Trial Version Demo

Zai Zong was a commentary streamer on the Danmu Network.

With over 900,000 followers, he'd made a name for himself by roasting terrible games.

His video style was full of wit and humor, his tone hilarious, which made him widely loved by netizens.

But right now, he was stressed—he hadn't uploaded a video in almost two weeks.

His fans were flooding his DMs, urging him to post.

Yet he felt just as helpless.

Plain and simple: no material.

He'd spent an entire afternoon scouring the game platform, but couldn't find a single decently bad game. Instead, he'd worn himself out, exhausted and nursing a headache.

So he decided to throw in the towel, flopping onto the couch to scroll through the Danmu Network and unwind.

With that, he grabbed his phone, collapsed into a beanbag chair, and opened the app.

The homepage's smart feed shoved a video right in front of him, catching his attention.

[Indie Dev! Domestic Horror Game "Dark Forest" Real-Engine Demo, with Playable Trial]

"A domestic horror game? Hah, just another boring jump-scare fest, right? These days, anyone who dares make a horror game is begging for bankruptcy!"

Zai Zong passed judgment without hesitation, already convinced this "Dark Forest" had no future before even watching the video.

From his experience in the current gaming industry—

Indie dev? Dead end.

Horror game? Dead end.

Combine the two? Absolutely doomed.

Good grief, was this domestic developer that thick-headed?

He vaguely remembered the last small company that made an indie horror game—the weeds on their grave were already three feet tall.

They'd become a full-blown 'legend' in the industry.

And that horror game, for utterly boring reasons, had become an 'orphan.'

So for Zai Zong, clicking on this so-called indie dev's game video was purely for the laughs.

"Huh? God's-eye top-down view?"

The video on screen was playing. It showed a protagonist holding a pitchfork, running through a forest.

Because of the top-down perspective, the entire map's layout was crystal clear.

"Well, for an indie dev, that's pretty decent."

His first impression wasn't bad, giving him the urge to keep watching.

Plus, he wanted to see where the horror in this supposed horror game actually lay.

After 4 minutes and 22 seconds, the video ended.

Zai Zong sat up seriously from his beanbag chair, opened the Danmu Network on his PC, found the video in his watch history, clicked the description, and copied the cloud drive link.

He started downloading!

While waiting for the download, Zai Zong watched the real-engine demo again. The more he saw, the more unsettled he grew.

Was this really made by one person?

Pretty impressive.

From the video, the quality seemed decent.

He just wondered what it'd feel like to actually play.

Don't let me down, buddy!

A notification sound from the cloud drive signaled the game was ready.

Since it was just a trial demo, the file size was small, and his internet was fast, so the download finished quickly.

He eagerly unzipped it and found the executable.

Without a second thought, he double-clicked.

The screen went black.

Then, a low, somber melody slowly rose, and a simple game menu appeared before him.

It was a gloomy forest, surrounded by withered trees, the distance hazy and mysterious.

In the center stood a tree trunk, with only three simple options on it.

'Start,' 'Settings,' 'Quit.'

Honestly, seeing this interface, Zai Zong felt a twinge of disappointment.

Having been bombarded by countless games from home and abroad, he'd seen every kind of stunning menu. Now, faced with something this bare-bones, he couldn't help but shake his head.

"Whatever, it's just an indie dev's trial version. What am I expecting? Hope the actual content lives up to the demo."

Saying that, he clicked into the settings and cranked every option to the maximum.

Only then did he hit start game.

The interface gradually faded, and a loading bar appeared.

At the top, there was also a warning message.

'This game is full of challenges and mercilessly cruel.'

'No one will extend a helping hand to you.'

'Respect the forest, maintain patience and focus.'

Zai Zong sneered at this.

"Tch, who are you trying to scare? These days, horror games are a joke. The live demo looks decent, but I'm afraid it's just selling dog meat under a sheep's head."

It was no wonder he said that.

Famous for roasting garbage games, he had naturally played some horror games in his career.

And all those games advertised themselves with slogans like 'scare you to death for free,' but what happened?

They became just another batch of material for his videos.

When the Dark Forest finished loading, the opening cutscene began to play.

This caught Zai Zong a bit off guard.

They even made an opening animation?

Big ambitions, bro!

But this opening animation was a bit eerie.

It was a giant pupil, taking up two-thirds of the screen, accompanied by a bizarre melody. The pupil stared dead at him, giving him an involuntary chill.

Then, a striking line of text appeared at the bottom.

'I saw hatred and fear in their eyes.'

In the game, this giant pupil slowly shifted, revealing many strange images.

Some were a withered face, others an unknown symbol, and still others, a naked human body with elongated limbs.

It seemed to hint at the obscure content that would appear in this game.

Zai Zong watched with his brows tightly furrowed.

"What a mess, all smoke and mirrors."

At that moment, along with these images, the text at the bottom slowly changed.

'As if I were the one who caused this plague.'

'As if I were the source spreading this painful plague.'

The scene shifted again, this time showing disgusting, writhing worms crawling slowly over the tops of a pair of feet.

'I have nowhere to hide, no way to escape. The forest has cut off our connection to the outside world.'

On the screen, another giant pupil stared straight at him, and within it, two human-shaped reflections could be seen.

Along with it came new text at the bottom.

'We're all doomed.'

Suddenly, the pupil expanded infinitely, filling the screen, and then a flash of white light.

Two simple big words appeared before him.

Prologue!

And then the game officially began.

"What, a riddle-monger?"

Zai Zong was stunned.

This opening cutscene left him completely confused; he really had no idea what it was about.

But that didn't stop him from playing. Since he couldn't understand it, he'd just ignore it and play first!

"Alright, whether it's a horse or a mule, I'll find out by trying it myself."

The game's graphics were already laid out plainly before him.

A somewhat balding man woke up from a table, as if he had been sleeping before?

But this lowered Zai Zong's impression score a bit more.

"It's 2022, and the graphics are still this crappy? Whatever, it's an indie dev, don't set the bar too high. Maybe they deliberately made it this retro pixel style. Anyway, let's see if it's fun first."

It was a cramped room, sparsely furnished and messily arranged, looking filthy and disorderly.

A wide rug lay crooked, no longer neat, with several empty bottles and documents carelessly thrown on the floor, ignored.

The desk he had been lying on was covered in papers and documents, and in the corner, some industrial equipment and crops were piled up.

No matter how you look at it, it seems like—

"An office? Or a lab?"

Zai Zong wasn't sure. He maneuvered the character, wandering aimlessly around the room.

Then he noticed something: controlling this character felt strangely heavy, as if the in-game avatar actually had weight—nothing like the nimble responsiveness of an FPS.

"Not bad, I can work with it. At least it doesn't slide around."

That was his verdict.

Next, he moved his mouse over the desk. The prompt "Search" appeared, making Zai Zong's eyes light up.

That meant this table could be looted.

On reflex, he clicked the left mouse button. A simple interface popped up, containing two items.

Medicine and an Old Notebook!

He ignored the medicine—any idiot knew what that was for.

So he selected the notebook first. The game interface displayed a close-up image of a blank notebook, its pages devoid of any writing.

Zai Zong couldn't help but frown.

"What's this? What's it for? And why give it a special close-up?"

He clicked on the notebook a few times, but nothing happened. He guessed it was probably just a regular collectible prop.

So he didn't dwell on it, closed the window, and continued examining the small room.

He moved his mouse over the scattered papers on the floor. A prompt appeared again.

A pile of medical notes.

Zai Zong clicked.

A line of dialogue appeared at the bottom of the screen.

'I've already committed these to memory. No need to read them now.'

He got it. This game had a hint of puzzle-solving elements.

At least for now. But from the actual gameplay footage, there were also combat elements.

He was really looking forward to it!

Zai Zong approached the window. He moved his mouse, and a prompt appeared again.

This is a detachable Reinforced Window. Meaning the window in front of him was boarded up with planks.

As a horror game, reinforcing doors and windows was naturally to keep monsters out.

But it could be detached?

As a player, curiosity always came first. So he didn't hesitate to click "Detach."

But the result? Another line of dialogue appeared.

'Taking this off now would be suicide.'

Alright, can't do it.

Still, he was curious about what kind of danger would come.

So after checking every element in the room, he went straight out the door!

Suddenly, the map expanded, revealing the entire floor plan of the house.

As Zai Zong appeared in the living room, another line of dialogue appeared at the bottom.

'Need to add some fuel to the Generator. There's a scrapped Tractor in the Eastern Forest—should still have some oil in it.'

OK!

So this was the first objective?

Easy enough!

Zai Zong was pleased. Having a goal meant he wouldn't feel so aimless.

"Eastern Forest? That means I have to go outside. As a player, before heading out, I should check the house for any supplies first."

So Zai Zong began looting the house.

Gradually, he realized he was controlling a Doctor.

Connecting it to the opening cutscene, he could roughly deduce that the Doctor wasn't well-liked by the patients in the forest.

And the Doctor himself believed the forest's patients were beyond cure.

Because when he investigated one item, this line of dialogue appeared:

'My medical tools. They haven't been sterilized in years. But then again, the patients here are already beyond saving.'

Seeing this, Zai Zong understood.

"So I'm playing as a Doctor looking for a way out and trying to cure the patients, huh?"

"So the game flow is just collecting various herbs in the forest, then crafting an antidote? And escaping the forest along the way?"

Zai Zong pondered for a moment, shook his head, and stopped overthinking. He began looting again.

Then he realized there wasn't much to scavenge in this room.

But what caught his attention was a locked room. When he approached and tried to open it, a line of dialogue appeared.

'Better not open the door. It took a lot of effort to lock him in there.'

That made Zai Zong curious.

Who did the protagonist lock in there? A monster?

But the current game mechanics wouldn't let him open the door, so he had to give up.

There was also a container that required a lockpick to open, which he didn't have.

And another iron door that, when opened, said: 'Better not go in there now.'

All these signs suggested that the protagonist he was controlling was no ordinary person!

There was a high chance something was hidden inside!

He already knew one room might hold a monster or a human, and it was dangerous!

He understood that these doors and containers he couldn't open were clearly set up for later stages.

So for now, the main goal was still to head out and find oil in that so-called Eastern Forest.

Without hesitation, Zai Zong walked straight to the front door, pushed it open, and stepped into the forest!