To be honest, I was looking forward to this game when it first came online. As a puzzle game that is a variant of Huarong Dao, its graphics are indeed very comfortable. The ink-and-wash style scenes coupled with Skylark's smart design make people feel good at first glance. The gameplay is also very pure: move the wooden blocks to let the bird break through obstacles, and the operating threshold is so low that the learning cost is almost zero. And it's completely free, without any krypton points, which is particularly conscientious in today's mobile terminal.
But after calming down and analyzing, the reason for its coolness is actually quite obvious. Let's look at the gameplay first: Huarong Dao itself is a classic, but the puzzle design of “The Mystery of Dream Paper” is rather simple. It basically just moves the wooden blocks in the length direction, and lacks mechanical variations. There don't seem to be many levels. Players may be able to complete the level in an hour or two, and then there will be no motivation to play again. Looking at social networking: there are no elements such as online connections, rankings, and sharing challenges. It is difficult to inspire even the urge to take a screenshot to show off the results after completing the level. For a lightweight puzzle game, this thin ending is almost fatal.
The pictures are beautiful, but what about the music? As a post in the music sharing section, I have to complain: the game background music only has a soft piano loop, which is comfortable to listen to at first, but it starts to feel repetitive after ten minutes of playing, and no new tracks are even incorporated after switching scenes. The sound effects are only the simple sound of sliding wooden blocks and the chirping of skylarks, lacking a sense of immersion. Good music could have been the soul of the game, but here it became a dispensable foil.
Although the charging model is 0, it attracts fans, but it also means that developers have no motivation for subsequent updates. Many similar games extend their lifespan through the purchase of props or in-app purchases of skins. However, the skin unlocking of "The Mystery of Dream Paper" is too slow and has no substantial gameplay bonus. It is more like collecting for the sake of collecting.
To sum up: it is not popular not because of poor quality, but because it is too "safe". The painting style is healing, the difficulty is friendly to the people, and there is no krypton gold. These should be advantages, but the lack of depth and social stickiness leads to the rapid loss of players. It's like a song that's nice but only has an intro, and you'll get tired of it after just one listen. If the developers could add more challenging extra modes, randomly generated puzzles, and even progress with the beautiful music mood, maybe it could become a small but beautiful hit, instead of sitting quietly in the corner of the app store like it is now.
Rating 7/10. Advantages: The picture is cured, no krypton money, and quick to use. Disadvantages: small content, weak social attributes, and single music. Suitable for some fragmented time to relax, but don't expect to indulge in it for a long time 🕊️