I just found this little game called "The Strongest Game Car" in a corner of 4399 (crossed out). After playing a few levels, I couldn't help but post about it. Let's talk about the game itself first: it's a variant of the classic “Huarong Road”. All cars can only drive forward according to the direction. You click it to move one space and drive out all the cars blocked in the parking lot to pass the level. There are no physical limits, no advertising pop-ups (at least not yet), no first deposit gift packs, not even a sign-in. Just purely solve puzzles, use your brain, and beat each level one level at a time. If this kind of thing is placed in some online games, it probably needs to be split into a "daily pass" plus a "limited time event" plus a "skin payment".
I just can't figure it out. Nowadays, those online games that are advertised as “free” will first give you a novice guidance task, draw cards ten consecutive times, and have a one-stop routine every week. Are you playing games or going to work? What a great stand-alone mini-game. You can play it whenever you want. If you don't want to, just throw it away for half a year. The data will still be there when you come back. You don't need your brain or your krypton. Just the cooperation of your brain and your fingers is enough. Take "The Strongest Game Car" as an example. The level design is quite ingenious. The following cars are misaligned and arranged like a spider web. If you click a wrong step, you have to start again, but no gold coins will be deducted if you try again. The gold coins are purely rewards for passing levels. They are just saved to look at the numbers for fun. They are not used to buy any props at all. This is called purely "playing-driven" rather than "recharge-driven".
Let's talk about the “social kidnapping” of online games. In "The Strongest Game Car", you park your car quietly alone. There are no guild battles, no support from friends, and no shouting on the world channel. You don't need to compete with anyone for ranking, and you don't have to worry about being dragged into being a tool. I have seen too many online games, where as you play, it becomes "go online to collect food every day, and report to the team leader before going offline." What are you planning? Picture that cool mount skin? Are you shouting from the loudspeaker of the whole server? In the end, the game itself is not fun, it all depends on social interaction to find a sense of presence.
Of course, I'm not saying that all online games are garbage. Online puzzle-solving like "Portal" or cooperative insect-fighting like "Deep Rock Galaxy" are very good experiences, because their core is gameplay, and the krypton gold can only buy some skins. But for most mobile and online games, especially domestic ones, you can smell the "leek smell" within half an hour of playing. In comparison, a small stand-alone game like "The Strongest Game Car" that is free and has no in-app purchases is simply a clean slate. It doesn't treat you as a fool, nor does it treat you as a wallet, it just treats you as a normal person who wants to use your brain to pass the time.
Recommended to anyone who has had enough of krypton gold card draws. I've put the download address in the comment area (anyway, the platform is 5.0, so old phones can run it too). After playing the first 100 levels, remember to come back and tell me where you got stuck. I got stuck on level 73 for half an hour😅