Chapter 893: The 'So Good It Hurts' You Can't Say

Players were fiercely discussing all aspects of Fate Seeker online.

The origins of martial arts and mental techniques, as well as side quests from江湖 (jianghu) rumors.

And the romance lines, which were a common topic of discussion among players.

Many liked them, but many players didn't. This was a matter of personal preference.

However, for the game as a whole, the romance lines were clearly not the main focus.

Just like the 'ten boats' (harem) in Persona, they were more a topic of conversation for players after completing the game.

In Persona, although you could go to school and date, the main focus was on playing as the Phantom Thieves, making villains repent, and implicitly criticizing some dark aspects of society.

Fate Seeker was similar; it didn't have the same political allegories of Persona but simply depicted the clash between good and evil through the stories of The Three Heroes and Five Gallants and Bao Zheng.

Where there is evil, there is justice; where there is justice, there is also evil. In the game, Zhuge Yu, whom the player controls, influences Bao Zheng, and Bao Zheng, in turn, influences Zhuge Yu.

From the initial philosophy of 'eradicate evil completely' to later accepting that even those guilty of heinous crimes must face legal judgment, and finally to believing that with an honest official like Lord Bao, the governance can still be saved.

On the other extreme was the villain Yi Zun. From the beginning, Yi Zun founded the Anti-Heaven Alliance with the goal of ensuring the people lived and worked in peace, specifically targeting treacherous officials and corrupt bureaucrats.

But as time progressed, his execution methods were flawed, leading him further down a wicked path. He even used an entire village for drug trials, deluding himself into thinking he could control the court. Even at the end, he clung to the ideal of a Fated Person until everything was shattered.

His elaborate schemes also led to him being abandoned by all his followers. Among his retainers 'Xiangshi, Che, Ma, Jiang,' Xiangshi chose to distance himself from conflict for love and family, while Che contracted a terminal illness and couldn't follow him to the end. Ma feigned death to retire to the mountains, and Jiang was Zhuge Yu's childhood sweetheart, an undercover agent who infiltrated the organization. As for Jiang himself, he was the greatest treacherous minister in the game.

At its inception, the Anti-Heaven Alliance vowed to support the nation and ensure the people lived in peace. Yet, in the end, this treacherous minister, who should have been eradicated, became a top general under Yi Zun of the Anti-Heaven Alliance—a truly ironic twist.

While unlike RPGs like Persona which boast dozens of hours of main story content, Fate Seeker's main story is only about 15 hours long.

However, the game features a wealth of side content, which is diverse in type. There are long side quests, such as those for the main female characters, and story arcs like the Yellow Sea Pirates and the source of money in Changkong Village.

There are also many short and concise side quests, further divided into various categories like collection, dungeons, and specific tasks. These side quests aren't simply 'find a cat, find a dog,' but involve many themes deeply resonant with players, such as overconsumption, the difficulty of going from luxury to frugality, and the value that life isn't perfect and requires choices.

Regardless, for domestic players, Fate Seeker was arguably one of the most surprising games. In terms of scale, fun factor, and story brilliance, it might not be considered top-tier.

But playing as Zhuge Yu, strolling through the prosperous Bianjing, and watching Bao Zheng bring criminals before the dog-head guillotine, tiger-head guillotine, and dragon-head guillotine, was enough. Every player with a wuxia nostalgia immersed themselves in the game, imagining themselves as a knight-errant like Zhuge Yu, eliminating evil and roaming the jianghu.

Meanwhile, as Fate Seeker was a hot seller, other game developers successively launched their next-gen VR games, and overseas Zeus also held a press conference for its next-gen VR gaming pod. Of course, the official launch was still some time away.

In addition to these, Chen Xu's previously announced next-gen remasters from Nebula Games were also put on the agenda. Following Resident Evil, the next-gen version of Bloodborne was officially released.

Having experienced Resident Evil previously, most players didn't believe this was merely 'old wine in new bottles.' After all, their earlier experiences had already shown them the charm of next-gen updates.

Though the game's various scents, combined with the terrifying atmosphere, made players tremble with fear. While the game experience genuinely improved, the words 'It's so good!' genuinely couldn't be said!

With the support of next-gen VR technology, everything players experienced became even more realistic. In particular, the variety of scents presented by the olfactory system was something the Game Department had worked on with full force, adding many more options to enrich the selection.

Of course, for many players, this wasn't necessarily good news. After all, the main games available for them to experience were Resident Evil and Bloodborne.

Especially the latter; many players who had experienced the next-gen remaster of Resident Evil had fantasized that while Bloodborne was a Souls-like game, at least they could slaughter monsters, and since they had already completed it, wouldn't playing it again simply turn it into a satisfying game like God of War?

However, the idea was beautiful, but reality was cruel. After truly entering the game, the next-gen audiovisual effects were more realistic, coupled with the gaming pod's haptic feedback and the newly added scent system, some timid players were immediately driven away.

In Resident Evil, at least only some key scenes had unique scents. But in Bloodborne, it was different. The clinic at the start was filled with the lingering smell of blood, entering Yharnam streets brought the stench of decaying corpses, and the burnt smell of roasted corpses, mixed with pungent blood, began to plummet players' SAN points even before reaching maps like the Forbidden Woods.

Who could endure this next-gen version of the game!

Furthermore, because the next-gen update was free for players, Chen Xu and the Nebula Games team were quite willful in many aspects, striving to present the best effect to players!

What? You say players don't want the best effect? That won't do! Isn't that slapping the face of their most conscientious game developer reputation? They absolutely must make players feel the atmosphere of Bloodborne, maximizing the game experience. They are just that conscientious!

Concurrently, after the next-gen version of Bloodborne, Nebula Games also announced its next two titles: The Witcher: Wild Hunt and Dark Souls.

Thinking about the content in these two games, many players were filled with despair. Looking back, what many players found reassuring was that to truly experience the scent system, the recently launched Fate Seeker was the best choice.

Although various cases also involved things like corpses, at least the steamed bun shops and inns in Bianjing could still offer them some enjoyment. The only downside was always getting hungry when playing at night.

If they wanted to experience more of the delights brought by next-gen, subsequent remastered games from Nebula Games were clearly out of the question.

Though Fate Seeker was good, it had been online for a while, and many players who had completed it were getting a bit tired. Simultaneously, for overseas players, this wuxia nostalgia didn't hold much appeal, so many were more focused on the last game Nebula Games had promised at the previous next-gen VR gaming pod press conference.

(End of Chapter) <>