Chapter Summaries

Players discovered that Silent Hill’s fog, strange monsters, and oppressive atmosphere made the game terrifying even without conventional jump scares. Zhang Yi pushed through the apartment puzzles for his friend Old Song, then witnessed Pyramid Head brutally attack monsters and hide nearby before he decided to leave the game and catch his breath.

• Players posted about quitting Silent Hill in fear, while other players sarcastically claimed it was not scary, drawing more curious people into the game.
• Zhang Yi searched the apartment for clues, reached into a hole to retrieve a pocket watch, and used it to unlock the grandfather clock.
• Zhang Yi found the key the little girl had kicked away and followed the passage to the third floor.
• Zhang Yi saw Pyramid Head attack two mannequin monsters, then hide in a wardrobe as it approached and passed by.
• After waiting for Pyramid Head to leave, Zhang Yi climbed out and decided to stop playing and catch his breath, despite his promise to Old Song.

Zhang Yi and other players explored Silent Hill, meeting unstable survivors and joining Maria on the journey to find Lara. At the hospital, Pyramid Head killed Maria after James was separated from her, leaving players trapped in the town’s increasingly hostile nightmare.

• Zhang Yi found Eddie vomiting in a restroom, met the suicidal Angela, and escaped Pyramid Head in the apartment before encountering the prankster girl again.
• James met Maria, who looked like his dead wife Mary, and she joined him on the way to Lakeview Hotel.
• James and Maria followed Lara to the hospital, where Maria felt unwell and stayed behind while James searched for Lara.
• Lara claimed she had met Mary a year earlier, then locked James in a room with three monsters and triggered a transformation of the hospital.
• James found Maria in the basement, and the two reconciled before setting out to find Lara together.
• Pyramid Head chased James and Maria to an elevator, and James watched helplessly as the closing doors left Maria behind to be killed.

In "Silent Hill," James endured the Prison and Maze, learned more about Angela and Eddie, and killed Eddie in self-defense, leaving him and players questioning the truth of their memories and the town. Zhang Yi then rowed James to Lakeview Hotel, hoping to uncover why everyone had come to Silent Hill and what had happened between James and Mary.

• James found Eddie beside a corpse in the Prison, while Maria appeared alive in a cell despite having been killed earlier by Pyramid Head.
• James rescued Angela from monsters, and she accused him of wanting a new lover before revealing that she had killed her abusive father.
• James reached Maria’s cell and found her dead, then continued through the Maze to the freezer, where Eddie described his past and attacked him.
• James killed Eddie in self-defense and began doubting whether Mary had truly died three years earlier.
• Zhang Yi rowed James across the lake to Lakeview Hotel, expecting to find answers about Silent Hill and James’s past.

James found Mary’s letter to Lara and watched a videotape that revealed he had killed Mary. As Lakeview Hotel transformed into the Otherworld, James encountered Angela and Maria, and the story explained that Silent Hill’s horrors reflected the darkness within its visitors.

• James found Mary’s letter to Lara, which suggested Mary had been alive recently and left him unsure whether his memories could be trusted.
• James played the videotape in room 312 and saw Mary fall ill, followed by a blurred scene of him smothering her in bed.
• James confessed to Lara that he had killed Mary, and she left in anger while Mary’s voice called to him over the radio.
• The hotel became a blood-soaked Otherworld, where Angela walked into the flames and two Pyramid Heads killed Maria.
• James and the player learned that Pyramid Head embodied James’s guilt and that Silent Hill manifested the darkness inside people like James, Angela, and Eddie, while Lara saw an ordinary town.

James accepted the truth about killing Mary and confronted Maria, then remembered Mary's final words and heard her letter as he left Silent Hill with Lara. The town's fog dispersed as James began the life Mary had asked him to live.

• James understood that Pyramid Head embodied his guilt, and the two Pyramid Heads killed themselves after he accepted the truth.
• James revisited memories of Mary’s illness and the painful things she had said to him in the dark corridor.
• James recognized that the woman waiting on the hotel rooftop was Maria, rejected her, and killed her monstrous form.
• James remembered Mary asking him to live well and giving him a letter before she died.
• Lara and James left Silent Hill as Mary's letter was read and the fog began to disperse.

After clearing Silent Hill, Zhang Yi reflected on its psychological horror and gave Song Ren a CDKEY and a Pyramid Head figurine. Song Ren revealed that the game had three endings and teased Zhang Yi for missing them, leaving Zhang to suspect his friend had planned the gift exchange as payback.

• Zhang Yi bought Song Ren a Pyramid Head figurine and gave him a CDKEY he had earned for Silent Hill.
• Zhang Yi reflected on how Silent Hill's monsters and atmosphere expressed James's guilt, grief, and repression.
• Song Ren asked Zhang Yi which ending he liked, then revealed that Silent Hill had three endings.
• Song Ren explained that the different endings changed how players interpreted the story, despite the game having no choices during its linear scenes.
• Song Ren bragged that he had completed the game one hundred percent and earned more than a hundred Platinum Trophies, prompting Zhang Yi to suspect he had planned to repay the gift.

Zhang Yi reflected on Silent Hill’s three main endings and how players’ actions determined which one James reached. The chapter left the story’s true ending open to interpretation, with Chen Xu refusing to declare one answer definitive.

• Zhang Yi learned that Song Ren had cleared Silent Hill and unlocked its other endings with the help of guides.
• Zhang Yi explained that keeping James healthy and listening to Mary’s final conversation led to the ending where he left with Lara.
• Zhang Yi described how actions that reflected James’s grief and suicidal tendencies led to the ending where he drove into the river with Mary’s body.
• Zhang Yi explained that repeatedly seeking out Maria and prioritizing her led to an ending where James left Silent Hill with her, continuing a cycle of illness and loss.
• Players debated which ending was true and asked Chen Xu for an official answer, but Chen Xu left the story open to each player’s interpretation.

Players praised Silent Hill for its oppressive atmosphere and lack of jump scares, while its reward event drove record completion rates. At Nebula Games, Chen Xu discussed the game’s reception and teased a traditional RPG concept about science, gods, and the origins of the self, then simplified it as a young man and woman saving the world.

• Players struggled through Silent Hill’s horror despite guides, while its first-day reward slots had already been claimed.
• Chen Xu celebrated Silent Hill’s 38% VR completion rate and discussed how horror games drew viewers as well as players.
• Qin Yi showed Chen Xu a community theory connecting Silent Hill’s worlds to Quantum Mechanics, which Chen Xu rejected in favor of psychological and religious influences.
• Ruan Ningxue asked Chen Xu to make future game art more attractive, and Chen Xu promised to try.
• Meng Zuo noted the rising popularity of traditional RPGs, and Chen Xu described a new concept combining scientific methods, gods, mechs, and philosophical questions before calling it a story about a young man and woman saving the world.

Chen Xu explained how Xenoblade Chronicles 2 would draw players into its traditional RPG systems through distinctive art and character designs. As Ruan Ningxue reviewed Homura and Hikari, Chen Xu reflected on the artists and character variety behind the game.

• Ruan Ningxue hesitated over the revealing designs of Homura and Hikari, and Chen Xu called the style true to their original aspirations.
• Chen Xu explained that distinctive art and character designs could attract players before the complex systems of a traditional RPG did.
• Chen Xu recalled how Tetsuya Takahashi’s earlier Xenoblade games had struggled with scope, presentation, music, and character designs.
• Chen Xu described the many artists recruited for Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and the broad range of character types they created.

Chen Xu explained Xenoblade Chronicles’ expansive Titan-based maps and layered combat system to the development team. When Meng Zuo asked how the game would balance story Blades with player-controlled Blades, Chen Xu introduced a new feature called the Bloodline Detection Mechanism.

• Chen Xu described how Xenoblade Chronicles would combine traditional RPG storytelling with vast, layered Open World maps and changing cloud-sea tides.
• Chen Xu decided to establish dedicated departments for the game’s music and story presentation.
• Chen Xu outlined the combat system, including Blade Arts, elemental orbs, Chain Attacks, and Driver Combos.
• Meng Zuo asked how the game would balance Blades’ roles as story characters and usable weapons.
• Chen Xu smiled and named the upcoming solution the Bloodline Detection Mechanism.

Chen Xu introduced Xenoblade Chronicles’ Blade Resonance system and its randomized Blade draws, which worried the team about how punishing it could be for unlucky players. He then outlined the game’s frustrating guidance and quality-of-life problems, saying the team would improve the player experience.

• Chen Xu explained that Blades came in common, rare, and epic tiers and that random draws made collecting them increasingly difficult.
• Yang Xin questioned the common Blade designs, and Chen Xu insisted their resemblance to stereotypes was coincidental.
• Chen Xu shifted the discussion to Xenoblade Chronicles’ interaction experience and described its confusing maps, unreviewable Tutorials, and poorly explained Blade Resonance system.
• Chen Xu listed other inconveniences, including single-item selling and drawing, unskippable entrance animations, and the Tiger! Tiger! minigame.
• Chen Xu said the team would make better arrangements for these features because player interaction and experience mattered as much as game content.

Chen Xu prepared Xenoblade Chronicles’ music and systems while Nebula Games released a dramatic promotional video that made players expect a tragedy. He told Yang Xin the misleading trailer was meant to make the game’s heartwarming story more surprising, though she doubted it would repair his reputation.

• Chen Xu planned iconic music for Xenoblade Chronicles and streamlined the Mercenary system with an automatic loop mode.
• Players debated what genres Nebula Games’ upcoming games would offer while spending vouchers earned by clearing Silent Hill.
• Chen Xu released a Xenoblade Chronicles promotional video featuring Rex, Homura, Hikari, and scenes that suggested Blades lost their memories and suffered in battle.
• Players praised the anime-style visuals but concluded from the trailer that the story would be tragic.
• Yang Xin called the promotional video misleading, and Chen Xu explained that he wanted players to be surprised by the heartwarming story before ordering her back to work.

Players anticipated Xenoblade Chronicles as a traditional RPG, and the game quickly topped Nebula Game Platform’s bestseller rankings at release. Zhang Yi began playing as Rex and discovered the game’s sea-of-clouds world, where humanity lived on Titans after being expelled from Elysium.

• Players discussed Xenoblade Chronicles’ traditional RPG genre and speculated about its combat system.
• Chen Xu released Xenoblade Chronicles across VR, Switch, and PC, with VR offering adjustable camera perspectives and immersive menus.
• Zhang Yi and Wang Han prepared to play, while Song Ren exposed Zhang Yi’s claims that he disliked anime-style characters and figures.
• Zhang Yi entered the game as Rex, salvaged a chest from the sea of clouds, and completed a tutorial on auto-attacks and Arts.
• Zhang Yi learned that humanity had been expelled from Elysium and now lived on the Titans, which were nearing extinction.

Zhang Yi played Xenoblade Chronicles through Rex’s early adventures, from Gormont Port to Gura Territory, and found its story and combat familiar but its map astonishingly expansive. The chapter left him exploring the beautiful open landscape, face-to-face with a level-80 gorilla.

• Zhang Yi explored Gormont Port, learned the early game systems, and lost his first life by falling from a high ledge.
• Zhang Yi followed Rex’s story to the sunken ship, where Rex bonded with Homura after Jin stabbed him and Nia turned against Malos and Jin to help him.
• Azure Dragon rescued Rex and Homura, then appeared to sacrifice himself before revealing that he had merely changed into a young Titan.
• Zhang Yi learned how Homura’s field skills helped solve obstacles while searching for Nia in Gura Territory.
• Zhang Yi reached Outlook Knoll, opened the map, and was amazed by Gura Territory’s vast scenery and roaming wildlife.
• Zhang Yi encountered a gorilla over level 80 while exploring the region.

Zhang Yi explored Gura Territory, learned the hard way that a powerful gorilla could still attack despite his no-aggro setting, and continued the story with Rex, Nia, and Tora. After struggling through Tora’s arcade game to earn Core Crystals, he decided to save them until Nia could join in opening them.

• Zhang Yi enabled the option that kept ordinary monsters from noticing him, but a roaming gorilla struck Rex for 8621 damage and sent him back to a checkpoint.
• Zhang Yi cautiously entered Gura Territory and continued the story, where Kagutsuchi defeated Rex and Nia, Nia was imprisoned, and Rex escaped with Tora’s help.
• Zhang Yi met Tora and helped him create the artificial Blade Hana, then found Tora’s maid-themed designs and outfits amusing.
• Zhang Yi grew furious at Tora’s difficult arcade minigame but kept playing after realizing it could reward him with Core Crystals.
• Zhang Yi accumulated ordinary and rare Core Crystals and chose to wait until Nia was rescued before opening them.

Zhang Yi explored Gura Territory in Xenoblade Chronicles and praised the game's expansive maps, shortcuts, and Blade-based field skills. After his early Core Crystal pulls yielded only Dark Blades while other players got rare ones, he started New Game Plus and found that Song Ren shared his bad luck.

• Zhang Yi explored Gura Territory and admired its detailed, interconnected maps, where Blade field skills unlocked shortcuts and treasure chests.
• Zhang Yi used Core Crystals to summon several Dark Blades, including Dark Uncles, Dark Sisters, and Dark Doggys.
• Wang Han told Zhang Yi and Song Ren that he had pulled KOS-MOS Re, prompting Zhang Yi to restart with New Game Plus.
• Song Ren said he had also explored Gura Territory and had been killed by the gorilla near the entrance, and Zhang Yi privately complained that the game was hostile to unlucky players.
• Zhang Yi learned that the pity system required many Core Crystal pulls and did not include powerful Blades such as KOS-MOS Re and Jin-Gao, leaving unlucky players frustrated by their common pulls.

Song Ren finally pulled the named healing Blade Glow after repeatedly farming Core Crystals, then continued the story and witnessed Vandham's sacrifice awaken Hikari. The chapter left Song Ren excitedly wondering whether Hikari and Homura meant he had two wives.

• Unlucky players complained about failing to pull named Blades and farmed crystals instead of advancing the story.
• Song Ren farmed crystals with his companions and pulled the named Blade Glow, deciding to raise her for the rest of the adventure.
• Song Ren progressed through the story, met Vandham in the Kingdom of Indol, and learned Driver Combo from him.
• Vandham sacrificed himself, and Rex's shock awakened Hikari, who helped drive Malos back.
• Song Ren admired the story and wondered whether Homura and Hikari meant he had two wives.

Song Ren played through Xenoblade Chronicles, lost access to Hikari and Homura after Jin and Malos abducted them, and discovered Nia was a Flesh Eater who confessed her love to Rex. The chapter left Song Ren stunned when Rex said he liked Nia and everyone else too.

• Song Ren discovered that Glow was a male Blade and later equipped him after Hikari and Homura were taken from the party.
• Following Grandpa Azure Dragon's guidance, Rex and the others reached the Spirit Cave, where Nia revealed that she was a Flesh Eater.
• Nia confessed her feelings to Rex after the group faced the trial in the Spirit Cave.
• Rex told Nia that he liked her and everyone else too, leaving Song Ren speechless.

Song Ren played through Rex’s confrontation with Malos and Jin, where Rex promised to reach Elysium with Homura and Hikari rather than let them disappear. Homura and Hikari revealed their true forms, and the chapter ended with them awakening as Little Green and changing Rex’s sword.

• Song Ren rushed through the story while worrying about Nia’s treatment and Homura and Hikari’s danger.
• Rex failed to obtain the third sword in the Spirit Cave but said he had understood everything.
• After Malos took Homura’s memories, Rex fought Malos and Jin and was overwhelmed.
• Rex promised Homura and Hikari he would reach Elysium with them and asked them to trust him.
• Homura and Hikari revealed their true forms, and Rex accepted them before they awakened as Little Green.
• Song Ren watched Rex’s sword change and wondered whether Nia would face more bullying.

Song Ren guided Rex and the others through Morytha and the World Tree, where Klaus revealed the technological history behind the world and its creation. As the group neared Klaus’s chamber, an illusion exposed Nia’s jealousy of Rex’s devotion to Homura, leaving Song Ren convinced that Nia had lost her chance with him.

• Rex saved Jin in Morytha, and Jin revealed that McPeni had betrayed Torna and caused Lara’s death.
• McPeni attacked Torna and the World Tree using controlled Titans, but Jin sacrificed his life to defeat McPeni and asked Rex to stop Malos.
• Song Ren tried the Three-Person Fusion Special and complained that its requirements and weak damage were another way the game persecuted Nia.
• Rex and his friends reached the barren ruins of Elysium, where Klaus separated them and confronted Rex with illusions based on their fears.
• Klaus explained that he had been the scientist Klaus on Earth, and that after opening the Conduit he created the Cloud Sea, Blades, and the new cycle of life.
• An illusion of Nia accused Rex of always looking at Homura, prompting Song Ren to conclude that Nia had no chance with him.