Blockbuster games often overturn, and on the other hand, there are some small-scale games that suddenly become popular and become dark horses. In recent months, there have been a lot of eye-catching new dark horse works. In this article, we will take a look at the recent dark horse games and see if there is one that you are interested in.
"Happy Fishing Master"
Recently, if you are a player who regularly brushes Douyin, you must be impressed by a video of a fishing game called "Happy Fishing Master".
I believe that many people may find it difficult to think that such a fishing mobile game that relies on advertising promotion to buy crazy on major short video platforms can catch up with "Glory of Kings" in popularity, and won the title of the hottest mobile game in April in one fell swoop, becoming the "latest hit" after "The King of Salted Fish".
Although the name of this game looks like a realistic fishing game, in fact, the underlying structure of this gameplay is not fishing at all, but the numerical cultivation and legendary one-knife 999 experience that everyone likes to see. The game's operations are based on numerical values.
Compared to traditional fishing games that require players to carefully prepare bait, tackle, and swing strength for a realistic experience, Happy Fishing Master doesn't require you to have any fishing experience and doesn't teach you any fishing tips. You only need to follow the system prompts to make hooks, swings, stabs, and even "burst" operations, and you can drop thousands of pounds of big fish.
Overall, "Happy Fishing Master" has a more realistic and high-quality game picture, and at the same time, in terms of cool point design, it meets the pain points of anglers, coupled with the correct marketing promotion, which has achieved the current position of "Happy Fishing Master" in the best-selling list.
However, this kind of popularity is also time-sensitive, and even if PVP content is added, it can't hide the problem of single gameplay content. Compared with products such as "Peace Elite" and "Glory of Kings", there is a large gap in long-term operation, and once the popularity of Douyin dissipates, it is worth paying attention to how many users the product can maintain.
"DNF Mobile Game" national server
If you want to say that this year's players are looking forward to the most mobile game, then the "DNF" mobile game national server that has been pigeon players for several years will definitely be among the best.
Since the beginning of February, "Dungeons & Warriors Mobile Game: Origins" has officially obtained the version number, and the enthusiasm of the majority of players has been fully mobilized. Obviously, not only players are anxious to play this game, but the official is also anxious to get the game online as soon as possible. I just got the version number in February, and now it's going to be launched on May 21.
According to the previous test and the official announcement, the game on the painting style restores the traditional retro style of DNF terminal games, although the game operation is slightly insufficient compared to the Hanbok that has been in public beta for two years, but overall it is relatively silky.
The mobile game also retains all the skills of the profession, and everyone can also make combos as smoothly as the terminal game. The most important thing is that the mobile game is based on the 60 version of the terminal game, and those classic old versions of the gameplay, equipment and NPCs will be reproduced. Compared with the terminal game, "DNF Mobile Game" has added new functions and mechanisms such as cushion knife enhancement and one-click moves, and from the perspective of optimization, Tencent is reducing the burden on players in the terminal game.
Although I don't know if the game will be able to satisfy players after it is launched, at least the appeal of DNF mobile games is still very strong, after all, just by announcing the public beta time of the game, Tencent stock can rise by more than 5%.
However, some players also ridiculed in view of the game's previous ticket jumps and Tencent's previous performance, simulating the official tone and issuing an announcement that the game was postponed. I just hope that there will be no more accidents this time.
Hedex 2
Players who like action pigeon games will certainly be familiar with the game "Hades". On May 7, the game's sequel, "Hates 2", was launched on the Steam platform.
As the "king" of the action meat pigeon game, the game detonated the enthusiasm of players as soon as it was launched, and the peak number of simultaneous online players approached 80,000 in less than 24 hours on the first day of early access. So far, the game's peak number of players online at the same time has reached 103567, which is nearly three times the peak of 37,749 in its predecessor, Hades.
As the first sequel to Supergiant Games, Hades 2 captures the essence of its predecessor's mythical meat pigeon maze crawler, rooted in the underworld of Greek mythology and legends of witchcraft. As the Lady of the Underworld, you'll explore the greater depths of mythology, battling the Titans of Time with the help of the gods of Olympus.
The Early Access version of Hedex 2 already features more areas, enemies, and fully voiced characters than the full version of the original Hedith. But the game is not fully developed, and there are still key areas, characters, enemies, events, and systems in development.
According to the official announcement, the Early Access status of Hates 2 will last until at least the end of 2024, with a major update with new features and content planned to be released every few months, and a patch will be released thereafter to fix any issues that arise. The first major update is officially scheduled to be released later this year.
As of this writing, "Hades 2" has more than 20,000 reviews on Steam, and the overall word-of-mouth is 94% very positive.
"Night Tribe"
Rise of the Night Clan is a popular vampire action survival RPG developed by Stunlock Studios. During the PC version of Early Access, Rise of the Vitres sold more than 3.9 million copies worldwide, with a positive Steam rating of 88%. On May 8, the official announcement of the official version of the game was announced.
In the game, players take on the role of a vampire who has just awakened, build his own castle, and explore a dangerous gothic open world. Players can hunt blood alone or join forces with the Bloodline to fight alongside fellow vampires online. Returning players can enjoy a wealth of new content, while newcomers can indulge in an entire adventure with seven areas to explore and 57 bosses to overcome.
In version 1.0, the ruins of Mortim will be added to the game, a new cold region that was once the center of a thriving vampire civilization and is now home to the remnants of Dracula's followers. Enter the depths of Mortim and rule the night in an epic showdown with the ancient tyrant Dracula himself.
In addition, in the official version, "Rise of the Nightborn" will also launch the Castlevania Legend crossover event. Players will be able to challenge the legendary vampire hunter Simon Belmont and unlock whip weapons.
"Dusty Forbidden Zone"
There is a saying that has been circulating in the player community, that is, "LSP is always the first productive force". Although this sentence has been confirmed countless times, the recently popular "Dust White Forbidden Zone" has once again added a favorable proof to this sentence.
According to the available data,The national server's "Dust White Forbidden Zone" has fallen out of the top 200 of the national iOS game free list and best-selling list since it was launched a month ago in July last year, although the subsequent version update, the ranking of the mobile game version has occasionally rebounded, but it is basically similar to the second game that performed poorly after the opening of the service last year, but in fact, the majority of the revenue of "Dust White Forbidden Zone" comes from the PC version.
The turnaround came at the end of March this year, starting with the fact that the free list of games has been climbing all the way in the past month. With the launch of the new version 1.7 of "Dusty Forbidden Zone" on April 18, the game's best-selling list results have also rebounded significantly, and on May 2, it broke its previous best record (44th) and reached 36th on the best-selling list.
As for the reason for the turnaround of "Dusty White Forbidden Zone", it was the ML turmoil that had been debated for a long time in the domestic second-game circle. Compared with some all-encompassing games, "Dusty Forbidden Zone" has obviously determined its position very early, and has been actively responding, such as changing the noun "trust" to "favorability" in the game, "best friend" to "beloved", and so on.
Even in order to completely "show loyalty" and serve the player groups with specific needs, at the time of the 1.7 version update, Xishanju also completely closed the channel for minors to register accounts and turned them away.
This kind of positive stance and identification and maintenance of their target group behavior has obviously won the affirmation of the target player group, and the popularity of the game has also ushered in a sharp rise.
《非生物因素（Abiotic Factor）》
Abiotic Factors is a co-op survival crafting game. The game is set in a research institute where supernatural threats are rampant. As the best scientists on Earth, players must work together to create ingenious tools and weapons in an attempt to survive.
Players need to collect resources such as circuit boards, glass, plastic, and more in and around the Institute, which can be used to craft weapons and tools. Craft ingenious and somewhat unusual tools, weapons, and equipment, from simple nets and sticks to laser cannons and elaborate traps, to destroy your enemies.
The game offers a variety of skills for players to choose from, such as learning quickly, being good at cooking, and more. Players can choose the corresponding skills according to their preferences and the needs of the team, and upgrade these skills through practice. In addition, players can also survive by collecting ingredients and crafting food.
As of press time, Steam has more than 20,000 simultaneous online users, with a praise rate of 97% and an estimated sales of about 10 million yuan.
As a small game and no publicity, this result can be said to be quite good, and the popularity of the game should continue to rise after a period of fermentation. It can be said that it is another popular horror survival game this year, and it is on the same track as games such as "Deadly Company" and "Content Warning".
"Bad Faith"
Bad Faith is an action role-playing game (ARPG) that revolves around a world threatened by a plague. Players take on the role of a character named Selim and explore a mysterious land known as the Holy Land Island in order to investigate the origin of the plague and stop its spread.
With attention to detail and immersion, the game world is designed as a dynamic environment where players can navigate a variety of engaging scenarios and return to explored areas at any time to encounter new enemies and resources. The game also offers a wealth of non-combat activities, such as fishing, timber, mining, etc., where players can use the collected materials to craft new equipment and furniture, and even participate in the renovation and remodeling of the Holy City.
The weapons in the game are abundant and distinctive, each with unique attributes and enchanted powers, and players will need to unlock and strengthen these weapons through combat and exploration. The game also incorporates role-playing elements, where players can change their character's fighting style by choosing different gear, rather than a fixed class or duty.
Although the game was initially launched due to optimization and BUG problems, it was also badly reviewed by domestic players because of Chinese translation problems. However, the foundation and quality of the game itself are still obvious to players, and the game has maintained a very high popularity since it was launched on April 19.
So far, the game has received more than 20,000 reviews, and the number of people online at the same time has exceeded 36,000.
《Rusty's Retirement》
"Rusty's Retirement" is a new farm management game with automatic development, players have an intelligent robot in the game, helping players with most of the mechanical work including watering, sowing, harvesting, etc., players only need to set the overall idea of planting to achieve the smooth development of the farm.
In the game, players can grow a variety of crops, watch Rusty water and fertilize these crops, weed and pick them. As you progress through the game, players can also unlock new crops like crispy carrots and red tomatoes.
Players can use crops to produce clean and energy-efficient biofuel, which is an important source of power for robots. Sell biofuel to other machine dwellers and reinvest the proceeds to expand their farms.
Players can also deploy cute little robots to assist with sowing, watering, and harvesting. Customize and upgrade robot assistants to increase their productivity.
Of course, the biggest highlight of this game is not the gameplay, but the fact that the game can only be placed at the bottom or side of the screen, and no matter how you set it up, it can't be full-screen, because the game doesn't do it at all. All in all, it's a mini-game where you can fish while you're working.
Crab Treasure Hunt
Crab Treasure Hunt is a soul-like action-adventure game that puts players in the shoes of another hermit crab that is as red as it has been boiled, and embarks on an adventure in an underwater world full of garbage and pollution. You'll need to pick up trash, collect rubbish, pick out your shell from the trash, and uncover the dark secrets behind the polluted coast.
At first glance at the game's screen and the name of the game, many people may think that "Crab Crab Treasure Hunt" will be a spoof of soul-like games, in fact, the quality of the game itself is quite good, in terms of map design, combat skills, and game content, it can be regarded as one of the best soul-like games in recent years.
Major gaming media outlets have also given high marks to the game, with IGN, PC Gamer, and PCGames all giving them 8 points.
The game's sales performance is also quite impressive, with sales of the game exceeding 100,000 points in just four days of release, and the game has sold 150,000 copies as of May 10.
However, the super high efficiency also brought a lot of pressure to the development team, the official said that the number of players in the first week of the game's release far exceeded their expectations, and at the same time exposed a lot of bugs, so they released patches on Steam almost every day, trying to solve the most serious bugs, considering that the core team is only 11 people, they feel very tired,
As a result, the pace of Crab Treasure Hunt updates will be slowed down to allow the development team to take a break. However, don't worry, the game will still receive regular fixes, and next week the game will launch a beta branch on Steam so that players can experience the latest, less stable changes
"Singing Tide"
I believe that many players are looking forward to the new work "Ming Tide" of Kulo Games. At the end of March, developer Kulo Games officially announced that it will start the global public beta on May 23, 2024, and will be available on PC, iOS, and Android. It can be said that it has the potential to be a dark horse.
"Ringing Tide" is an open-world action game with a high degree of freedom in combat gameplay and a rich and diverse narrative. Players will be awakened from a long slumber and embark on an adventure in a vast world composed of new eras, new environments, and new technologies.
Humanity that survived the darkness has joined hands to end a long war with its own kind and xenomorphs, and rebuild its home in a strange land that has changed beyond recognition. The hope found in the glory of the past was transformed into a new city and factory in the hands of the builders, and a long song of revival was played.
So far, "Singing Tide" has been tested several times, and judging from the performance of the test, Kuro Games, which has a wealth of experience in "modeling and beating vertical painting", has not disappointed players in the character modeling in "Singing Tide", and the modeling of various characters has directly poked the XP of the otaku.
In terms of the movement system, running on the wall, hooking and paragliding in the air, the way of moving in the big map is eye-catching. The rebound, bullet time, and dynamic impact sense have all been polished to a more mature level.