Chinese Video/Computer Games

[TPenglake]

Where Winds Meet seems to be having a pretty solid debut despite the mediocre Metacritic score. It's region locked too, on top of the game already having been out in China for a year now, so no one can say its only Chinese people playing the game. Most of the reactions on social media have been positive, wondering how a game with Dark Souls level difficulty and such an expansive map could be free. I hear the story's really good too, but I'll play it before making that judgment.

I have some friends who were a little depressed that it looked like we were going to end 2025 without a single Chinese gaming hit. I didn't care since I knew 2026 would have a ton of stuff coming, but it looks like we finally have one, yay!

 

[Aniah]

Where Winds Meet seems to be having a pretty solid debut despite the mediocre Metacritic score. It's region locked too, on top of the game already having been out in China for a year now, so no one can say its only Chinese people playing the game. Most of the reactions on social media have been positive, wondering how a game with Dark Souls level difficulty and such an expansive map could be free. I hear the story's really good too, but I'll play it before making that judgment.
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I have some friends who were a little depressed that it looked like we were going to end 2025 without a single Chinese gaming hit. I didn't care since I knew 2026 would have a ton of stuff coming, but it looks like we finally have one, yay!

It's free, with cosmetics and skins being their way of making a profit. It's one of the first of many new free Chinese games that are following this trend. Pretty sweet and non-predatory for new players. You get access to the full game story, mechanics, and any and all future expansions, and only spend if you're really into it.

 

[PiSigma]

Where Winds Meet seems to be having a pretty solid debut despite the mediocre Metacritic score. It's region locked too, on top of the game already having been out in China for a year now, so no one can say its only Chinese people playing the game. Most of the reactions on social media have been positive, wondering how a game with Dark Souls level difficulty and such an expansive map could be free. I hear the story's really good too, but I'll play it before making that judgment.
View attachment 164723
I have some friends who were a little depressed that it looked like we were going to end 2025 without a single Chinese gaming hit. I didn't care since I knew 2026 would have a ton of stuff coming, but it looks like we finally have one, yay!

Tried it last night and it's pretty solid. Players leave hints for new comers all over the map I've seen in at least 6 languages so it's pretty popular globally.

 

[TPenglake]

Tried it last night and it's pretty solid. Players leave hints for new comers all over the map I've seen in at least 6 languages so it's pretty popular globally.

Yup, compared to Black Myth Wukong where 88% of the reviews were in Chinese, WWM 90% of the reviews are in English and other European languages.

 

[Temstar]

pls play this, quack quack

I got into Duckov over the weekend and now I'm addicted. One of the best game of 2025. You might think at a glance this is one of those asset swapped shovelware game but trust me it's not.

The devs are some kind of game progression balance genius. They got the risk/reward balance down to an art form. This game has already sold more than 3 million copies and was getting more concurrent players than Battlefield 6.

 

[PiSigma]

I got into Duckov over the weekend and now I'm addicted. One of the best game of 2025. You might think at a glance this is one of those asset swapped shovelware game but trust me it's not.

The devs are some kind of game progression balance genius. They got the risk/reward balance down to an art form. This game has already sold more than 3 million copies and was getting more concurrent players than Battlefield 6.

BF6 is terrible, that's a pretty low bar. But I will try it sometime.

 

[Eventine]

What’s crazier about Duckov is that it was made by a team of 4-5 people.

If the Chinese government loosened the approval process for releases more, I could see the Chinese independent gaming industry really taking off.

It’s a serious avenue for entertainment power and youth influence globally, but unfortunately held back by the censorship process.

 

[gk1713]

What’s crazier about Duckov is that it was made by a team of 4-5 people.

If the Chinese government loosened the approval process for releases more, I could see the Chinese independent gaming industry really taking off.

It’s a serious avenue for entertainment power and youth influence globally, but unfortunately held back by the censorship process.

lame accuse.
Why not western investors just buy those small studio and move them overseas so they can produce independent games without restrictions?
Because there are stronger restrictions there then Chinese censorship now

 

[sabiothailand]

lame accuse.
Why not western investors just buy those small studio and move them overseas so they can produce independent games without restrictions?
Because there are stronger restrictions there then Chinese censorship now

Can you elaborate?

 

[sheogorath]

Because there are stronger restrictions there then Chinese censorship now

The restrictions are usually in the shape of "will this allow the shareholders to buy a megayacth next quarter?" or "will this trigger the incels?" more than anything else, though.