"Visage" Preview Released

"Dark Forest" has been a hot topic with high engagement since its EA release.

After the official version launched, the shocking truth of the twist ending brought the game to a climax, spreading across the entire internet at lightning speed and becoming a favorite topic of discussion.

Just when players thought horror games were about to see a renaissance, "Jungle Terror" appeared and dashed their hopes again.

Exorbitant pricing, shoddy production, a bait-and-switch story, and clunky, copied gameplay—everything screamed to players that this was garbage!

Clearly, it was a half-baked cash grab riding on "Dark Forest"'s coattails.

Maybe the devs thought they could scoop up a slice of the pie while it was hot, or maybe they assumed players were stupid enough to pay up.

Add in the usual prejudice against the horror genre, and the lack of care in development led to a flood of negative reviews, driving away a huge chunk of players—a real pity.

And since the Xiyou Platform has no review or rating system, who knows how many players who don't use the Cyber Platform will get burned.

But in any case.

"Jungle Terror" miscalculated badly.

There was no shortage of online outcry, but the developers and publishers just played dead, acting like nothing happened. Even when their Weibo got flooded, they only set a five-year loyalty filter on comments.

So the backlash moved to major gaming news sites. Some editors called it a mishmash, while others dropped a classic line:

"'Dark Forest' opened the door for horror games; 'Jungle Terror' slammed it shut."

That one really resonated with netizens.

Still, the game remains listed on both platforms, clearly selling with a "fool someone if you can" mentality.

And right in the middle of all this, a video on the Danmu Network suddenly blew up.

It was a game promo video, heavily pushed by the Danmu Network itself—hard not to suspect some shady deal between CEO Boss Chen and the video creator.

But when netizens took a closer look, it all clicked.

Because the uploader was Shuo Guang!

Who's Shuo Guang?

The solo developer of "Dark Forest"—the game that broke open the horror market and dominated as a top-tier masterpiece!

The creator of "21 Points," developed in a single month, a VR game that crushed the big studios and sat at the pinnacle of the genre!

Two achievements made his handle "Shuo Guang" and his company "Only Game" synonymous with horror and quality.

Countless people were waiting for a VR version or sequel to "Dark Forest."

Now, they got it—Shuo Guang finally dropped a game trailer.

But this time...

A new IP?

Not even milking "Dark Forest"'s IP dry before moving on?

Most studios couldn't pull that off.

Under the Danmu Network's heavy promotion, the trailer's title was a bit over the top:

[Shocking Release! First Trailer for New Horror Game "Visage" Revealed! Renowned Game Developer Shuo Guang Brings You a Psychological Horror Experience. Put on Headphones, Step Away from the Screen, and Start a New Kind of Creepiness!]

Xin Xin, streaming during dinner, was eating and browsing fan messages when she suddenly spotted this video push.

The title alone made her eyes go wide.

The video's massive popularity and ranking piqued her curiosity—what game trailer was this impressive?

"Visage? A horror game? And who's Shuo Guang?"

Xin Xin was just a VTuber variety streamer who didn't usually follow gaming news, so she had no clue about the now-famous Shuo Guang.

Kind of like not knowing who directed the highest-grossing movie.

She scooped up a mouthful of rice, stuffed it in, and glanced at the comments—her fans had already answered for her.

"Scaredy-cat Xin, remember playing Dark Forest and 21 Points?"

"No way, Scaredy-cat Xin doesn't even keep tabs on the dev who made her cry?"

"That's the Dark Forest developer, Xin-jie."

"Xin-jie mainly plays MOBAs, so it's normal she doesn't know the single-player scene."

Xin Xin read that and let out a light snort.

Come to think of it, that was a thing.

When she played "Dark Forest," during the night event in the first area of Chapter 1, she opened a door to escape and got a jump scare that made her drop her keyboard.

She even accidentally yanked the ethernet cable, cutting her stream signal.

That's how she got the nickname "Scaredy-cat Xin."

When she kept playing later, she got spooked and screamed constantly.

So much so that clips were edited into videos that played on loop on the Danmu Network, leaving her mortified beyond words.

"Damn, I get it now."

Xin Xin shoveled a mouthful of rice, her 2D avatar's mouth opening and closing in sync, which was pretty amusing.

Then she clicked into the video, planning to check out this developer's new game while she ate.

She was also curious about what this so-called psychological horror was really like, and how it stacked up against his previous two works.

The trailer runtime was 4 minutes and 30 seconds—pretty long.

As the video played, she went fullscreen. Two company logos appeared one after another, slowly fading in.

They were Only Game and Infinite Network Entertainment.

Seizing the moment, Xin Xin took another bite of rice. The video finally showed its first image.

It was a black-and-white film.

The screen was full of grain and flickering scan lines, saturated with an old-timey vibe.

The scene seemed to be some kind of show.

In it, a man in a black suit and black hat was dancing a goofy dance at the center of the stage.

A cacophony of noise blared nonstop, making it sound lively and full of joy.

Next shot, the stage suddenly had more people.

The black-suited Hat Man was no longer dancing alone; a group of kids had gathered around, moving along with him, making the scene even more bustling.

The noise grew louder.

Among them, a boy and a girl who looked like siblings, holding hands, were led by someone who seemed to be their mother. They smiled at the camera.

On this festive stage, they looked very happy, very content.

"Is this some kind of videotape? The people in it all look foreign, and the clothes seem like they're from the 60s or 70s."

Eating her rice, Xin Xin noticed this detail and wondered if the new game had a foreign setting.

But that wasn't her main concern; she was just watching this video during her meal.

Then she saw the black-and-white old footage start to shrink.

A black border appeared around it, along with number buttons, a speaker grille, and so on.

This was—

A TV!

Xin Xin realized that as the footage shrank—no, as the perspective pulled back—the earlier black-and-white film had become the image on a television set!

At the same time, a table holding the TV appeared, along with potted plants on either side.

Pulling back further, there was a messy, uncleaned coffee table with fruit, newspapers, and all sorts of clutter.

Continuing to pull back, it moved into a hallway. As it passed under an incandescent lamp overhead, the light flickered on and off.

Finally, the view suddenly accelerated, rushing backward at high speed, the surroundings blurring into streaks.

Xin Xin frowned, unsure what it was trying to convey.

When the image stabilized, it showed an upside-down hanging lightbulb, casting a faint glow in a pitch-black environment.

Floating dust drifted past like snowflakes, dotting the surroundings.

The perspective shifted again—this time, downward.

A close-up of part of a table appeared in the frame.

On it lay a sleek black revolver and six scattered bullets.

Accompanying this image were several muffled whimpers, clearly from mouths that had been taped shut.

Xin Xin still didn't know what was about to happen, just kept shoveling rice, occasionally taking a sip of soup.

But her eyes never left the video.

After all, this was a horror game, and this opening had hooked her into watching.

Plus, the texture of that gun—it was way too realistic!

Nothing like the crappy horror games she'd played before.

Soon, a hand reached out, picking up the gun and the bullets.

At the same time, as the view widened, Xin Xin saw three pairs of legs at the edge of the frame—different sizes, all sitting in chairs, clearly tied up.

Combined with the earlier whimpers, she suddenly understood what was going on!

"No way, the opening is... a shooting?"

Sure enough, she wasn't wrong.

In the video, the hands loaded the bullets, and with a shaky, unsteady perspective, walked over to a woman tied to a chair, whimpering nonstop.

Then slowly raised the gun.

And the three tied-up people—including a little boy and a little girl—were now struggling like mad.

And because her mouth was sealed with tape, all that could be heard were those desperate whimpers.

This was clearly a mother and her child!

Oh my god, could this be the happy family of three from the black-and-white TV just now?

Xin Xin immediately dragged the progress bar back to the beginning of the black-and-white footage.

Comparing them, it really did seem to be the three people tied to the chairs.

Otherwise, why would they have deliberately shown that black-and-white TV screen earlier?

It was meant to create a before-and-after contrast!

This gunman must be a murderer!

Just like the Masked Man from "21 Points," a total psycho!

Xin Xin had completely forgotten about eating by now.

The scene before her gripped her gaze, unable to look away, only wanting to see what would happen next.

Would someone come to save them, or—

Bang—

With a single gunshot, her thoughts were utterly shattered.

At the same time, the screen went black, followed by a eerie melody and a sharp voice like an old witch's.

[Dwayne. Dwayne. Dwayne. Oh~ Dwayne~]

Then came a spine-chilling cackle.

This sound, like a demon whispering in her ear, made her whole body uncomfortable.

She couldn't help but wonder—could the gunman's name be Dwayne?

And that voice like an old witch—was it perhaps tempting him?

Before Xin Xin could think further, the two large characters "Visage" slowly emerged along with the unsettling music.

She knew the prelude was over, and the main feature had begun.

Today the editor notified me that this book has advanced, and next week it will be featured on the category strong push on both APP and PC. Thank you all for your continued support, and thank you for reading this book!

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