- Solo Developer Ink Blade Creates… New Game Featuring Four Clans and 12 Stories
- A solo-crafted ink wash-style martial arts world… 166 cards and the implementation of attack and defense techniques from four sects
The martial arts card adventure game ‘Ace of Jianghu’, developed by solo developer ‘Ink Blade’, will be released globally on Steam Early Access on November 12.
‘Gangho Ilpae: Bijeong Murim’ is a simulation game that implements the fierce combat of martial arts techniques characteristic of the genre into turn-based card battles, using a single card as a ‘move’ in martial arts. Players can experience highly immersive psychological warfare by precisely predicting the opponent’s movements to defend against or evade attacks, and by exploiting momentary openings to launch counterattacks.
Visually, it adopts 2D graphics in the style of ink wash painting to emphasize the dark and heavy atmosphere characteristic of the martial arts genre. In particular, it is characterized by a departure from the unrealistic narratives of ascending to heaven as an immortal like existing Xianxia works, instead densely portraying a raw and ruthless story of the Jianghu centered on “people and swords, and what people do to each other.”
Shaolin, Wudang, the Alliance of the Four Divine Beasts, and the Demonic Cult: Battles Different by Sect
Players choose one of four factions—Shaolin, Wudang, the Alliance of the Four Evils, or the Demonic Cult—and roam the Jianghu. The story, which begins with internal strife within the sect, expands into a war where righteousness, evil, and demons are entangled, ultimately leading to a confrontation with a massive shadow that has reached out to the entire Jianghu.
Each sect has three branching stories. There are a total of 12 paths centered around four protagonists, and the characters and stories you encounter change depending on which path you choose.
Combat styles also vary significantly depending on the sect.
Shaolin strengthens its attacks by utilizing ‘Diamond,’ which accumulates as it blocks attacks, while Wudang counters by infusing its sword with ‘Flowing Water,’ gathered by deflecting and dodging attacks. The core of the Four Sects lies in ‘Intrigue,’ which builds up power with every attack to unleash it at a decisive moment, whereas the Demonic Cult employs ‘Heart Demon,’ aiming for a powerful single strike at the risk that its offensive and defensive capabilities decrease as it accumulates.
A growth structure that masters techniques and transcends levels
When you win a battle, you gain a new technique. You can develop your own fighting style by enhancing the martial arts you have learned while resting or removing unnecessary techniques from your deck.
At critical junctures in growth, you challenge yourself to ‘promote’ to the next level. If successful, you can add the sect’s powerful Secret Technique to your deck, but if you fail, that turn ends immediately. The ‘Secret Technique,’ which is used by gathering eight internal energies, serves as a means to turn the tide of battle, accompanied by powerful animations that fill the screen.
When a mental technique is ‘mastered,’ the sect’s combat style itself can change. The Shaolin Bodhi Divine Art increases the succession of consecutive strikes from four to eight, while the Demonic Cult’s Heavenly Demon Divine Art recalls the two previously used techniques.
Between battles, various events such as inns, fortuitous encounters, and crossroads appear. Collectible elements are also provided, including the ‘Namebook,’ which records about 80 characters met in the Jianghu; ‘Unofficial History of the Jianghu,’ which contains stories related to cards and martial arts; the ‘Art Album,’ which compiles past encounters into drawings; and the ‘Jianghu Chronicle,’ which records the journey the player has taken.
After completing the story once, ‘Kyujungcheon’ opens, offering a challenge of higher difficulty. Consisting of nine stages, it allows you to take on more challenging battles through repeated play.
166 cards, 33 types of game records… Story mode is already complete
The developer stated that while the story mode is playable from start to finish, they chose early access because there were limitations to verifying the numerous possibilities arising from the four factions and their respective branches on their own.
The current version includes four sects, three branching stories for each sect, 166 cards, and 33 types of legendary artifacts, as well as mental techniques, advancements, secret techniques, martial arts history, and challenges. Translation proofreading will also be conducted during the early access period to naturally refine the terminology and expressions unique to the martial arts genre.
The early access period is expected to last about 6 to 12 months. However, the plan is to determine the official release date based on the completeness of the game rather than a fixed period.
In the official version, a roguelike deck-building mode called ‘Infinite Jianghu’ is added, where a new level is created every time. The existing story mode remains unchanged, and new cards and game records are added, along with balance adjustments and translation improvements.
We plan to increase the price after the official launch, but users who purchased during the Early Access period will be able to use the full version at no additional cost. We will be accepting user feedback through the Steam discussion board and plan to communicate in Korean, Chinese, and English.
Solo development from writing to game design, scope of AI utilization also revealed
‘Gangho Ilpae: Bijeong Murim’ is a one-person development project handled entirely by Ink Blade. The developer describes the game on the Steam page as a “card adventure created alone by a martial arts writer.”
It was also revealed that generative AI tools were utilized during the game’s production process. According to the Steam page, generative AI assisted in the creation of artwork, music, and sound effects, and the developers personally selected and modified the generated results.
The Chinese and English translations were also drafted using AI and will be continuously refined during the Early Access period. The story, dialogue, and game design were handled directly by the developers. According to the introductory materials provided by the developers, AI tools were also partially utilized in the code writing process.
12 stories, four combat styles, and the choice of the Jianghu offer users
As ‘Gangho Ilpae: The Unruly Murim’ has not yet been released, metrics to verify actual reactions, such as Steam user ratings, wishlist size, and media reviews, have not been disclosed.
However, it is noteworthy that instead of repeating a single combat style, different combat structures are applied to Shaolin, Wudang, the Four Divine Alliance, and the Demonic Cult, and four protagonists and 12 story paths have been prepared. Another feature is that each card is represented as a single technique, and martial arts concepts such as mental methods, internal energy, advancement, and secret techniques are incorporated into the deck-building system.
In particular, given that the early access begins with the story mode playable from start to finish, the key factor is expected to be how much the balance between factions and the quality of the translation are improved based on user feedback.
‘Gangho Ilpae: The Unruly Murim’ is scheduled for Early Access on PC (Steam) on November 12. It supports Korean, English, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese interfaces, and you can currently view trailers, gameplay videos, and screenshots on the Steam page and add it to your wishlist.
Information regarding ‘Jianghu Yipai: Bijeong Murim’
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Ink Blade |
| Publisher | Ink Blade (Self-distributed) |
| Genre | Martial Arts Card Adventure / Deck Building / Turn-based Combat |
| platform | PC (Windows, Steam) |
| Release date | November 12, 2026 (Early Access) |
| Estimated Early Access Period | 6 months to 12 months |
| language | Korean, English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese (Interface) |
| price | Unconfirmed |
| AI utilization | Artwork, music, sound effects, draft translations, and partial code writing (notified on the Steam page) |
| Steam Page | Shortcut |
