As a martial arts action ARPG made by the Chinese themselves, "Shadow Blade Zero" not only has a unique martial arts punk style, but also references and integration of intangible cultural heritage, making the game gain a high reputation before release. In the post-black monkey era, the days of domestic stand-alone machines are really good.

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Text | Garlic jelly corner

On the eve of the Spring Festival in 2025, when players were immersed in the New Year's flavor and the "New Year gift package bombardment" of game manufacturers, a real machine demonstration of the Year of the Snake in "Shadow Blade Zero" landed on Station BThe number of views on the station exceeded 9 million, with nearly 400,000 likes, 39,000 comments and "so handsome" The barrage of "True Martial Arts" highlights the player's recognition of "Shadow Blade Zero".

Interestingly, in addition to recognizing it, netizens also called it "the second college student in the village" - after "Black Myth: Wukong" carried the banner of "the first shot of domestic 3A", the new news of "Shadow Blade Zero" seems to have also made players see a "bright future" in the field of domestic stand-alone.

Although "Black Myth: Wukong" has come up with absolutely good results, the industry and the market have basically been more cautious about the development of domestic 3A, after all, everyone knows that it is difficult to have a single machine to have the right time and place for "Black Myth: Wukong", but judging from the current performance and influence of "Shadow Blade Zero", this second college student should be able to further solidify the "rising channel" of domestic stand-alone machines.

1

Martial arts punk, a new track for action games

When "Shadow Blade Zero" made its first public debut, the martial arts world shown in its content ignited the blood of many players. With Chinese martial arts as the skeleton, the "martial arts punk" that integrates mechanical ascension, biological transformation, and horror is both familiar and fresh, especially in the context of action games that have been controlled by overseas manufacturers for many years, this rare Chinese martial arts has aroused the blood resonance of Chinese players.

In the latest BOSS battle video with the theme of the Chinese New Year, users are first shocked by the seven-star sword formation composed of enemies, which is not only a cinematic formation display, but also has a unique combination of moves in the seven-person sword formation in battle, which largely satisfies the player's experience of Chinese martial arts. Including the second phase of the boss, the rock BGM led by the erhu is also a point that amazes many users, the battle of Chinese martial arts is matched with the music of Chinese and Western fusion, just watching it can make people's blood boil.

Of course, if it only presents a martial arts atmosphere, the game is not enough to be recognized by today's players, and the key to the current good reputation of "Shadow Blade Zero" is reflected in various details. For example, although the game has only one controllable character but has multiple weapons, the Lunar New Year machine chose two "snake" element weapons for display, the spirit snake soft sword does the shaking of the tip of the sword, and the use of its soft sword characteristics can also cooperate with another weapon, the white python Chilian, this kind of in-game weapon characteristics of the restoration of real Chinese weapons is enough to conquer many players.

Another example is the combat experience that players pay attention to, from the actual machine, we can see that the protagonist of "Shadow Blade Zero" has the ability to bounce behind the back, which is relatively rare in action games, but this setting can better allow players to experience the coolness of ultra-high-speed combat.

In addition, there are many references and integrations of intangible cultural heritage such as Shaolin Kung Fu and lion dance in the game, which not only strengthens the cultural heritage of the game, but also enhances the artistry and gameplay of the game.

In the game, it is not new to incorporate elements of martial arts and martial arts, but it is rare to make a unique martial arts style and truly integrate some of the characteristics and essence of Chinese martial arts into the game. Two years ago, the game "Master" made by the French game developer was popular in the domestic game circle, one of the reasons is that the game integrates the familiar kung fu fighting mechanism of the Chinese people, and now, as the martial arts action ARPG made by the Chinese themselves, not only has a unique martial arts punk style, but also the reference and integration of intangible cultural heritage such as juvenile kung fu and Chinese lion dance, and it is no wonder that the game release period has not yet been announced, it has won a good market reputation and mainstream media reports such as Xinhua News Agency.

2

A journey of heart-searching inside and outside the game

"What are you going to do in the last sixty-six days of your life?"

"Get my heart back."

The protagonist Soul, who used to be an elite killer, was framed and killed by the leader of the "organization", was seriously injured in the pursuit of the "organization", and decided to find his heart after only 66 days left after receiving mysterious treatment. The story of "Shadow Blade Zero" is, on a certain level, also the expectation of Liang Qiwei, the producer behind the game.

In 2008, Liang Qiwei broke into the public eye with the independent game "Rain Blood: Dead Town", unlike traditional martial arts works that focus on chivalrous righteousness, but is keen to depict the quagmire of human nature under the pouring of power, so that "Rain Blood" and the series have attracted a group of core players, according to statistics, "Rain and Blood Prequel: Mirage" has sold more than 300,000 copies. However, it is difficult for the people behind the work to live well, especially in 2011, when the game was established, and the game work needs to be exchanged for enough commercial returns for a company to continue.

So in 2014, the mobile game "Shadow Blade", which inherited the world view of "Rain and Blood", was launched. In the era of mobile games, the "Shadow Blade" series is also a good game, but the company's transformation to the mobile game track is to survive, so the "Shadow Blade" series has also been included in the list of krypton mobile games in the mouths of players. It wasn't until the emergence of "Black Myth: Wukong" that Liang Qiwei, who had a certain amount of capital accumulation, saw the possibility of domestic stand-alone machines, and announced that he would stop updating "Shadow Blade 3" in 2023 and re-devote himself to the production of the stand-alone game, that is, "Shadow Blade Zero".

The soul decided to find his heart, which is also a statement of Liang Qiwei and his team to find their original intention, the team size has expanded from 40 to 200 people, and the gamble of all in stand-alone 3A also has unique value in the game industry. An anonymous game company director said frankly: "The industry is staring at Lingyoufang, and everyone wants to know whether a company that relies on mobile games to support itself can reproduce the technological miracle in the field of stand-alone games." ”

In the years when the domestic stand-alone market has been depressed, many gamers have chosen to make mobile games to survive the time, and if "Shadow Blade Zero" can achieve good results, it will further inject confidence into the industry - believe in the market potential of domestic stand-alone machines, so that gamers with ability and vision can take a step forward to their dreams.

3

After the black monkey, from the spark to the symbiotic ecology

The positive impact that Black Myth: Wukong has had on the gaming industry is visible to the naked eye. Liang Qiwei once said that it was "Black Myth" that made him firm in his heart to re-do domestic stand-alone, and there was also information that after the success of "Black Myth", "Shadow Blade Zero" attracted many investors, and Lingyoufang even needed to refuse the olive branches of some investors.

But at the same time, people also know that the success of "Black Myth: Wukong" is not only due to the game itself, so the popularity of Black Monkey is not enough to prove the actual consumption power of the domestic stand-alone market, and the industry needs more cases to test the waters. Therefore, "Shadow Blade Zero" actually shoulders a heavy responsibility comparable to that of a black monkey.

It can be said that "Shadow Blade Zero", which has been invested, is exploring the general road of domestic stand-alone machines, such as integrating Chinese culture in content and making enough innovations, polishing the gameplay so that gimmicks do not outweigh content; In terms of publicity, real real machines that can reassure players will be released, and effective offline trials will be conducted. If the original IP project of "Shadow Blade Zero" can win market recognition, it can verify the market of domestic stand-alone machines at least to a certain level, and create a reference path for subsequent domestic stand-alone machines.

Of course, "Shadow Blade Zero" is not the only one exploring this path now. "The End of the Ming Dynasty: The Feather of the Abyssal Void" developed by Lingze Technology and the "Showa Rice Story" developed by Suzuku Games both said that they will be released this year, and the "End of the Ming Dynasty" of the national style Cthulhu Souls ARPG, and the post-apocalyptic RPG "Showa" with the background of Japan's "cultural colonization" The United States Although it cannot be divided into 3A games, these games also have their own characteristics, and they can broaden the road of domestic stand-alone development together with "Shadow Blade Zero".

At the same time, changes in the market environment are also paving the way for the development of domestic stand-alone machines. According to the data of the "2024 China Game Industry Report" released by the Game Working Committee of the China Audio and Digital Association, the actual sales revenue of China's client games in 2024 will be 67.881 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.56%, and the sales revenue of console games will be 4.488 billion yuan, an increase of 55.13% year-on-year.

Under the latest actual video of "Shadow Blade Zero", many players are discussing the future of domestic stand-alone machines, some people estimate the sales volume of "Shadow Blade Zero" with the number of video playbacks, and some people mention that "Black Myth: Wukong" has driven the tide of hardware upgrades among Chinese people, and some people are counting excellent domestic stand-alone and domestic independent games, and every player has expectations for the future of domestic stand-alone.

As Feng Ji, the producer of "Black Myth: Wukong", said when reposting the actual machine of "Shadow Blade Zero" for the New Year, "Friends, life is really getting better".

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