Yeomna : The Legend of Dongbaek

I know what you're thinking, you saw the thicc anime girl and the admittedly gorgeous Vanillaware-esque art style, maybe it happens to be on sale at the moment, maybe you saw the release date and the old reviews and thought "surely they fixed everything wrong by now!". Don't do it, it's not worth it. It's pretty hard to convey just how janky it actually plays, gameplay footage doesn't do it justice. I thought about it and although obscure the best two examples I can think of are these : A) You ever play a sidescroller in an engine that is clearly not ideal for it (like say, Flash, MUGEN, or old school RPG Maker), but somebody forced their way through with their programming skills and the result is playable but you can still tell the engine is clearly not meant for something like that from the game struggling all the way through with everything from basic collision detection to jumping physics ? or B)Your average licensed hastily programmed western game in the 16-bit era Either way, that's this game. Updates have long stopped and I don't blame the dev to be honest, feels like at this point nothing short of remaking the entire engine from scratch could fix the issues. Even if som…

it's as beautiful graphically as it is buggy and unpolished gameplay-wise, the contrast is rather shocking, honestly saw the most recent reviews claiming that devs fixed a lot of stuff. if it's true, it's terrifying to even imagine what the game used to be like before

Its not great.

Yeomna : The Legend of Dongbaek by catnipstudio sets out with a clear sense of identity, drawing from Korean mythology to frame a side-scrolling action adventure that blends exploration, combat, and light puzzle-solving. The premise follows Dongbaek, a half-demon warrior bound to the service of Yeomna, the ruler of the underworld, as she moves through a fractured realm filled with restless spirits and lingering memories. This mythological backdrop gives the game an immediate sense of distinction, grounding its journey in themes of judgment, redemption, and the fragile boundary between life and death. It’s a world that feels intentionally crafted to stand apart from more familiar fantasy settings, and that cultural foundation carries much of the game’s appeal. The visual presentation is easily one of the strongest aspects of the experience. Environments are painted with a delicate, almost storybook-like quality that echoes traditional Korean art, blending muted tones with occasional bursts of color to create a dreamlike atmosphere. Each region of the underworld feels layered and alive, even when the gameplay itself slows down, and there is a quiet confidence in how the game lets it…

so bad its good

cat