Naraka Bladepoint and the Chinese Market

 This could be the start of something wholly new!

There is a certain stigma that follows anything that hails from the Middle Kingdom, and I consider that stigma to be "is this Genshin Impact? Why isn't this Genshin Impact." And "When is the new banner already?" (I really can't put that money sink of an online game down, if I weren't so stingy I'd be out of house and home from buying wishes alone.) There aren't a great many games that make it outside that great Chinese firewall, and games that are circulating around China tend to be, go figure, crappy knockoffs. Yes, I could play Call of Duty Chinese Edition, or I could just play Warzone which is much better coded, was developed by the actual COD team and has something vaguely resembling quality in it's overall production. (As it is I've chosen to play neither, but that's just a choice based on personal taste.) So when a game's very first introduction is laced with 'from China', expectations aren't exactly high. Which is why it was smart of Naraka Bladepoint to show the goods first and then reveal how the sausage is made. 

I still remember the reveal of this game all the way back during the Pandemic showcases, for it being such a beautiful looking stylised title that wasn't another ploddingly melodious indie game. Don't get me wrong, I love Limbo, Inside, and all of those gorgeous walking simulators out there, but I can't help the fact that well thought-out art styles usually accompany boring games, it's like a curse. But here is the curse breaker, just call this game "Gappy". Caught between this twilight state of animated painting, the gameplay we saw of this game always reminds me of the vibrancy you'll find in particularly colourful water paintings; It's just so bright and dreamlike. Whatsmore it's an actual honest to goodness competitive multiplayer game which looks like it's one errant design decision away from becoming an art house project, so I'm certainly interested enough to put my foot in the door.

Since that first reveal, however, there's been considerable more to talk about in regards to this game, including actual gameplay which spells out how this title will be played and the ways in which it's not just another 'here then gone' battle Royale clone like all the others. (There are so many others) Themed around Chinese mythology, with oodles of stylish stealthy-looking assassin types, Naraka Bladepoint promises speedy and brutal encounters to compliment it's 60 player Battle Royale gameplay and turn player duels into something akin to hunters versus other hunters. Earlier this year we saw some brief excerpts from a match which showed players throwing themselves around the map in abandon with grappling hooks and striking with fast melee flurries before hiding in some nearby bushes. It sounds like a particularly high octane way to play through a Battle Royale game, but I'll bet it'll feed those competitive types out there like ambrosial nectar.

But aside from the gameplay, I think the real star of the Naraka showcase, whenever we see it, is the world that they show off. I want to pick up this game just to go sightseeing, it's that wild and interesting to look at. And don't misjudge, having an interesting worldspace with variety and attention grabbing detail is no mean feat when you're juggling a world space comfortable enough to fit in 60 different active free-for-all players. (Just look at PUBG and how barren those maps are.) For Naraka we've already gotten glimpses of ancient temples poking out between forests of bloodred trees, giant caverns formed out of behemoth bones, Beached and broken pirate ships, hanging forest villages, classic marital art movie mediation lakes, just about anywhere you can imagine having a climatic death-duel, these developers thought of it too and put that in their gameworld.

Now that's just my two cents on what little I've seen of the game up until now, and unfortunately that's all I can offer given that my last week was jam packed and I simply didn't have the time to play the Open Beta which was available on Steam for that time. However, a lot of people were able to snap up that opportunity, and when I say 'a lot', I'm not just being vague for communicative flow. At one point the Bladepoint Open Beta was one of the most played games on Steam, which I'm sure has a little bit to do with the thing being free for a time and people loving free games (I'm no exception) but if they were willing to stick around then you know the game must have been doing something right. (Afterall, I remember playing the 'Homefront: The Revolution' open beta and thinking that the eventual heat death of the universe couldn't come any sooner.)

This is but another rung on the ladder to Chinese game developers really starting to make their stand in the global market and perhaps even someday getting the chance to house AAA powerhouse studios in their own right. It would make for a natural fit, given how much money these AAA games like to soak up and how that's pretty resplendent over there, but it's going to take real eye-opener games to get the rest of the world on board. Even I have to admit there's a certain distaste in my mouth towards this game simply because of the Country it hails from, as I wonder whom I'm helping fund by buying this game. But when I put that prejudice behind me I find myself genuine excited for another title that could, no pressure, be on the cusp of a great influx of culture into the industry. (This could be good for all games out there!)

As much as I adore Genshin Impact, I must admit it's not doing all that great when it comes to realms of Chinese developer representation. You know, kind of because of the way that they disguise themselves as Japanese developers for fear of the abject hatred they receive from their kinsman for daring to be inspired by Zelda. (I thought it was a ripoff when I first saw the trailers too, to be fair.) So it's going to be games like this one, which wears it's homeland deep in the heart of the world it crafts, and the ever exciting upcoming Black Myth Wukong which makes then wakes that cultural slumbering giant. And yes, as you may have picked up from my rapid tone, I do very much hope that Naraka is successful. It's refreshingly distinct from all the other Battle Royales out there and some distinction is worthwhile in a genre that feels like it's getting more bogged down everyday.

It's always hard, from up close like we always are, to lean back and take a look at the bigger picture, but it's something that I've endeavoured to do more recently. Or rather, something I endeavour to do more in a positive sense recently, because I've always been all about the big picture whenever I see something I don't like slithering out of the industry like a parasite. I think there's a veritable treasure trove of ideas, both surface level and far deeper, waiting to be opened up and I'm willing to sing the praises of any game that'll bring it into the limelight. Maybe Microsoft will see this burgeoning market as an opportunity to strike out ahead of Sony and sink some exclusivity deals, or Sony will lash out and scoop up some promising Chinese dev teams first so they can hoard more exclusives that belong on the PC. (give us Persona 5 you cowards!) Call it hopeful nonsense, but I have a good feeling about the future of the Chinese Market in the wake of this little Royale.