To be honest, when I saw the mobile game "Dawn Survival", I was stunned for a moment, and then I couldn't help laughing. I still remember the time when I played "Parasite Eve" and "Resident Evil" on the PSP. It's hard for young people today to understand the tension of carrying a CD-ROM drive and listening to the sound of disc reading. The apocalyptic survival at that time was a bloody dusk in the pixelated style, and the zombies were just a few moving mosaics, but we were still so scared that our palms became sweaty.
"Dawn Survival" is a mobile game with a doomsday wasteland survival theme. The gameplay has indeed absorbed a lot of the essence of classic escape shooting. But if you really want to compare it with our old antiques, the difference is huge. I still remember the classic version of that year. Resources were scarce, bullets had to be counted one by one, and even changing magazines had to be calculated carefully, for fear that a zombie would suddenly appear from the corner. And what about the current replica mobile games? You are given a set of cool equipment at the beginning. When the zombies come, you click and swipe the buttons. Automatic aiming and special effects of skills are great. However, the thrilling realism at every step always feels like something is missing.
But having said that, mobile games are also better than mobile games. Now you can enter the apocalyptic world by turning on your mobile phone. There is no need to connect the TV first, then insert the cassette, or worry about the archive battery being discharged like before. Moreover, "Survival of the Dawn" incorporates elements such as couples joining hands and doomsday siege, which is indeed more in line with the tastes of current players. I tried playing for a while, and when I saw the familiar zombie siege scene, I suddenly remembered the time when I played doubles with my brother. The two of us crowded in front of the small handheld screen and argued for a long time over a bottle of supplies - that kind of embarrassment turned out to be such a precious youth.
What impresses me most is the picture quality. Today's mobile phone screens are so delicate that you can clearly see every piece of rotten flesh on a zombie's face. The light and shadow particle effects are full, and the explosion looks like fireworks. But I still miss the backlit screen of the GBA back then. The screen had a serious color cast, but it shone with a faint green vitality in the dark. At that time, when playing Doomsday Escape, we did not pursue visual impact, but relied on imagination to complete the fear between those pixels. Every time we turned around, it felt like we were really racing against death.
The fast-paced gunplay in "Survival of the Day" is really exciting, and the oppressive feeling when the zombies attack is as tense as the classic masterpiece. But the remastered version will always adjust the difficulty to the comfort zone, automatically find paths, and strengthen with one click, for fear that you will give up after dying a few times. Back then, when we were playing hard-core survival, who didn't die a hundred and eighty times before finding a way to survive? The sense of accomplishment at that time cannot be given by one-click clearance now.
Of course, times are changing, and games have to change with them. As a nostalgic person, I am still willing to give this new game a chance. After all, the moment I could see the doomsday wasteland again on my mobile phone and see the zombies rushing towards me, a small fire was ignited in my heart. Maybe what I miss is not just those old games, but also the boy who would not sleep while watching the handheld device.
If you, in front of the screen, have experienced doomsday despair on your handheld device, you may wish to try "Dawn Survival". There is no need to compare whether it is better or the classics, just think that we are using a new way to re-enter the world that makes our hearts beat faster. After the end, civilization restarts, and our youth will still set off again in this wasteland. 😌