When Heaven Falls...
Jiu Xiao (九霄繯神記) is a wuxia-SciFi Hack and Slash game developed by Chinese gaming company Impermanence and published by Nazar studios and loosely based on the Gong Changjun novel, Jiu Xiao Ben Yun Zhuan (九霄奔云传).
Set in a hollow universe in a future torn by war among various clans, the Heaven's Wheel was activated by God in a last-ditch attempt to prevent the greed of humans from destroying what's left. An apocalyptic wave from the Wheel wiped out the earth, and the only survivors are immortals from various ancient Chinese sects. But the destruction of the world isn't enough to stop their fighting...
Bu-yao, the player-controlled protagonist, is a skilled apperantice of the Impermanence sect, an expert swordsman seeking to conquer all the other clans, and an arrogant, near-merciless assassin. Caught in the cataclysm, realizing there are members of rival clans and giant monsters for him to kill, Bu-yao sets off on a quest, uncovering an ancient conspiracy along the way.
Initially developed for the PC, Jiu Xiao faces it's own... issues during development. It was eventually released for the PlayStation 4 in 2020, after some significant delay.
The Wheel of Fate Shall Never Stop Spinning. A New Chapter of Life Has Begun...
- After the End: Takes place after a cataclysm where the Heaven's Wheel is activated, destroying the surface world. The whole game is set on ruins powered by some futuristic technology that Bu-yao leaps from one area to another.
- Air-Dashing: When in mid-jump, Bu-yao can dash by hitting the jump button again. He needs this skill for reaching platforms too far to reach using his regular jumps.
- Amphibian at Large: The Demon Frog boss in the floating land's inner sanctum is a giant horned amphibian several times larger than Bu-yao. Who can hop circles around Bu-yao leaving behind a Shockwave Stomp each time.
- Animesque: The graphics, which seems to owe a bit to Polygon Pictures' animation.
- Attack the Tail: The Taotie boss can only be killed by severing its tail. This can't be done during regular gameplay - Bu-yao depletes the monster's health until it's finished, and then the following cutscene automatically clips the monster's tail.
- Belly Mouth: Lie-Xing Wang is a morbidly obese, headless demon monster whose face is located in its stomach.
- Big Bad: High Priestess Xing-Yun appears to be pulling the strings behind the cataclysm until the game reveals her to be a follower of Hei Wuchang, the God of Death and the Greater-Scope Villain.
- Convenient Cranny: The giant taotie Advancing Boss of Doom is halted when Bu-yao reaches an alcove enough for him to pass, and strong enough to hold the giant monster back.
- Coup de Grâce Cutscene: Bu-yao can pull this off with some precise timing, allowing him to pin down enemies. Press X and a cutscene where he plants his jian downwards into a mook plays.
- Everybody Hates Hades: Turns out Hei Wuchang, the Chinese underworld deity whose job in the myths is to escort restless souls into the underworld, is the all-powerful God of Evil Bu-yao must defeat. Who knew?
- Floating Continent: The entire game is set in one, resembling some ancient Chinese palace surrounded by ruins.
- Humongous Mecha: Xing-Yun, in the last phase of her boss fight, summons a steampunk giant robot as her backup, which she controls from within. It's a Background Boss fought in a circular arena, requiring Bu-yao to time his hits and attack when the mech's vulnerable parts are on the same elevation as him; deal enough damage and Xing-Yun is defeated with Hei Wu-chang, the demon residing inside said mecha, revealing himself.
- In a Single Bound: Owing to the game being a wuxia homage, Bu-yao can leap miles between platforms in the floating universe.
- King Mook: Several of the bosses are sized-up versions of regular enemies, like the Large Wolfman, Giant Bird-women, Supreme Taotie, and the like.
- Maniac Monkeys: The Great White Ape boss is a simian demon armed with a cannon.
- Mix-and-Match Critters: Bu-yao's Loyal Animal Companion Lili is a cat with eagle wings, who trails around behind Bu-yao... whether he wants it or not.
- Pillar of Light: One shows up in the distance right in the first area, surrounded by floating platforms. Bu-yao needs to navigate his way through the ruins to reach said pillar, facing enemies and obstacles along the way.
- Sinister Scythe: Hei Wuchang, the God of Hell, who is fought multiple times near the ending levels, returns one last time armed with a powerful scythe whose blade is made of electrical energy, seemingly to invoke The Grim Reaper.
- Stepping Stones in the Sky: A given, since the game is set in some floating ruins. More than one area sees Bu-yao jumping on rocks and debris to clear stages.
- Sticks to the Back: Bu-yao's jian is depicted in this manner, though it's a justified case because said weapon is made of futuristic electromagnetic technology.
- Sword Lines: Owing to the setting, weapon slashes from Bu-yao, his comrades, bosses and most enemies will leave behind lines.
- Three-Point Landing: This is how Bu-yao is introduced into in the very first cutscene - dropping from the skies, landing on his right hand and both feet, before he stands up.
- Wall Crawl: Bu-yao can scale walls without ledges thanks to his anti-gravity gloves, using this ability to scale several areas without entrances. There are even areas where he needs to keep climbing upwards while some environmental hazards (e.g. rising lava) rises from below.
- Warm-Up Boss: The first boss is a King Mook Yao-shou armed with a massive halberd instead of Wolverine Claws, is hilariously slow on its feet compared to the nimble Bu-yao, and doesn't have any ranged attacks. It's halberd slash also takes forever to reach the hero. Bu-yao even lampshades how easy the fight is to his comrades:"Stay out. I'm more than enough for him!"
- Winged Humanoid: The Raven-women enemies are depicted as women with black wings growing from their shoulders, and bird-like feet, although their upper bodies are still human.
- Wolf Man: The Yao-shou mooks, among the most common enemies in the game, appears as grey-skinned, furry humanoids with wolf-like features. They attack either by biting or with their huge Wolverine Claws.
