The art and art direction are superb throughout as the development team had a clear vision of what they wanted and it certainly looks like you are moving through a tapestry. Gameplay is still in flux at the time of writing and during my play through, they have been tweaking how fast the action gauge depletes, and how aerial combat and boss battles are carried out. The game is playable, but the difficulty can vary wildly depending on the boss you are fighting. Mastering parry, block, and dodge are critical in progressing when on normal difficulty and mandatory on hard. Target prioritization and spatial awareness are also important, as ranged units often add debuffs when they connect and enemies that aren’t exorcised in time return in a stronger form.

Fortunately for novices, the casual difficulty allows players to learn the basics without being too punishing. Upon completion, players are allowed to use a game plus save to replay at higher difficulties while carrying over their character level and skill masteries. In addition to defensive maneuvers, players will also have to learn how to manage their action gauge that limits how many attacks they can perform. As you progress, you collect power which you can spend on leveling up your character, mastering new exorcism skills, or getting more health potions. The penalty for dying is a loss of power which can be remedied by backtracking and grinding on previous sections. Beating bosses unlocks challenge modes where you can re-fight them for additional rewards. Lastly, there are mini-game challenges that can help a player master the finer points of combat.

The story starts out strong, as your first village post banishment is under siege from demonic incursions. At first glance, nothing seems to be amiss until you fight Shura, a demon that has merged with the spirit of a village boy who starved to death. Your mirror allows you to see a snippet of the past, but as you investigate further, you learn that the villagers aren’t so innocent regarding the uptick in demonic activity in the area. Sadly, the story gets progressively weaker from there. The second village story was compelling until the final reveal about the origin of your zombie dragon foe. The final boss in the story is a familiar face, but the circumstances of why they betray you is never revealed or explained. It is a shame really as the game starts out on such a strong note. You get to talk with more NPCs who help establish the setting, and for a while I was fooled into thinking that I would be able to travel between places and use the village as a hub of sorts. After the first village, you are on rails and there is no need to revisit previous locations for progressing the plot.

Eastern Exorcist is a rough but wonderful short experience and hopefully the final iteration will have the polish it deserves. The translations are decent for the most part, but they could have used a better localization to smooth over the nuances of Mandarin that don’t translate well into English. Examples include: “group that suppresses evil”, “get the mission”, and “you look terribly wounded.” The ideas carry over, but the delivery is awkward in some cases. The gameplay is still under development, but the strong core is already present. Gameplay can be punishing, but it is fair.

Part of the problem with evaluating a game in Early Access is that much of it feels like a beta version of a much better game. The 14 bosses all look and feel unique and offer their own set of challenges, but their integration into the story is uneven and the compelling ones only leave you wishing the others didn’t feel like throwaways. There is a preview for additional content at the end with a new player character in new areas. Time will tell if that is going to be in the final iteration or if it will be something else entirely. Overall, fans of side scrolling action RPGs should give Eastern Exorcist a try. It is an underserved genre and while Early Access games don’t always pan out, I think there is enough on offer to justify the cost.