In the circle of friends last weekend, both daily mobile game lovers and gamers who love PC games are enthusiastically discussing "Phantom Beast Palu" (hereinafter referred to as "Palu"). On Weibo, Tieba and other social networks, the discussion of the game continues to rise.
"Stitching Monster" tops Steam
In addition to the enthusiastic interaction of players in the community, the game has also received nearly 70,000 positive reviews on the Steam store. From the heated discussion among players, it is not difficult to predict the popularity of this game, and it has achieved a sales of 7 million units in just 5 days after its debut, successfully topping the turnover list of the Steam platform. At the same time, the highest number of people in the game exceeded 2 million.
According to data from Steam DB as of press time, Palu is a big hit on Steam. The game has surpassed CS-2, Dota 2 and many other big games to become the most popular game in the history of Steam after PUBG, and it is still growing.
With such an effortless stance to stand at the top of today's fast-changing game market, and let other "battle-hardened" titles look up to it, the emergence of "Palu" has undoubtedly dropped a bombshell on the gaming industry.
Bad news: Stitch Monster; Good news: it's all sewn
As an iconic IP of development adventure games, the Pokémon series has a far-reaching and long-lasting influence, so why can an unofficial title shake the status of classic IPs such as "Pokémon"?
After playing for a while, it is not difficult to find that the success of "Palu" is not accidental, judging from the content posted by players in the comment area, it can probably be summed up as "bad news: stitching monsters; Good news: it's all sewnWith its clever "stitching" design, Palu meets the needs of players for diverse game content.
On this basis, innovation has formed a unique style of gameplay. In the game, players can not only experience the fun of capturing and cultivating Palu, but also enjoy a more free and open world exploration and a combat system of deep strategy.
The Palu we captured in the game not only has a personalized appearance, skills and attributes, but also a unique phantom beast predation system and ecological environment simulation settings, all of which provide players with a freshness that is different from traditional Pokémon games.
For example, some Palu is good at fighting and has powerful skills that can provide strong assistance in battle; And some Palu have high work patience and can help players obtain in-game production resources.
On this basis, more diversified game mechanics such as survival, exploration and management are derived. These mechanics form a closed, motivating loop structure of "Capture Spirits, Produce Resources, Explore the World, Capture Spirits", and players can have a rich and diverse game experience compared to the traditional linear game structure.
Compared with the official "Pokémon", "Palu" pays more attention to digging into the personalized needs of players and the fun of social competition on the basis of maintaining the core elements such as capture, training and combat. For example, by joining large-scale real-time PvP battles, players can team up to challenge Lord Palu together, inspiring players to participate and feel a sense of belonging. In addition, the combat gameplay integrates third-person shooting, multiplayer real-time combat and other systems, and also introduces dynamic environmental interaction and teamwork mechanisms, which greatly improves the player's strategic experience.
Palu also tries to break the original rules of Pokémon, such as adding some deviant operations to the game, which is undoubtedly a bold breakthrough in the classic Pokémon mode and provides players with a new experience.
Palu's success doesn't stop at the superficial elements, but goes to the heart of the game's design, redefining the essence of a Pokémon-style adventure game with a wealth of strategy and a high degree of freedom.
For less than 100 pieces, you can experience the many joys brought by the "Ultimate Stitching Monster".
Before Palu was launched, there were accusations of plagiarism by players. Instead of denying it, the official used the label "Ultimate Stitch Monster" to describe its own products. For stitching, Palu, with its visual elements and setting that resemble the Pokémon series, undoubtedly cleverly leverages the influence of this high-profile IP, thus saving huge expenses on marketing.
Moreover, in the previous stitching games, the sewing was either a well-known IP, or a single IP gameplay. Phantom Beast Palu is sewn with well-known IPs, each with a huge potential user base, and each fusion can accurately hit the interests of different audiences, so it naturally arouses a high degree of topic and heat.
It has been nearly a week since Palu was launched, and the public's focus is gradually shifting from the initial "stitching plagiarism" controversy to the content of the game itself. Dubbed the "Capitalist Simulator" for its unique gameplay design, the game allows players to direct Palu around the clock to engage in various production activities including mining, hatching eggs, and building. Some players even summed up the "Palu Code", which looks very familiar, and may be the real highlight of "Palu".
On the other hand, one of the reasons why "Phantom Beast Palu" can quickly become popular is that the player group has long been dissatisfied with the grievances and expectations of the original developer of the "Pokémon" series, GF. After all, the core of the game is entertainment and playability, and when a game that changes the skin of "Pokémon" but is more fun than the original comes out, the attitude of old players is more ambiguous. Besides, after the discount, as long as 97, what kind of "bicycle" do you need...
Palu isn't just content with copying and pasting existing modes, but boldly reinvents and breaks the mold to bring players a unique style of gameplay. This allowed it to rise rapidly in the highly competitive game market, and even surpassed many old masterpieces for a time to reach the top of the Steam platform. Its hot sales have undoubtedly proved to the industry that in today's era, young people are not limited to the official orthodox sequel to the next game that may become a "Pokémon"-like phenomenon, as long as they can grasp the psychology of players and provide a novel, unique and in-depth game experience, any work may become the next hit.