Agreeing to Create Bad Games, What the Hell Is ‘Titanfall’? Chapter 28
“It’s actually a pixel-style game?”
Liu Liu was a little surprised.
After all, pixel-style games were pretty rare in the current market.
“The graphics are actually pretty good...”
As Liu Liu mumbled to herself, the bullet comments exploded with question marks—
‘Sis, you feeling okay?’
‘One sec: pixel-style. Next sec: good graphics??’
‘Hahahahaha are you seriously calling these blocky characters “good graphics”?’
‘Fake fans don’t get it. Compared to Golden Wind’s last two games, isn’t this a major upgrade?’
‘LOL what a unique perspective.’
‘Can’t even argue with that.’
‘One small improvement per game, huh?’
‘So by that logic, Golden Wind might drop a next-gen AAA title someday?’
‘Just give them a liiiittle more time...’
‘……’
The comments were full of banter and laughter.
Even though the game looked kind of rough with its pixel art style,
Just like that one comment said—compared to the troll-faced Cat Mario and the clipping disaster Who's Your Daddy,
This Vampire Survivors actually showed decent progress.
“Still, this art style doesn’t really scream ‘silly game,’”
Liu Liu said while downloading the game.
“Golden Wind’s past games were each more chaotic than the last. Could it be they’ve changed directions this time?”
Just as she said that, the download finished.
The game size, as usual, wasn’t big.
And once the game launched—
The music kicked in!
Liu Liu’s eyes lit up instantly!
Energetic 8-bit music, oozing with retro vibes, hit her like opening a dusty old book—
Transporting her straight back to the good old days.
“Whoa—”
Liu Liu was thrilled:
“This soundtrack is so good! Totally gives off those classic Famicom vibes!”
No surprise—Liu Liu was a long-time internet addict.
And sure enough!
For this Vampire Survivors, Gu Sheng had gone full retro,
Specifically choosing 8-bit chiptunes like those from the Famicom era!
The tempo and melody were inspired by the legendary Contra series.
Even better—the entire track was an original composition by a top music producer from Game Factory.
That one song alone took up nearly a third of the game’s budget.
Gu Sheng really knew how to spend money in creative ways.
Of course!
With such attention to detail, the bullet comment audience was full of praise—
‘Got goosebumps! Feels like I’m back in my childhood!’
‘So good! The music slaps.’
‘The immersion is real—I’m already doing up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-AB-BA.’
‘Turn it up, this is legit (funny face)’
‘Pixel art + 8-bit music? Golden Wind’s going all-in on the retro vibe!’
‘How long’s it been since I’ve seen a pixel-style game?’
‘And it actually looks pretty damn solid quality-wise!’
‘You can tell they put real heart into it—the designer’s got some skills.’
‘Yup. They can do silly and serious.’
‘Just for this soundtrack alone, I’m giving it a vote.’
‘……’
The comments were lit, and first impressions were excellent.
Meanwhile, Liu Liu had also entered the game—
On screen, four character options appeared:
A whip-wielding warrior, a mage with a staff, a dagger-throwing assassin, and a runemaster using some kind of weird diamond-shaped rune.
Which one to pick?
“Zhuang Zhuang, who are you picking?”
Liu Liu asked her little brother in the voice chat.
“I’m playing the mage. Pretty decent, just a bit slow on the attack... ah ah AH don’t touch me!!”
Sounds like Zhuang Zhuang had already started and things were getting intense.
Liu Liu, getting the itch to play, randomly picked the first character—Whip Guy.
“You’ll do. Basic character, probably got balanced stats. Should be good for early stages.”
She clicked confirm and entered the game.
The screen flickered.
From a top-down view, a pixelated character holding a whip appeared on a grassy field—
He looked kinda dumb.
Next second, he whipped out the whip and lashed the air with a loud snap.
“Huh?”
Liu Liu blinked:
“It auto-attacks?”
She hadn’t pressed anything, yet the character attacked on his own.
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
She tried nudging the joystick.
Whip Guy swayed left and right accordingly.
But no matter what else she pressed, he didn’t do anything else.
“What the—???”
Liu Liu was stunned:
“I can only move up, down, left, right in this game?”
Didn’t she just say this game wasn’t trying to mess with people?
And now this?
“Zhuang Zhuang! Is this game really just move up, down, left, and right?”
Liu Liu was in disbelief.
She had never played anything this... simple.
“Not just that,” Zhuang Zhuang replied over voice chat. “You can move diagonally too.”
Liu Liu: ...What difference does that make?
“This game... it’s just way too basic... too barebones.”
She couldn’t believe a game designer could be this lazy—
Even the attacks were automated?!
It just looked boring, honestly.
No real controls—what’s there to play?
Just as she was about to start roasting the game—
A few vampire bats flew in on screen.
Interrupted, Liu Liu quickly turned the joystick to dodge.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
With swift movements, Whip Guy cracked his whip and wiped out the bats.
A few blue gems dropped to the ground.
At the same time, more bats started swarming in from all directions.
They weren’t fast, but there were a lot of them.
Liu Liu rushed to collect the blue gems.
Ding!!!
As the XP bar at the top of the screen filled up, the game paused.
A dazzling gem animation filled the screen, and a pop-up appeared in the center!
“Whoa?”
Liu Liu jumped:
“What’s this—?”
Inside the pop-up, three items showed up—
Duplicator, Peace Dove, and Candelabra.
“Leveling up gives loot?!”
Liu Liu exclaimed:
“This game is too easy.”
She picked the “Duplicator,” which duplicated one attack.
But just after picking—
Three bats came flying straight at her!
“Ah!”
Liu Liu let out a startled yelp and stepped back.
Didn’t expect that there were three more bats behind her!
This is it.
Her heart tightened.
Blocked in front, chased from behind. The sudden mob was overwhelming.
But just as she was cornered—
Snap!
A whip strike suddenly appeared behind Whip Guy, instantly taking out the three bats!
“OHHHHH——!!!”
Liu Liu was overjoyed!
“Duplicator! Holy sh*t! This Duplicator is amazing!!!”
That extra attack saved her just in time!
Seeing three more XP gems drop, Liu Liu rushed to collect them.
“Got it, got it, friends!”
Seeing her clear improvement, Liu Liu was starting to enjoy the upgrade mechanic:
“This game’s simple! It’s just a three-choice level-up system! Once I get higher level, it’ll be whip-whip-whip all the way—”
But before she could finish—
Her excited voice got caught in her throat.
Because in the next second,
Dozens of vampire bats flooded the edges of the screen!
From every direction, they charged in—massive numbers!
And only then did Liu Liu suddenly recall that one tiny tag on the game’s download page—
Bullet Hell.