To be honest, I have been playing mobile games for more than ten years. From the "Cangshenlu" in the Saipan era to the various open worlds now, I have seen too many reskinned and runaway products. I recently tried 4399's "Hunting Mission". I was a little immune to this kind of domestic MMO, but after playing it, there are indeed some unexpected things that I want to talk to you about.
Let's talk about the picture first. The art style of this game is not the hard-core route that pursues realism, but a fantasy style that favors cartoon rendering. The light effects and colors are very refreshing, and it will not feel dazzling when running the map. I am running the 5.0 platform, and the frame rate is stable. The vegetation and light and shadow interaction in the wild scenes are very delicate, especially the star island tribe at dusk. The level of light and shadow can make people stop and take a screenshot. To be honest, this picture quality is not top-notch among mobile games in 2024, but the advantage is that the color tone is comfortable and it does not feel like a cheap web game.
The core gameplay is open world exploration and MMO development. The main plot revolves around the prophecy of the "Book of Loya", and the protagonist embarks on an adventure as a tribal boy. The narrative rhythm of the plot is relatively slow, but the side tasks are not the kind of pure running errands and monsters. Some branch options will affect the subsequent dialogue, which is a bit like a stand-alone RPG. As a veteran player, this is what I value the most - today's mobile games want to skip the plot and fill it directly with activity tasks, but "Hunting Mission" is at least willing to spend time laying out the world view.
Pet and equipment development is the focus. The pet system does not simply draw cards to increase stars, but has independent evolutionary branches. For example, a fire-type baby dragon can evolve into a fire-breathing dragon or a rock dragon by feeding specific materials. The active skills of different forms are very different. This reminds me of the egg hatching mechanism of "Monster Hunter Story" when I played it. In terms of equipment, there is no refining system that requires krypton gold. Instead, players are encouraged to go to world bosses and dungeons to buy materials to forge or enchant them themselves. The attributes of the finished products are random, a bit like Diablo-style base material drops. Of course, brushing up entries in the later period will definitely make you happy, but the advantage is that the difference between civilians and kryptonians is mainly in time rather than RMB.
The charging mode is 0 yuan. There are no forced pop-up gift packages in the game. The mall mainly sells appearance and pet skins, as well as some acceleration materials (such as coupons to skip daily tasks). For those who are willing to spend time, top equipment and pets can be obtained through activities, achievements and wild drops. To be fair, 4399 did not take the "don't charge money to play with you" approach this time. Instead, it drew on the monthly card system of the PC game. However, the monthly card only comes with limited fashion and stamina, which does not affect the numerical balance. Of course, if krypton gold can shorten the development cycle, it is essentially the logic of "time for strength".
However, there are some shortcomings to be said. Although the current map seems to be open, the level span of wild monsters is a bit wide. Monsters in the level 30 area near the Novice Village will suddenly spawn a level 50 elite, which is not very friendly to players who have just entered the game. The wild PK mechanism is opened early. It will be a bit frustrating to be attacked by high-level players before reaching the level. It is recommended that the official optimize the protection mechanism. In addition, some UI interaction logic is traditional. For example, the filtering function of the pet panel is hidden too deep, and you have to go through two or three levels of menus to find it. I hope that subsequent updates can simplify it.
Overall, "Hunting Mission" is the kind of MMO that "works slowly and carefully" - you won't feel the impatience of being kidnapped by activity bars and red dots. The quest line allows you to calm down and experience the plot, and the development system also has enough depth. For old guys like me who are tired of playing fast food mobile games, this game feels like "returning to the original intention". I did get back part of that pure joy when I was leveling up dozens of K games on Symbian all night long in "Hunting Mission". 😌
Recommended for: Players who like slow-paced exploration, value plot performances, and are willing to play hard but don't want to be forced to spend money. Not suitable for: collectors who pursue the thrill of instant sales and must have all the illustrated books full of stars. Final suggestion: After entering the game, spend 10 minutes adjusting the manual combat settings. Automatic A continuous skills will be randomly placed by the AI. For experienced players, manual operation is more efficient.