Hello fellow veterans, I am a reviewer. Recently, I keep coming across the promotion of "The Strongest Trendy Play Group". As I happen to love blind boxes and have fun, I just decided to play it for a few days. Today I'm not going to brag about it, but let's just talk about why this game is getting popular now from several dimensions, and whether it will be cool in the future.
Let's talk about the picture first. The most eye-catching thing about this game is the art style. It uses the AO painting method to simulate the texture and light and shadow of a real blind box. To put it bluntly, when you see the characters on the screen, placed together with the Bubble Mart and Sonny Angel you bought in the store, it can indeed look fake and real. This is a critical hit for trendy players, and their desire to collect will be filled to the brim. Moreover, its UI and scene design are also in the style of a trendy toy store or display cabinet, not an ordinary cartoon elimination game. Based on this art positioning, it has accurately harvested a wave of "face-reading" users, and can also build momentum on social platforms by posting pictures and blind boxes. From a communication perspective, its first step in becoming popular is quite stable.
Then there's the gameplay. The core is elimination + combat, but its cleverness lies in deeply binding the character skills of the blind box with the level mechanism. Different blind boxes have different skills, some are range damage, some are blood recovery assistance, and some are for special terrain. The level design is not mindless match-3. Many levels require you to match the lineup around a specific Build. For example, this level requires a large number of red squares to be eliminated to charge, and that level needs to prioritize the passive triggering of a certain character. This changes the game from a simple "happy elimination game" to a "elimination RPG with strategic teaming". For players who like to use their brains, this sense of evolution is very comfortable. It is not about mindlessly brushing values, but you can really feel the fun of lineup matching and tactical selection. This is also the key to its current ability to retain core players, and it has confidence in its popularity.
Speaking of krypton gold, the game is free and the charging model is 0, which means there is no money to download. But everyone who has played the blind box theme knows that the most exciting point of this game is to draw cards, that is, to draw blind boxes. From the current point of view, its welfare rhythm is pretty good, and you can save a lot of draws in the early stage, but if you want to assemble a strong binding lineup, or collect all illustrated books, your wallet will still have to bleed. My opinion is: there is nothing wrong with the free blind box card drawing model, but the key is that the guarantee mechanism and duplicate characters are not handled cleanly. The guarantee is quite clear from experience so far, and repeated characters can be converted into development resources without being too ugly. However, if the numerical value expands or the strength of the new character seriously exceeds the standard, then this balance will be broken, and you will inevitably be scolded and forced to krypton. This is one of its potential cool spots.
Let's talk about social networking again. This section is about selfie dating, so I'll just mention it by the way. The game currently has a display wall and a design for friends to exchange physical strength, but there are not many in-depth social gameplays yet. However, the subject of blind box itself has its own social attributes. Players like to take screenshots of their results and share the hidden items or high-looking characters. This is a natural content material in Moments and short video platforms. If the exhibition hall, trade display or team collaboration gameplay can be strengthened in the future, the social popularity will be even higher. But at present, it seems that social interaction relies more on players' spontaneous behavior of posting photos, and the social framework in the game is still relatively thin. If this aspect is not done well, it may cause the popularity to come and go quickly.
Finally, talk about whether it will be cold. At present, the reasons for its popularity are very clear: novel themes, high degree of art restoration, differentiated elimination and RPG gameplay, and low free entry threshold. These are enough to make it stand out among the "synthetic big watermelon"-style copycats. But the risk of coolness also exists, and it mainly depends on three points: first, whether the update speed of new content can keep up. The most important thing about blind box is freshness. If there is no new series in a few months, old players will definitely lose; second, whether the numerical balance and level design can maintain the standard. If it is forced to disgust people in order to cheat krypton, the reputation will collapse; third, whether the operation activities can give civilian players a way to survive. Blind box draws are inherently gambling. If the African experience is too poor, the entire community atmosphere will change.
In general, I think "The Strongest Trendy Play Group" is a differentiated product that has been carefully polished. It is not simply a blind box hot spot, but it really wants to make this subject more in-depth. At this stage, I can give it a highly recommended attitude. Friends who like elimination and collection but don't want to play too hardcore can give it a try. As for how long it will be popular, it depends on what the manufacturer does next. I will keep an eye on it.
The above are purely personal opinions. Discussions and rational exchanges are welcome. Please don't start scolding😎.