(Xia Tang also contributed to this article)
Just last week, when everyone was ridiculing NetEase and Blizzard for reuniting, NetEase's other blockbuster game "Naraka: Bladepoint" also broke through its own achievements on both PC and mobile. On the first day of the new season in April, the number of concurrent online users on Steam exceeded 370,000, setting a new record high. The first two-week external test of the mobile game also ended with more than 25 million pre-orders on the whole network.
The number of concurrent users of Naraka: Bladepoint has reached a new high
In July 2021, Naraka: Bladepoint was launched as a buyout game, and sales exceeded 20 million copies in less than 2 years. In July last year, the game announced that it would be transferred, and only three months later, the global player base exceeded 40 million, directly doubling. Less than 3 years after its launch, the Naraka: Bladepoint terminal game has frequently refreshed the history of domestic games, running all the way on the road of national chaos.
"Naraka: Bladepoint", which is known for its ability to live, released a demonstration of the "New Weapon Hand" on April 1 this year, that is, April Fool's Day. This dense video of the whole activity made players laugh. At the end of the video, the production team did not forget to advertise the first test of the mobile game "Naraka: Bladepoint", announcing the official start of the mobile game's "launch test". This time, it's really "just have hands".
I think that the Naraka: Bladepoint mobile game is probably an important measure to further popularize the Naraka: IP for everyone. The two-week test also allows players to make their own judgments on whether the mobile game can "inherit" the core of the terminal game.
01
Breaking the barrier of hardware, the mobile game version is that flavor
With the end game Jewel in front, players have high expectations for the Naraka: Bladepoint mobile game, and the production team is also very cautious. Before the start of the test, Naraka: Bladepoint mobile game had only conducted one offline small-scale trial meeting, and it was still in the stage of "holding the pipa and half covering its face". The launch test is the first time that Naraka: Bladepoint mobile game has been tested by the general public, and the pressure is definitely there.
Although the game's producer Guan Lei has previously said that the team has optimized the operation of the mobile game, even players who have not played the terminal game can easily get started. However, the player community is still skeptical about this, and even has been associated with the joyful picture of the mobile game's "four-finger glass rubbing", which may not be able to restore the combat feel of the terminal game.
Before the test, players will be skeptical
Yes, when the terminal game launched an adapted mobile game, the operation feel and game restoration have always been the focus of players' attention. It can even be said that it is the key to the success of end-to-end products.
In the era when mobile games were just emerging, a large number of terminal game IPs couldn't wait to launch mobile game derivatives. Limited by the hardware performance of mobile phones and operating habits at that time, manufacturers often made drastic cuts to the content of terminal games to adapt to mobile phones. Such a "super simplified" version of the mobile game, the taste is not right, and it is difficult to retain IP fans.
Looking at the end-to-end transfer cases in recent years, there is no shortage of games that have overturned due to operation and restoration.
"APEX Mobile Game" was not suitable for operation and gameplay on the mobile terminal, and was finally canceled by EA. The "Call of Duty: Warzone" mobile game had serious problems of frame drops, heat and blurry images in the first stage, resulting in a poor game experience, and there was no chance to challenge "Call of Duty Mobile" (Tencent version) again. Another example is "Final Fantasy 7: The First Warrior", which changed the original RPG gameplay to tactical competition, and the game taste changed greatly, and the service was discontinued after one year of launch.
Eating the chicken version of FF7, can the taste be right?
So how is Naraka: Bladepoint Bladepoint doing?
- Optimize the difficulty of operation, and the mobile phone can also play refreshingly
First of all, Naraka: Bladepoint mobile does simplify the operation.
The mobile game version realizes more complex operations such as accumulating the vibrating knife, jumping vibrating knife and C vibrating on the terminal game through the operation of the roulette sliding screen. In the actual experience, when my hero is charging, he only needs to slide to the vibrating knife, and he can immediately interrupt the charging to perform the vibrating knife attack, no need to jump or press the C button to interrupt the charging like in the terminal game, it is very simple and direct.
As an in-depth gamer, editor Xia Tang said that as an important combat skill in "Naraka: Blade", it needs to be practiced and mastered repeatedly, and once you enter the battle, "only remember the simplest vibration method". When experiencing the mobile game, I feel that the vibrating knife was quickly accepted and used by other players, and with the combo buttons, the whole battle rhythm was smooth.
During a battle, I quickly discovered other ways to simplify the operation of the mobile version.
For example, heroes can automatically pick up items when they are close to them, and players only need to manually adjust them when there is a trade-off, or if they put a weapon into their backpack, they will automatically restore their durability, and for example, the Soul Returning Altar and the Merchant in the terminal game are integrated into the Soul Returning Secret Merchant, which is more convenient to find and resurrect.
There are many more similar simplifications, and Naraka: Bladepoint Mobile also takes into account the operating habits of different players, allowing players to customize the key positions, and promising to further optimize the relevant content in the closing video.
Automatic pick-up of gear
The optimization of the controls for mobile not only improves the refreshing feeling of Naraka: Bladepoint mobile game, but also lowers the barrier to entry. Guan Lei previously revealed that the mobile game development team had made an original and complex version of the mobile game. In the internal test, it was found that even the most hardcore planning was "unbearable", so it was iterated step by step into the current version.
With a number of tunings, even if I haven't played a PC game before, with my past experience in chicken games, I quickly got started with Naraka: Bladepoint mobile game and quickly won my first victory.
- It's still the smell of eternal calamity
So the production team has reduced the difficulty of the operation, will it lead to the mobile game version not being the flavor of Eternal Doom? My answer is: no.
As soon as they enter the game, old players can see old friends such as Ning Hongye, Tianhai, Hu Tao, Canaan and Ji Canghai, and a sense of familiarity comes to their faces. Familiar voices, familiar moves, and familiar competitive gameplay are believed to make veteran players "enter the game in one second".
It's all old friends
Putting aside the above-mentioned superficial packaging techniques, the core of the Naraka: Bladepoint mobile game is in the same vein as the terminal game.
In the battle, my hero flies the eaves and walks the wall, and the fast-paced battle of all walks of life is consistent with the end game. Meet the opponent in a narrow way, fight "guess the boxing" style moves, charge strength, vibrate the knife or general attack to restrain each other, and see me see the move. Every battle, whether it is successful or lost, is always tense and exciting, and I can't get enough of it.
Xia Tang told me that the mobile game of Naraka: Bladepoint is simplified, with unlimited energy and immersive gameplay, which is more suitable for playing in fragmented time. I can feel that as a veteran player, she recognizes the authenticity of Naraka: Bladepoint mobile game.
Therefore, the mobile game of Naraka: Bladepoint has actually achieved a balance between restoration and lightweight, retaining the charm of the terminal game while further making innovations.
02
There is still room for improvement
The first test of the mobile game "Naraka: Bladepoint" is mainly to verify the core gameplay of the game. At present, the lightweight core gameplay has been well received by players.
Of course, Naraka: Bladepoint mobile has room for improvement. The balance of some heroes in the game is more prominent, such as Tianhai (Big Buddha) and Ji Canghai (Fire Man) ability supermodels, and the production team said that they have paid attention to it. In addition, the problem of the zipline being touched by mistake may also require the production team to consider the UI again.
As for the graphics quality of the game, which has been criticized a lot by players, I don't think it's a big problem. At the "suddenly" trial meeting in Chengdu in December last year, the game screen was delicate and the special effects were exquisite, and I was quite satisfied. Therefore, players can look forward to the follow-up opening of high image quality. I'm more worried about whether the game is compatible with lower-end models than about the quality of the game, and how well the phone heats up at high quality.
After Xia Tang finished the test, he believed that the current weapon pool of the mobile game version is still too small, and the performance needs to be further improved. But this is the first test after all, and after the game is launched, I believe that the optimization of the game and the richness of the content will be greatly enhanced.
In my personal experience, Naraka: Bladepoint mobile gameplay is lighter and more enjoyable to play, which is expected to further expand the player base and continue to carry forward the popularity of the IP.
03
Outdo yourself on no competitor tracks
On the basis of the gem of terminal games, Naraka: Bladepoint mobile game has further made a lightweight exploration of gameplay, and the quality of the first test has won the recognition of new and old players around me. Especially Xia Tang, it seems that she has returned to the time of the internal test of the terminal game, obsessed and reluctant.
In the sub-category of martial arts action competition, it seems that only one game, "Naraka: Bladepoint", is currently developing. In the absence of a reference object, every attempt of Naraka: Bladepoint is actually to cross the river by touching oneself, and the goal is naturally to constantly surpass oneself. The official slogan of "action competition, only this one" is not only self-confidence, but also expresses the determination to do a good job and become stronger.
Will Naraka: Bladepoint mobile game go in a different direction from the terminal game in the process of operation, and realize more gameplay that the terminal game does not have?
I'm looking forward to seeing even better Naraka: Bladepoint mobile in the next beta.