To be honest, it has been a long time since a 30-year-old player like me has been amazed by a mobile game. But when I was wandering around the app store a few days ago, I saw the introduction of "The Mysterious City", and I immediately recognized that it was made by Shanghai Tingfengyu - the same team that made "The Lost City" back then. I clicked in and played for two hours, and I was a little reluctant to stop😌.
Let me first talk about my first impression of this game. The setting of the story is quite interesting: two masters of inversion fighting searched for Xuancheng according to ancient ancestral books, but disappeared for seventeen years. Their descendants gathered experts in Panjiayuan to continue the search. This reminds me of the "Tomb of Terror" I played on Symbian before, which also has the tone of family inheritance and mystery. However, "Secret City" is more mature in terms of atmosphere creation. Although the graphics are limited by the 4.0 platform, the gloomy underground tombs, mottled murals, and flickering torches can make me, an old player, feel like I spent all night playing levels on the Nokia N73.
Not to brag, the highlight of this game is the integration of puzzles and scenes. It doesn't just let you click, but you need to find clues, break traps, and avoid monsters in the tomb. The scene in Panjiayuan was done very carefully, and there are many details about antique slang in the NPC dialogue. It seems that it has been researched at first glance. Compared with those current mobile games that have the trap of cheating and are actually about drawing cards to earn money, this old-school stand-alone puzzle-solving gameplay actually makes me feel more friendly.
While playing, I suddenly remembered that ten years ago on the Symbian forum, I was discussing the hidden ending of "Tomb Raiders: Tomb of Shadows" with a group of guys. There were no cloud saves at that time, so you had to re-download the game every time you changed your phone, and you often deleted saves you couldn't bear to delete because of insufficient memory. It is indeed rare to find this kind of pure adventure experience in "Youxingxuan City" now. Although it does not have the glossy special effects of big companies, and the pace is slow and intense, the sense of accomplishment of uncovering the mystery step by step is much better than many so-called 3A mobile games today.
If I had to find a fault, it would be that the game length is a bit short. You can complete it in about four or five hours. However, considering that it is free and has no in-app purchases, this sincerity has exceeded 90% of mobile games on the market. Finally, I would like to say something with emotion: I hope Shanghai Tingfengyu can continue to maintain this old-school stand-alone flavor, and not be like some big companies that rush to socialize and make money as soon as it becomes popular. At our age, being able to finish a complete plot safely is the most luxurious gaming experience. 🎮