Chapter 68. This Game Isn't That Hard, Either
One week later, Hollow Knight officially launched.
On the day before release, the sponsored write-ups that Xander bought had already blasted across game news sites.
"From the creator of To the Moon: A new game is about to launch—can Hollow Knight repeat its success?"
"A rising designer's first crack at a brand-new genre—will it succeed or fail?"
"I analyzed the Hollow Knight trailer frame by frame, and the surprises it gave me are far too many."
If you checked the forums, you would find that most posts were discussing Hollow Knight.
The hype bar was filled to the brim—supporters, naysayers, and onlookers just there for the drama, all mixed together.
There was nothing he could do about it, since he still couldn't stir up a huge wave in the gaming circle off his name alone like certain "old devs" from his previous life.
For better results, he decided to go all-in on promotion.
Relying on the power of money, Hollow Knight suddenly gained massive attention.
At 10 a.m., the game went live on the Titan game platform, priced at 48 game points with a 10% discount for the first week.
As the house streamer for Gensokyo Company, Sirin, of course, downloaded the game the moment it released.
Thanks to her proximity advantage, Sirin could always get Gensokyo Company's first-hand info.
Because of To the Moon, her viewers had a good impression of this company and were naturally quite excited.
Taking advantage of a Saturday off, Sirin planned to binge it all day.
She started the stream early and, as usual, got tilted by a full screen of "Miss Pufferfish" comments.
Sirin took a deep breath and decided not to stoop to the level of these punks.
On the desk within her webcam's frame sat the photo she had taken with Elysia back in Europe, complete with Elysia's handwritten signature and well-wishes.
Sirin had shown it off for quite a while back then.
Looking at the viewers turning green with envy secretly delighted her.
Some fans tried to buy it at a high price, but Sirin refused without a second thought.
It was a photo of her with her idol, after all—how could she sell it!
Of course, they were all wearing normal clothes in the photo.
Sirin had no intention of giving these indecent viewers any "benefits."
"Since Hollow Knight releases today, let's try it out," she said.
[Serve it up already, I can't wait!]
Bullet comments like that kept rolling, and Sirin waved at the camera again and again.
"Don't rush, don't rush, it's already downloaded and installing."
Watching the stream's viewer count rise, Sirin secretly rejoiced.
She hadn't expected that helping a friend on a whim back then would instead bring her even more benefits.
Over the past half year, her follower count had almost doubled.
Soon, the installation finished.
Unable to wait, she launched the game that had already maxed out her expectations.
A deep, pitch-black screen took over her main display.
The title "Hollow Knight," glowing faintly, appeared at the top, standing in distant contrast to the darkness of the background.
In the lower right corner, a red-and-white Yin-Yang Orb—the logo of Gensokyo Company—spun without end.
The gentle background music began to flow, a soft piano voice presenting an unspeakable past.
"As expected, the music is still top-tier quality."
It wasn't just Sirin—the bullet comments were full of praise.
Right from the start, the atmosphere had been set.
After listening for a while, Sirin pressed "Start Game" under the viewers' constant urging.
The image slowly faded.
In the pitch-black background, faint glimmers emerged, along with lines of text that gradually surfaced.
"In wilds beyond, they speak your name with reverence and regret.
None could tame our savage souls, yet you the challenge met.
Under palest watch, you taught; we changed; base instincts were redeemed.
A world you gave to bug and beast as they had never dreamed.
— from 'Elegy for Hallownest,' written by Monomon the Teacher."
"I hate riddlers," Sirin muttered.
As soon as she complained, the opening cutscene appeared.
Amid whoosh-whoosh static, dust floated through a ruined, gray-black world.
Chains rose from below, suspending what was bound high above.
A sudden light ignited its pupils, and cracks crawled over the bound shell.
But soon, the seal re-engaged, and the gold went dark once more.
The scene shifted, and the music changed with it.
Beside a peculiar snail-shaped building, a little figure—like a beetle, cloaked, with a small white head, irresistibly cute—walked down from distant steps.
A snail-shaped streetlamp flashed past, and the camera pulled in on the figure.
On the white head were two black, unreadable, whirlpool-like eyes.
A Nail with a crack was strapped to his back, and the cloak behind him was tattered.
He looked weathered, as if he had roamed for ages.
When the camera widened again, the Knight stood at a windswept cliff's edge, lifted his head, and silently gazed at the only light in the darkness far away.
The scattered motes along the path seemed to guide his way forward.
Then he vaulted and leapt off the cliff.
The game began.
"Let me see what's what," Sirin said to herself.
She started exploring the basic actions on flat ground.
Move left and right.
Jump.
Slash.
And then…
"That's it?"
Isn't that a little too few moves for an action game?
Still, the Knight's animations were pretty silky.
With a small grumble in her heart, Sirin steered the character to the right.
Soon, an obstacle blocked her path, and she reflexively swung once.
Snap!
The obstacle shattered instantly, breaking into scattered gravel.
"Wait, that hit feel?"
She frowned and swung twice into the air on the spot.
Seeing another obstacle up ahead, she immediately ran the Knight over.
Then, a slash.
Snap.
The obstacle broke again.
"Hiss—this hit feel might be a bit too good."
The Knight's fluid movement, combined with the effects and sound of striking objects, formed an exceptionally satisfying hand-feel.
This was what Xander and Bronya had researched from the start and kept polishing until release.
You could even say it surpassed the version inside Xander's mind by several notches.
Most players understand just how important hand-feel is for action games.
With rising expectations, Sirin met the first small enemy.
It was a cute little beetle crawling toward her.
Without a word, Sirin swung again.
Clang—clang.
Two strikes, and the beetle fell.
Compared to the obstacles, the way enemies reacted—equally smooth—when combined with the Knight's attacks made the hand-feel go up another level.
"This game is kind of exhilarating," she said.
She cut down a few more small enemies in quick succession, and her confidence swelled.
"The designer told me this one's a bit challenging," she said to the viewers with pride.
"But it doesn't look hard at all now.
Watch me clear it in one life!"
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