Chapter 535: Trial Play!
That reporter sat down very happily.
On the bullet comments, many people were also posting.
“Wow, this game actually lets you show off! Watch me dominate the whole match!”
“Hehe, my 300-match veteran Genji is already itching for action!”
“How come this game feels like it has absolutely no flaws? Is the hype too overblown, or did I miss something? Rich scenes, satisfying gameplay, and room to show off—it’s perfect! Did Chen Mo finally pull out a big move?”
A few more reporters asked questions, but most of them were still stuck on some in-game details. For these, Chen Mo only touched on the surface, not going into depth.
This was basically an unspoken routine: the reporters wanted to dig up as much juicy material as possible to create a bigger buzz before the game’s release, driving more traffic to their websites; while the designer wanted to hide some content as much as possible, creating a sense of mystery and sparking players’ interest.
So, after a bout of mental sparring, the players’ anticipation was pushed to the max, and another wave of “666” flooded the bullet comments.
On one hand, the price really wasn’t that expensive. Among VR games, 1988 was only a mid-range price. Given the current quality and richness of content in *Dark Souls*, and as the first game on the Pangu System, it was clearly a great value.
On top of that, Chen Mo extended the refund time by an hour. Although it seemed useless and just a small favor, for players, a small favor was better than none.
Some people noticed that when Chen Mo announced the extended refund time, there was a faint, barely perceptible smile on his face.
But none of them really understood the meaning behind that smile.
...
Not long after, *Knight’s Glory* also announced its release date: September 10th, a full nine days later than *Dark Souls*.
However, this was a move of necessity. The development progress of *Knight’s Glory* was only this fast; it couldn’t be pushed any earlier.
Frank was baffled. Was this Chinese company on some kind of adrenaline rush? They started development later than *Knight’s Glory*, so how were they launching earlier?
That development speed was insane!
But Frank also knew that being a few days late didn’t matter much. As long as both games launched within a month of each other, it was still a head-on collision. The key was the quality of the two games and how players would rate them.
...
Three days before the game’s release, Chen Mo’s experience store welcomed a huge wave of new players.
Following the usual routine of the experience store, new games would be available for trial play in the store before their official launch. Most of Chen Mo’s other games were available a week early, but for some reason, *Dark Souls* was only available three days early.
Many people thought this was probably because the game’s development was rushed, so it couldn’t be released earlier. They didn’t think much of it.
As soon as the doors opened, the experience store became very lively. Even a few streamers from the capital had come over.
But what surprised Chen Mo the most was that Qiu Hengyang had also shown up.
Chen Mo smiled and led him into the hall. “Old Qiu, you’re a rare guest. What made you think of coming today?”
Qiu Hengyang said, “I’ve been lacking inspiration lately, so I’ve been wandering around. I heard your new game is available for trial at the store today, so I wanted to come and experience it.”
Chen Mo chuckled. “Alright, no problem. Find a VR pod first. You can mess around with some other stuff, and at 10:10, *Dark Souls* will be ready to play.”
Qiu Hengyang nodded. “Okay.”
Old Qiu casually found a VR pod and got in. The pod already had *Dark Souls* pre-installed. They just had to wait until 10:10 for the games to activate simultaneously, and then they could jump right in.
Qiu Hengyang’s visit this time was actually encouraged by others in his group chat. Everyone was curious about how *Dark Souls* turned out, and they were all itching to find out.
Since Qiu Hengyang was in the capital and close to Chen Mo’s store, he was chosen as the representative to experience *Dark Souls*, and also to check out the special effects of the Pangu System, hoping to find some inspiration for himself—maybe he could use it later.
The VR experience area was packed. Although Chen Mo’s store had quite a few VR pods, they were quickly filled up. If Qiu Hengyang hadn’t arrived early, he probably would have had to queue.
Among the players, Qiu Hengyang even spotted a few streamers with some online fame, likely also there to try out the new game.
Clearly, Chen Mo’s games had a huge influence in the country, even turning some well-known streamers into die-hard fans.
Soon, the time came, and *Dark Souls* was officially activated.
Qiu Hengyang entered the game immediately.
First, there was an opening CG.
He had actually seen this CG before, but experiencing it in VR mode gave it a different feel.
In VR mode, the player felt as if they were right there in the scene. Although the perspective was completely fixed, the immersive sensation still left Qiu Hengyang deeply impressed.
He could only sigh, “After all, it’s the Thunder Film Studio. They’ve been making CGs for years, and their tricks keep getting better.”
After the CG ended, the character selection screen appeared, commonly known as the character creator.
“Oh? We can customize our appearance.”
Qiu Hengyang was a bit surprised, because *Diablo* didn’t have any character creation feature. That game was all about grinding, and appearance didn’t really matter.
Still, having a character creator was an improvement.
After checking the options on the screen, Qiu Hengyang quickly understood that this wasn’t just a character creation screen; it was also the class selection screen.
Besides customizing the human character’s appearance and physique, you could also choose your past profession. Different professions came with different starting equipment, weapons, and initial attribute points.
You could also choose a burial gift—a special item you’d carry from the start.
Qiu Hengyang didn’t have any special requirements for appearance, so he chose a standard Knight class to start.
His original thought was that the Knight had more armor, which would better showcase the Pangu System’s effects. As it turned out, he accidentally picked the most beginner-friendly class...