Seemed Different

"Who knows what kind of deal they made... It's really amazing!" Brother Yin couldn't contain his excitement. He never imagined that the game studio he had casually supported could catch the attention of the Steam game platform.

At almost the same time, major marketing accounts, like flies attracted to a scent, quickly spread the news.

[First game in ten years to be promoted by Steam game platform!]

[Sprout Studios? The biggest dark horse in the gaming industry?]

[Inside scoop from Steam! The collaboration with Sprout Studio was just a business deal!]

[Yogame also released a new game trailer. Who will win the Best Game of the Year at the end of the year?!]

Yogame moved quickly because their company's systems were well-established. As soon as the decision was made, the game promotion began.

On Steam's side, they simply gave Sprout Studios a banner popup recommendation, but it only showed for a few seconds when you logged into the platform.

Curious people might click to see more, while others simply closed it without interest.

However, Yogame put a lot of effort into promoting the game, starting with the banner popup, then a large cover image...

"Tsk, look at their game release date. Isn't it exactly the same as Sprout Studios'?" Teng Feng looked at Yogame's game promotion image and felt utterly speechless.

Usually, game releases were staggered to avoid competition. It was rare for anyone to purposefully clash with another.

"Maybe it's just a coincidence? Yogame is a major studio, while Sprout is just a small workshop. There's no reason for Yogame to intentionally collide with them."

"And before Sprout's game promotion, Yogame had no idea what kind of game they were making."

"It seems like it's just a coincidence."

Some viewers in the live chat expressed skepticism. Normally, it was smaller studios trying to ride the coattails and gain popularity by colliding with larger ones.

On the promotional image of Yogame's new game, it is evident that it's an FPS shooting game, filled with continuous gunfire, exploding sparks, and blood staining the entire sky.

"Now, the pressure is on Sprout Studio."

"Question: How does it feel to compete with major game developers?"

"They might be in trouble now. Let's see if Yogame's new game can surpass Dead Cells. Honestly, Dead Cells is really fun."

"They must have prepared this game for a long time, but they never expected the emergence of a dark horse like Dead Cells."

"Maybe it's not intentional competition, just a coincidence, but it's still quite challenging to beat Dead Cells."

...

Dead Cells is just too strong, and its popularity abroad is unimaginable. Even after several months, its sales are steadily growing.

Ye Feng didn't even bother to look at Yogame's overwhelming promotion.

"Everyone says we're competing with them in the war game genre, but who knows, our games have absolutely nothing in common," said Song Shan with a smile.

Before making this game, he never imagined that war could be interpreted in such a way.

In the game, players experience the cruelty of war from the perspective of civilians, including the hardships of survival.

They have to endure long-lasting dark psychological shadows and constantly face moral dilemmas.

This war-themed game is not about glorifying the brave actions of soldiers charging into battle amidst gunfire, nor does it celebrate the friendship tested through life and death among comrades.

Freedom? Justice?

None of that.

The game's objective is simply to survive until the end of the war in a resource-scarce and dangerous environment, leading a group of gathered civilians to live on.

The game's release went as planned without any surprises, and Sprout Studio stuck to the scheduled time without making any changes.

Yogame also didn't make any changes to its release date.

A week before the game's release, Sprout Studio also released a short CG trailer.

The trailer was just over ten seconds long, but it carried deep meaning.

In the trailer, dozens of soldiers were engaged in a firefight on the streets, with dark clouds overhead and thick black smoke filling the air. The sparks from their guns stood out prominently in this grim environment.

The residential buildings were in ruins, with cracked walls, and countless ragged people huddled together, sobbing.

In the streets, severely wounded individuals were leaning against walls, struggling to breathe.

Gunfire and explosions never ceased from the beginning of the video. The dark visuals made people feel suffocated and powerless.

The game's tags didn't include "FPS" or "shooting game," but players immediately labeled it as such upon seeing the war theme since all war games they played were FPS.

Everyone knew that games with war themes were usually first-person shooters (FPS). FPS was the go-to genre for war games.

July 1st was a Saturday, and at 8 PM, both games were released on time.

Sprout Studio's game was priced at ￥39, while Yogame's game was priced at ￥59.

Although Sprout Studio's game was cheaper, many people believed that the game's price reflected its quality and effort.

Brother Yin was eagerly waiting in front of the purchase page.

"Do I even need to say it? Of course, I'll buy the game from that Black Star first to try it out." Teng Feng shook his head.

Both of Black Star's previous games had not disappointed him.

He had played too many Yogame games, and they felt lacking in novelty.

"If this game is another one where you die and start over, I feel like I'll get tired of it. Playing once or twice is fine, but it gets really exhausting if you play too much."

"I feel the same way, but Black Star is really amazing. His game designs are unique, and even though it might get repetitive, I still want to try it again."

"If this game brings some fresh elements and keeps me coming back after each death, then it's a success."

Brother Yin watched the barrage of comments. It was true that players could get tired of games where you constantly start over, but Black Star managed to overcome that difficulty by keeping the experience fresh.

He quickly purchased the game and entered it.

The game didn't show the expected first-person perspective with shoulders and hands, nor were there selectable firearms. Instead, the screen displayed charred black trees, billowing black smoke, and damaged low-rise buildings hit by shells.

Inside the buildings were several people, unarmed and without any equipment.

This game was completely different from all the war games Brother Yin had seen before.

It was a side-scrolling 2D platformer game.