Sword and Fairy 7 — released internationally as Sword and Fairy: Together Forever — is an action RPG from Taiwanese studio Softstar, built on Chinese mythology. It launched on PC in October 2021 and later came to consoles. It is beautiful and heavily cinematic, but its English localisation is weak and its combat is undemanding.
Sword and Fairy 7 at a glance
| Developer | Softstar Entertainment |
| Series | Sword and Fairy / Chinese Paladin, running since 1995 |
| Released | 15 October 2021 (PC) · 2022 (PS4, PS5) |
| Genre | Action RPG, single-player |
| Voice / text | Chinese voice acting, English subtitles |
| Length | Roughly 25–30 hours for the main story |
What is Sword and Fairy 7 about?
The story follows Yue Qingshu, one of the last members of the Mingshu Sect, and Xiu Wu, a deity stranded in the mortal world after losing a divine sword. They are forced together, gather companions, and work to stop demons destabilising the human realm.
The strongest material is the relationship between the two leads. Yue is outgoing and direct, Xiu Wu reserved and formal, and the slow shift from obligation to genuine partnership carries the game. The wider plot about warring realms is far more predictable, though it does land a few late surprises.
Do you need to play the earlier games?
No. Like most Final Fantasy entries, each Sword and Fairy game tells a self-contained story with new characters. Prior knowledge adds thematic familiarity, nothing more.
Worth knowing for context: this is a franchise with a thirty-year history in China and Taiwan, and huge cultural weight there — comparable to Final Fantasy in Japan. Much of its presentation assumes an audience already fluent in Chinese mythological convention.
What is the combat like?
Real-time action with a party of four, switchable on the fly. Each character has a distinct approach, and you build a rotation between them.
The fundamentals are light attacks, heavy attacks, a dodge and character-specific skills. Animation quality is genuinely excellent, movement is fluid, and enemy design is strong.
The recurring criticism is difficulty. Telegraphs are generous, the dodge window is forgiving, and healing items accumulate faster than you can use them. Even on the hardest setting, most encounters offer little resistance. Learning new abilities and watching them connect is enjoyable; being tested by them is not really on offer.
How much of it is cutscenes?
A great deal, and this is the most divisive aspect.
Sword and Fairy 7 leans hard into cinematic presentation. Choreography and direction in the set pieces are impressive — the production values are far higher than the game's profile in the West suggests.
But the balance is skewed. It is common to find a short encounter bracketed by cutscenes several times its length. If you enjoy story-forward RPGs and treat it as an interactive drama, this works. If you want sustained gameplay, the pacing will frustrate you.
How bad is the English localisation?
This is the single most important thing to know before buying, so here it is plainly: the English translation is poor.
- Dialogue is frequently awkward and occasionally ungrammatical
- Some lines are difficult to parse on a first read
- Menu and item text suffers as much as story text
- Voice acting is Chinese only — there is no English dub
The underlying writing appears considerably better than the translation conveys, which makes it more frustrating rather than less. The core story remains followable, and the relationship between the leads survives intact, but you will be doing interpretive work throughout.
If clumsy localisation genuinely spoils a game for you, this is a reasonable one to skip.
PC performance notes
The game runs on Unreal Engine 4 and shipped with an unusually strong PC feature set for a mid-budget release, including ray-traced lighting options and DLSS support on compatible NVIDIA hardware.
If you are tuning for frame rate, ray tracing is by far the most expensive setting — disabling it recovers the most performance for the least visual loss. Enabling DLSS on an RTX card lets you keep higher settings elsewhere. Because the game is heavily cinematic, a stable 60 fps matters more here than chasing a higher ceiling.
Who is Sword and Fairy 7 for?
Play it if you:
- Enjoy story-led RPGs and do not mind long cutscenes
- Are interested in Chinese mythology and xianxia settings
- Want something visually distinctive from the usual Western or Japanese RPG
- Are comfortable reading subtitles over Chinese voice acting
Skip it if you:
- Want demanding combat
- Need polished English writing
- Prefer open worlds — this is linear, with only modest optional areas
Where can you buy Sword and Fairy 7?
- PC — Steam
- PlayStation — PlayStation Store (PS4 and PS5)
Getting it cheaply
As a 2021 release from a mid-sized studio, Sword and Fairy 7 discounts steeply and often — it is regularly among the cheaper full-length RPGs in Steam seasonal sales. Given the localisation issues, waiting for a sale is sensible advice rather than a compromise. Check the Steam store page's language section before buying to confirm current subtitle support.
A note on cracked “v1.1.7” repacks: pirated builds are illegal and a known malware vector, and they cannot receive the patches Softstar has issued since launch — several of which improved localisation and stability. IGGG Guides does not link to pirated software.
Sword and Fairy 7 FAQ
Is Sword and Fairy 7 the same as Chinese Paladin?
Yes. The series is known as Chinese Paladin in some English-speaking markets and Sword and Fairy in others. The international subtitle for this entry is Together Forever.
How long is Sword and Fairy 7?
Around 25–30 hours for the main story. Side quests add a modest amount, though they repeat in structure.
Is there an English dub?
No. The game is voiced in Chinese with English subtitles only.
Is Sword and Fairy 7 open world?
No. It is linear, moving between self-contained areas. Some are large enough to explore, but exploration mostly yields side quests and repeated encounters.
Is it on Xbox or Nintendo Switch?
No. Sword and Fairy 7 released on PC and PlayStation only.
Does it have multiple endings?
The story follows a single main path. Player choice shapes some character moments rather than the overall outcome.
The verdict
Sword and Fairy 7 is an attractive, sincere RPG carrying two significant handicaps: combat that never asks anything of you, and an English translation that gets in the way of its best writing.
What survives is a genuinely likeable central relationship and a mythological setting rarely seen in Western releases. For the right player at a sale price, that is worth the trade. For anyone expecting a polished international RPG, it is not.
Best for: patient RPG fans curious about xianxia storytelling.
Skip if: you want challenging combat or dependable English writing.
More from IGGG Guides:
- Silent Hill f review — everything we know
- Hollow Knight: Silksong review — a beautiful, brutal adventure
- Top 15 new Nintendo Switch 2 games
Last updated: 6 September 2026