As soon as the first PV of "Incarnation of Evil" was released, it quickly aroused great discussion in the gaming circle.
This is not just because this is a brand new masterpiece under Chuxin, another card masterpiece after Slay the Spire.
Everyone's focus is on the special card "Stoat" in the game that attempts to have a direct dialogue with us players.
In the first PV, it not only clearly recognized the existence of players, but also realized that it was currently in a promotional PV for a game.
And he has a strong desire to communicate with players, trying to get some help on the current situation from players watching the PV.
Of course, this behavior was severely stopped by our Mr. Luo.
And it also makes it clear that the appearance of the ferret is just an insignificant little easter egg in the game.
But the poor acting skills obviously have no way to convince the players.
Although everyone knows very well that anything that appears in this PV is just a means to promote the game.
But there is no doubt that such a unique way of publicity has aroused everyone's strong interest.
“I originally thought it was a card game, but I didn’t expect it to be a meta-game.”
Knowledgeable players expressed such emotions.
Metagaming is a concept derived from metafiction.
This concept was first proposed by American writer William Gass in his 1970 book "Images in Fiction and Life", which refers to novels about novels.
Metagame refers to games about games.
However, despite this definition, the current understanding of metagame is still relatively vague.
Nowadays, in the entire game industry, the relatively narrow understanding of meta-game is:
A game that tells the player that what they are playing is a game, a game that breaks the fourth wall.
The earliest metagame that is now recognized is probably something that no one thought of.
It is the famous work "Stink" released by ELF in 1998.
The game distinguishes the player from the protagonist at the beginning, telling the player that you are not a bad actor, and also allows you to make a judgment and choice about the bad behavior.
In addition, under the category of metagame, some very famous works have also been produced.
Doki Literary Club, Undertale, The Stanley Prophecy and more.
In the traditional game framework, it is often pursued to bring players a deeper sense of immersion, so that players can be more involved in the game story.
The metagame escapes from such restrictions and denies the virtual identity that the game itself brings to players.
Let players realize that the players in the game are playing themselves in reality. The thinking and feelings this method brings to the players are naturally beyond the comparison of ordinary games.
In "Incarnation of Evil", the behavior shown by Ferret in the PV has clearly revealed part of the nature of this game.
"I'm really looking forward to what kind of story "The Evil Dead" will bring."
"Stop messing with those useless things, so when the game is officially launched, my wallet can't wait."
"The electronic power is serious and we urgently need new games to relieve it."
……
""Incarnation of Evil" is finally released! Let's play this game today. It's been a long time."
Erxiao greeted the brothers in the live broadcast room. At this moment, the main interface of the game was already displayed in the live broadcast room.
Just like the very old plug-in game disk type game of the last century, the first impression given to everyone by the main interface of the game Evil Underworld is that it is rough.
The entire main interface only has 8 colors.
But of course, no one would think that this is a shoddy work. Even such simple color points give people a sense of rigor and seriousness.
This long-lost retro feel is simply irresistible.
"Okay, without further ado, let's start the game..."
Erxiao wanted to move the mouse to the "New Games" section, but found that the options here were completely blacked out.
"What's going on? Why can't I just start directly from continue? I've never played this game before?"
"You guys are lying, right? You've played this game a long time ago, and you forgot to start a new game when you exited."
"No, in Slay the Spire, you can directly abandon the current game and start a new one."
“Where did Erxiao buy the second-hand game from?”
"I admit, I actually bought this game before, but after playing it for a few minutes and finding it boring, I refunded it. What Erxiao is buying now is my second-hand game."
"Second-hand games? I deceived people like this during the last autumn sale."
Just keep playing, keep playing.
The large wooden table that was so familiar from the PV, and the pair of eyes lurking in the darkness on the opposite side slowly emerged.
[Another challenger... How long has it been?
Maybe you have forgotten how to play this game. ]
As the mysterious man spoke, his eyes were replaced by whirlpools from time to time, giving people a strange and crazy feeling.
Next, the game begins with the novice introduction part.
As you can see in the PV, Squirrel is a basic card, and more powerful beasts can be played through sacrifice.
The beast can add weight to both ends of the scale through attacks. When one side has too many weights, causing the scale to collapse, the battle will end.
It was also here that players saw the special card "Stoat" that everyone had been waiting for for a long time.
But at this moment, it closed its eyes tightly and remained motionless, no different from those ordinary animals.
"What's going on? Why doesn't the ferret speak?"
"Is it true, as Mr. Luo said, that the ferret's ability to talk is just a little easter egg in the PV?"
"Damn it, the brothers have been guessing about the metagame for more than a month, and in the end, everyone just got too excited, hahaha."
Erxiao was actually quite curious about the fact that ferrets could talk.
But the most important thing now is to continue the game by following the tutorial.
In the next round, the mysterious man on the opposite side summoned a 2/1 coyote in front of the ferret.
The stoat's board is 1/3, and the coyote did not kill the stoat instantly in the first round, leaving it with a little health.
It was Er Xiao's turn. After drawing a squirrel card, Er Xiao faced a choice.
A squirrel obviously has no way to directly summon the wolf in its hand, unless it sacrifices a stoat, but at the end of the round, the stoat can just kill the coyote.
So do you want to pass this round?
"Let's see if there is a special animation for sacrificing a ferret."
The water friend's suggestion made Erxiao feel particularly reasonable.
Put the squirrel on the table, choose the wolf, sacrifice the squirrel, sacrifice the stoat.
"Huh? Hey, stop!"
Although the words above the ferret's head were only a glimpse, and it had completely turned into a sacrifice and dissipated, everyone still saw it clearly.
At this time, the mysterious man also gave a timely reminder.
[Don't worry...the sacrificed creation will not be removed from the deck.
It did suffer, but you'll still be able to see it later. ]
"The ferret is still here, okay, okay."
"Looking forward to it."
At the end of the round, the wolf killed the coyote, and the mysterious man did not summon any more beasts after that. Relying on the wolf's bites, Er Xiao also won this battle.
[Let me recall your story...]
[Oh, yes, you were lost in the forest...
At this time a path appears in front of you. ]
As the mysterious man spoke, a forest-like map came into view.
The same path selection as Slay the Spire made everyone smile.
With the card-like event ahead, it is obvious that you can gain new partners here.
[Two forest dwellers timidly try to approach you]
Two cards are placed on the table, choose one from the two.
Opening the card, the viper and the kitten came into view.
[The viper is extremely venomous, and you will basically die if you are bitten by its fangs]
[The immortal cat, the poor little guy will not die even after being sacrificed]
[Only one may condescend to be added to your deck]
"Hey, what a good thing!"
Erxiao's eyes lit up.
After all, Spire Warrior has passed Advanced Level 20. Although he doesn’t understand much about the game, and getting to the top depends solely on time and luck, he still knows whether a card is strong or not.
As for the Viper, I don't think it has much effect. Like the wolf, it has two health points and needs to sacrifice two squirrels. Although the poison feels quite strong, it is too stuck.
Especially in this situation where you can only draw one card per turn.
The kitten feels very useful. It is a first-blood creature and cannot die when sacrificed. With the kitten, you can stably spawn wolves in one round, which feels quite powerful.
Decisively choose the kitten.
As expected in the barrage, Erxiao was asked to choose the kitten one after another.
Select the kitten and move forward.
The event in front of the card looks like a package.
[You see an abandoned sack...]
On the table, the mysterious man took out a huge sack from nowhere and took out three things.
Two glass bottles with squirrel cards in them, and a pair of giant pliers.
[You found a squirrel trapped in a bottle. In case of emergency, you can break the bottle and use it]
[Another very useful tool, if you want to use it to change the result of the balance, I won’t stop you]
[You can only bring a maximum of three items]
"This should be the potion system of the Spire. The squirrel in the bottle should be able to summon one more squirrel, which is equivalent to paying one more fee?"
"What exactly are pliers? They can change the balance of the scale..."
“You’ll find out after you use it later?”
After harvesting a card and a bunch of disposable props, Erxiao also ushered in the second battle.
[You are ambushed while traveling through rugged terrain]
Two tree stumps with three points of health each appeared in the opponent's combat slot, while a rock with five points of health appeared in Erxiao's combat slot.
"Obstacle system..."
In the second dawn round, the cards are in hand.
The ferret opened his eyes and suddenly jumped to the center of the screen and started thrusting crazily.
"You sacrificed me while I was sleeping, so it makes sense. I understand.
Maybe...you can help me later? ”
Before the ferret finished speaking, the mysterious man opposite began to urge impatiently.
[It's your turn]
"Let's play with him for a while longer."
Ferret's last words gave the players a message.
The mysterious person opposite is a male.
The ferret returned to his hand and remained motionless, and the battle officially began.
[You can now see my cards in advance]
In addition to the battle columns between the two sides, in the arrow column at the top, a young wolf has already appeared in the mysterious man's preparation pile.
In addition, a rule book also comes into view.
Among them, it clearly introduces what the special sundial mark attached to the young wolf represents.
[Hatchling: Cards with this mark will grow into a more powerful form after one round on the card table]
"A more powerful form?"
But it doesn’t matter.
First summon a squirrel, sacrifice the squirrel to summon a cat, and sacrifice the cat to summon a stoat.
Ferret: "Let's go, let's go!"
The ferret with high spirits of war appeared in the battle area, but the immortal cat did not die because of being sacrificed, and stood stubbornly on the spot.
The four cards in the starting hand were used in the blink of an eye, and only one wolf was left.
Opponent: stump, empty, stump, empty.
Our side: Cat, Rock, Stoat, Sky.
At the end of the round, the stoat attacks the tree stump, reducing its health to two points.
During the opponent's turn, the young wolf in the second grid also came to the combat area and attacked the rock, causing a little damage.
It's Erxiao's turn again.
Draw a squirrel, place the squirrel, and sacrifice the squirrel and cat. The wolf in Erxiao's hand is also summoned.
Erxiao, whose hand was empty of cards, raised his hands:
"Take this one!"
Ring the bell and the round ends.
The wolf bites the opponent's area firmly, three gold teeth appear on the opponent's scale, the balance tilts, and victory is about to come.
You can wait until the opponent's turn.
The original wolf cub turned upside down and grew up in an instant.
From a 1/1 panel to a 3/2 wolf.
Bite on the rock, leaving only blood.
In the fourth battle column of the mysterious man, a 2/1 bat officially entered the battle.
It did not bite the opposing wolf, but instead passed over the wolf and bit directly towards the player.
[Flying bats can leap over creations and attack directly]
Two gold teeth appeared on the player's scale, and the pointer moved back two spaces.
Erxiao's idea of ending the game in the next round naturally failed.
Erxiao, who had no cards in his hand and chose the beast card, saw the Snapping Turtle with two health points. It was obvious that he had missed the opportunity.
Unless he was willing to sacrifice a ferret, which would make no sense.
The wolf opposite eats the rock, the stoat here eats the stake, and the werewolf kills the bat.
It's Erxiao's turn again.
Smoke the squirrel and sacrifice the squirrel to summon the snapping turtle.
In fact, this behavior is unnecessary, because the damage of stoat + wolf is enough to end the game at four points.
[You have won the victory...and continue the journey through the rivers of blood]
"The card battle of Evil Inscribed feels so simple, without the depth of Spire at all."
"They are two different styles from the Spire. The Spire tests the player's proficiency in construction, but this game is more like playing tricks."
"It's good to be on top. The battle system of Evil Underworld is not simple." (End of Chapter)