River City Saga: Journey to the West

Each run of River City Saga: Journey to the West drops Kunio–reimagined as Sun Wukong–into a brawler gauntlet aimed at reaching Tianzhu, the destination of the classic Journey to the West pilgrimage. You punch and kick through waves of enemies across stages, and between encounters gods appear at random to offer Secret Skills, of which there are eighty in total. Picking and combining these skills is how a run takes shape, pushing Kunio’s crew toward a particular build rather than a general power increase.

Arc System Works and UnitePlus released the game on June 3, 2026, framing it explicitly as the River City series’ first roguelike built around solo play.

Four playable characters are available, each mapped to a different fighting style: Sun Wukong emphasizes speed, Zhu Bajie leans into raw power, and Sha Wujing covers long-range attacks. Tang Sanzang rounds out the main cast. Every one of these roles is played by Kunio and series regulars, meaning familiar River City faces turn up wearing Journey to the West costumes–sometimes as allies, sometimes as bosses. Only Sun Wukong is available from the start; the others unlock as the story progresses, after which players can swap freely between all four.

The comedic throughline is deliberate and structural, not cosmetic. The banter written around these encounters is treated as a feature in its own right.

Players who want a deep mechanical roguelike–intricate synergy systems, branching map decisions, or resource management between rooms–will find the design too straightforward to hold their attention. The game sits closer to an action brawler with run-based skill drafting than to a system-heavy roguelike, and its appeal rests heavily on affection for the River City cast and the absurdist comedy framing. A version 1.0.3 patch shipped in July 2026 shortly after launch.