To be honest, as an old player who has worked hard since the Saipan era, I have always been cautious about these so-called "antique" and "love development" mobile games on the market. To be honest, there have been more and more games for women in recent years, but many of them are the same assembly-line products with different skins and cards, with perfunctory plots and beautiful but samey graphics. At the end of the game, it is just a pure pile of numerical values, which lacks the immersion that made people calm down and experience it slowly.
Until two days ago, a guy in the group recommended that I try "Qingluan Prosperity Record", saying it was "old-school but refined". I laughed at him at first. Which game nowadays calls itself "old school"? As a result, I downloaded and played it for an afternoon, and I really felt a little emotional: It turns out that it's not that mobile games have changed, but that too many manufacturers have forgotten how to make a game that can make people "slow down the pace of life."
Let's talk about the vertical painting first. It is indeed exquisite. It is not the kind of “exquisite” made by Internet celebrities, but has layers and atmosphere. It can be seen from each male protagonist's eyes, clothing textures, background light and shadow, and even expression changes at different plot points that the art team has really worked hard. The ever-changing dress-up system does not simply change skins, but interacts with the plot and character relationships. This is much more conscientious than many restaurants that simply sell vertical paintings.
As for the plot, as the setting of the "Empress", it is no longer silly and sweet, but has real crises, choices, and growth. The Qingluan Kingdom is facing a crisis. You are dealing with powerful enemies, and every decision you make affects subsequent development. This kind of "thrilling and dangerous" experience reminds me of the feeling I had when I played the "Xuanyuan Sword" series on Saipan - not for the krypton gold value, but to want to watch the next plot and to unravel the bonds between the characters.
The charging mode is 0, which is free. I have to say at this point, it is very rare to be able to make a free game without being too expensive or using fancy payment traps. Of course, there must be in-game purchases, but at least you can experience the main storyline smoothly without spending any money, and you won't have that disgusting feeling of “getting stuck without recharging money”. This kind of restraint is really a breath of fresh air in today's mobile game market.
From the perspective of industry development, the emergence of "Qingluan Prosperity Record" actually represents a trend: players are becoming increasingly tired of the mechanized cycle of "drawing cards - developing - pushing pictures", and are beginning to return to pursuing works with a sense of immersion, story core, and emotional resonance. In particular, women in the market are no longer satisfied with "finding a handsome guy to fall in love with". What everyone wants is an experience that truly allows them to immerse themselves in the role and feel the soul of the character. This game does a pretty solid job in this regard.
Of course, it is not without shortcomings. For example, the novice guide is a bit lengthy, and the early rhythm can be optimized; also, the feedback on the choice branches of some branch plots is not obvious enough, making it easy for people to feel that "chosen means no choice." But these shortcomings do not hide the good points. The overall quality is definitely in the first echelon among similar games.
I have said so much, but I actually want to share it with all my old friends of Time and Space Hunters: If you are like me, tired of playing those "fast food games" and want to find a work that you can calm down and savor, then "Qingluan Prosperity Record" is worth a try. I'm not going to brag about it, but this game brought me back to the feeling I had when I stayed up late to watch the plot on Saipan. That feeling of “heart being moved by the story” was really not easy. 😌