chests offering random rewards, shrines for healing, and random events that can be either beneficial or harmful. A standout feature is the ability to backtrack, you’re not forced to move forward immediately. However, you must eventually escape the Void chasing you, giving you just enough time to explore parts of the map before facing the final bosses.
Since the demo focuses more on combat and gameplay rather than story, it’s unclear how strong the narrative will be. However, the bigger issue is that the combat simply isn’t fun. There’s no gradual enemy progression, they start as strong as you, which feels frustrating. Adapting to enemies is challenging because you don’t know their weaknesses upfront, you only learn which affinities counter them after unlocking the corresponding yokai or by analyzing them. They also share similar skills with you, and their ability to spam attacks that hit everyone on the battlefield only adds to the frustration.
Combat Is Very Rough
Enemy encounters vary, sometimes you face three, other times just one. But when you reach the boss fight, with its massive health pool, defeating it feels unnecessarily difficult. No matter how strong my abilities are, the boss just won’t go down. The main issue lies in the progression system, as mentioned earlier. The items you collect don’t feel impactful, and leveling up isn’t particularly rewarding, unlocking a new ability that’s often worse than what you already have isn’t ideal. It just doesn’t feel worth it. I’d prefer gaining more attribute bonuses over pre-generated skills that I don’t need.
I’m still unsure how the star system works, which is a core mechanic in the game. Stars are used to purchase upgrades and strengthen your character, with a maximum of three stars achievable per battle. From what I can tell, earning three stars likely requires defeating enemies within a specific time limit while minimizing damage taken, the more damage you sustain, the fewer stars you earn.
There are different classes, like healers and warriors, but despite attempts to make them unique, they don’t add much depth. The affinity system complicates things further, you’re essentially locked into the same class, and if you don’t pick the right counter (like water against fire), you’re at a significant disadvantage. The only saving grace is the ability to switch yokai during combat at any given time without losing a turn, which adds some flexibility. However, even this mechanic has its drawbacks, the more you switch, the more mana it costs, which can quickly add up and become a burden.
Hopes For The Future
Roguelikes live or die by replayability, and Yokai Tales seems poised to deliver. Procedural maps and permadeath encourage experimentation, do you rush a boss or play cautiously? The demo also hints status effects, suggesting a combat system with strategic layers. However, success depends on how well VP Games balances randomization with meaningful progression, too much repetition or shallow upgrades could dull the experience.
However, not everything is negative. The yokai designs are genuinely interesting, you unlock them over time, and their cartoonish style adds charm without detracting from the experience. The graphics are decent overall, with varied environments and detailed item designs. Additionally, I encountered no bugs, stuttering, freezing, or visual glitches, which is a definite plus.
I’m skeptical about the game, but it shows promise. It introduces a lot of great ideas that just need more polish and balancing. I’m curious to see how it evolves and what the full version will deliver in the future.
Hrvatski 
English (UK)