When I was a child, I squatted in front of the red and white computer. A game of "Ninja Gaiden" could be blocked for an entire afternoon, and I had to remember the password to try again after I died. There were no saves or prompts at that time, it was all about muscle memory and the drive not to admit defeat. Later, in the arcade, we put coins in "Dinosaur Fight" and "Famous General" to renew our lives, and the boss looked at us as if he were looking at the God of Wealth. Later, "Devil May Cry" and "God of War" on the PS2 felt so good in the hand that the handle was covered in pulp even with repeated moves.
Nowadays, mobile games automatically find paths and hang up with one click. Although it is convenient, I always feel that something is missing. Until yesterday I discovered "Dragon Castle", a 3D hardcore action game on TapTap. I played it for three hours at a stretch, and my fingers were calloused, but the more I played, the more I became addicted to it. The stubbornness of "you can get by if you try again" is exactly the same as the "fuck" that he blurted out when he was tortured by the minions in "Dark Souls" and doubted his life, and finally defeated the boss.
This game won the 2019 Blackstone Award for Best Action Game, and was also considered by Nintendo to release a Switch version. The developers said they are "hardcore action game enthusiasts," and I believe this. Within half an hour of playing, you will know that jumping, blocking, dodging, each action must be calculated according to the frame number, and there is no fooling around at all. Unlike many mobile games nowadays, the screen is full of special effects but the operation is like pressing a calculator.
What makes me even more impressed is that this game was actually made by a small team in Suzhou called Tianhun Network. It was nominated for the best independent game at the Tokyo Game Show in 2017, and it was not officially launched until 2019. This kind of "fighting against the odds" reminds me of those independent gamers who secretly wrote code in the computer room. They had no money and no connections, and they relied on the breath of "I want to make fun things."
So after seeing this, if you also miss the pure joy of gaming - not watching plot animations, not completing daily tasks, but practicing muscle memory with your fingers, yelling in front of the screen and then laughing to pass the level - go and try "Dragon Castle". Free download, no in-app purchases, pure action game. I guarantee you will remember the afternoon you pressed the controller of your Famicom for the first time. 🔥