To be honest, before I clicked on this game, I didn't have high expectations.
After all, there have been too many mobile games under the banner of "Spirit World" and "Spirit Control" in recent years. I have almost memorized the routines of skin-changing card drawing, automatic battle, and VIP15. But after playing "Abyss: The Great Soul King" for a few days, I really found a little bit of the feeling of playing RPG on Symbian back then. The pure energy of "plot-driven, immersive exploration", I don't want to brag about it, but it does exist.
Let's talk about the picture first. It can be seen that the character drawings and scene design of this game have been carefully thought out, and they are not the kind of things that just use a few CGs to fool people. The sense of decay in the spiritual world, the habitat of fairy birds and monsters, and the light effects when the spirit control technique is cast, the overall tone is very unified, and the flavor of Chinese fantasy is right, but not old-fashioned. Especially the appearance animations of several spirit generals are full of details, which reminds me, an old player, of the days when I long-pressed on the small screen to take screenshots.
In terms of gameplay, Lingku did not engage in fancy stitching this time, but honestly made "collecting spiritual generals, cultivating spiritual pets, turn-based combat, and plot advancement" solid. The difficulty curve of the levels is reasonable. You won't get stuck in the early and middle stages so much that you want to drop your phone. However, it retains a little challenge in the later stages, making it suitable for players who want to use their brains. The development route of spiritual pets is clear, and the relationship between attribute restraint and restraint is obvious. You can still find the fun of studying the lineup before fighting the boss by adjusting skills.
The plot needs to be discussed separately. The dual-line design of the protagonists Lin Qianyin and Zhao Tianxing is quite interesting. They are a modern girl and a young man in the spiritual world. The narrative rhythm of the intersection of fate is not sluggish, and there is no forced sensationalism of tragedy for the sake of tragedy. The secrets of the decline of the spiritual world are revealed bit by bit, and the clues are buried deep, but it does not make people feel deliberately titillated. As an RPG, if you can clearly explain "why you want to fight", half the battle is won. There are too many games on the market that ask you to save the world at the beginning. After saving the world, you still don't know what the world looks like. Oh, it's really incomparable.
Of course, it's not without its shortcomings. The skill animations in the middle and late stages of the battle are slightly repetitive, which doesn't matter to people like me who are used to seeing old RPGs "do one move ten times", but younger players may find it a bit monotonous. In addition, the charging mode of the game is 0, which means it is free, but there are still in-app purchases. However, from the current point of view, it can be played by anyone who is passionate or a Buddhist, and it is not forced to pay. This point must be praised.
To be honest, in this era of "fast food games" flying all over the world, it is quite rare that someone is willing to seriously make a mobile game with a plot, atmosphere, and the soul of an old-school RPG. I was actually a little emotional when I was playing. Zero Cool Network is not a big company, but its dedication really reminds me, an old gamer, of the summers more than ten years ago, when I would hide under the covers with my phone in my hands, the screen light reflecting my face, and my heart would be filled with excitement for an adventure in a game.
It's not a shame, but if you also like Chinese fantasy, value plot experience, and want to find a mobile game that “tells stories”, “Abyss: The Great Spirit King” is worth a try.
The fog in the spiritual world has not cleared yet, so I will probably continue to play. After all, the obsession of veteran players is to see the ending of every adventure. 😌