Game Launch, CG Trailer

Since the "Dark Forest" monster designs were revealed, the game's popularity has remained sky-high, consistently topping the charts on major gaming media sites and attracting countless players.

Its wide-ranging topics have made it a hot topic on forums everywhere, with everyone eagerly anticipating it.

In our player circles, it's basically a game everyone knows about.

And those who play games have been staring holes through their screens waiting for it!

Because it's the first game that claims to be horror and actually delivers on being genuinely scary.

For them, it's absolutely nothing like the trash on the market.

As for non-gamers, most are familiar with it too. They might not know the details, but just the buzz and the title of "indie developer from our country" is enough for even these non-gamers to start showing support.

Of course, that means the coins in Danmu Network videos.

Just as the game was heating up, a bombshell dropped!

Dark Forest is listed on the Cyber Platform!

The dedicated page is already live!

The release date is announced—unlocking at midnight 3 days from now!

This news gave everyone exactly what they wanted most when they were staring the hardest!

What does being on the Cyber Platform mean?

It means state recognition, legal protection—it's a legitimate game! And it's available for purchase worldwide!

Right now, in the Fourth Calamity Club, a post about Dark Forest has blown up again in today's hot topics.

The OP is a forum editor, and the post covers Dark Forest's specific release date and a CG promotional video.

From the post, netizens learn that the game isn't launching as a full release but adopting an EA Early Access model, letting players jump in early while the game is continuously refined.

Players are no strangers to the EA model—small studios do this all the time, and everyone's used to it.

Some foreign games spend two or three years just in EA testing, and by the time the full version drops, players are already bored.

Originally, no one minded Dark Forest using the EA model—in fact, some supported it—but some comments from the developer, Shuo Guang, sparked heated discussion among players.

The post is a reprint, roughly saying:

'This Early Access will prioritize releasing the first three chapters for everyone to enjoy, but rest assured, the game is not short—the playtime will definitely not be less than 10 hours!'

'After multiple tests, we can responsibly tell you that you won't encounter a single bug during gameplay! And it absolutely won't affect your experience!'

'The game's maps are procedurally generated—every time you die, resource points move to different locations. No memorization possible. Please make sure you can accept this mechanic before purchasing!'

'This game is a horror game. Those with psychological sensitivities or younger players are advised not to purchase.'

'Please don't play it at night. This is for your own good.'

'See you at midnight, 3 days from now.'

Netizens read the developer's words and thought, damn, that confident?

No bugs?

Who gave him the guts to say that?

Some salty players immediately took offense, vowing to find bugs in the game!

But more players focused on the first point.

The game's playtime is no less than 10 hours?

You kidding?

And this is just the EA phase!

It's not one of those grind-heavy games you can replay endlessly.

An EA-phase horror game with a first-playthrough of no less than 10 hours?

That's already longer than some big-budget shooters!

Is this really developed by one person?

As for the rest of the game-related content, not many discussed it—because mechanics like that only reveal themselves through actual play; just looking gives you no right to speak.

Then there's the promotional video.

A game's appeal depends a lot on its trailer.

Especially for horror games.

So players clicked the link in the post and started watching.

But soon, they were completely hooked.

The trailer shows a sunless forest, with no leaves, no soil, no grass.

All there is, are tightly packed dead trees forming a 'prison.'

A point of view leads the audience forward at speed, leaving the rotting wood behind.

Music slowly rises, and the viewers' emotions are gradually stirred.

At this moment, they felt as if they were trapped within this forest, endlessly fleeing for their lives.

And ahead of this high-speed tracking shot, a glimmer of light soon appeared.

The next instant, a flash of white, and the scene brightened.

A low, haunting, elusive music that struck straight at the soul suddenly swelled!

The scene before them shifted instantly, no longer the dead forest, but a ruin.

The crumbling remains of a church.

In this place, drafty and long abandoned, the round window at the top aligned with the moon in the sky, hinting at past sanctity and grandeur.

But as the camera moved forward, the moon gradually shrank, until it was completely blocked by the ruins, the light fading, signaling that hope was gone, leaving only a desperate struggle to survive.

The next shot was gameplay.

A man in a hat and coat, holding a torch, moved cautiously through a swamp. Towering ancient trees blocked the gentle moonlight from above, and ominous crows flew past in flocks, startling leaves into a rustling fall. Only the faint, warm glow of his torch illuminated a patch of orange-red.

The scene shifted again, back to a CG cutscene—a village.

The sky had lost its blue hue, shrouded in chaotic haze.

Below stood rows of old wooden houses, built within a forest that clawed at the sky like demonic talons.

In an open area were flocks of chickens and a sheep carcass, long dead, entwined with some kind of fungal growth.

An old woman, simply dressed, with a hen perched on her shoulder, stood among the chickens, gazing into the distance, as if waiting for someone's return.

The next shot was gameplay.

The man in the hat and coat walked through a messy, filthy village.

The ground was littered with trash, muddy puddles, overturned wheelbarrows, a long-abandoned tractor, a well sealed with wooden planks, and bloodstains everywhere.

It seemed something bad had happened in this village.

And a rabid wild dog suddenly appeared in the beam of his flashlight.

This was still a CG cutscene.

Inside a warped, oval-shaped building, the walls were covered in cracks.

The bedding spread on the floor was stained with filth.

Under the glow of a single incandescent light, a masked boy holding a violin slowly turned his head.

The tall shadow on the wall twisted along with him, carrying an eerie, intimidating presence.

Only when you saw the chilling yet slightly ridiculous side profile of the mask could you feel the loneliness and sorrow he exuded.

The shot cut back to gameplay.

The man in the hat and coat, flashlight in hand, moved cautiously through the pitch-black thicket of giant trees.

Around him, several graceful women in white wedding dresses twisted and spun, dancing.

Though scattered, they formed a human wall, blocking the hat man's path in the sunless forest.

The rest of the trailer followed the same rhythm—a CG cutscene, then gameplay, complementing each other, giving the watching netizens a unique sensory experience.

The CG seemed to showcase the forest's horrors, while the gameplay showed what the protagonist saw and experienced.

It was as if telling the players: no matter how bizarre the CG looks, you'll eventually see it for yourself in the game.

This undoubtedly raised the players' expectations!

The trailer wasn't long, just 1 minute and 43 seconds, but the eerie music and the blend of CG and gameplay drove them to watch it a second, third, even a fourth time!

Some veteran players even tried to dig useful information out of the trailer to prepare for the upcoming EA release, wanting to fully understand what story this forest held.

They believed the developer wouldn't let them down—after all, the game looked quite polished.

So, this CG promotional trailer once again left players eagerly anticipating, leaving comments like "Day one without Dark Forest, and I miss it already."

Fortunately, three days wasn't that long.

For Meng Shu, it passed in a flash.

But for the expectant players, it felt much longer.

Still, after waiting and waiting, the day finally arrived!

As the clock ticked past midnight, "Dark Forest" officially unlocked!