Street to Empress I has been successful in Korea since September and as soon as topped Apple’s paid chart. It stays one of many 5 best-selling video games as of December. Courtesy of X account of Street to Empress/New One Studio
Poisoned bread and gruel, or hunger — Street to Empress I turns easy selections into life-or-death gambles. In a single sequence, gamers might die in three alternative ways after being despatched to the dungeon for sporting a “flashy outfit.”
Street to Empress (or Seongse Cheonha in Korean), a Chinese language-made interactive palace intrigue sport, has taken Korean players by storm, with many applauding its immersive, interactive, modern and easy-to-play nature.
For the reason that launch of its first half in early September, Street to Empress has been a very massive hit in Korea, driving vital livestreaming exercise by players on YouTube, as soon as topping the nation’s Apple App Retailer paid chart and remaining a high 5 vendor into mid-December.
Produced by China’s New One Studio, the two-part sport is a story role-playing sport set within the 618-907 Tang Dynasty, impressed by the true story of Wu Zetian, China’s solely feminine emperor.
It incorporates a branching narrative construction, the place gamers’ selections in dialogue, actions and quick-time occasions closely influence the trail of the story branches and characters’ fates.
Within the sport, Wu Yuanzhao (based mostly on Wu Zetian) begins her journey from a modest place, navigating an influence battle and surviving the cruel surroundings of the palace with its strict guidelines. Wu Yuanzhao additionally has to make use of her exceptional intelligence and abilities to decide on the best paths that don’t result in unhealthy endings.
It’s a story constructed on errors and second probabilities, with each incorrect resolution shifting gamers towards considered one of over 100 attainable endings — a lot of which culminate tragically in Yuanzhao’s premature loss of life.
However the sport design retains the unhealthy endings from being too discouraging, as gamers can rapidly retry from a close-by branching level. With quick video segments that may be simply skipped or fast-forwarded, the sport removes the strain of overthinking selections, permitting gamers to right their errors with out frustration.
Street to Empress has obtained practically 1,000 optimistic evaluations in Korean and 800 in English, attaining an “Overwhelmingly Optimistic” score on Steam. Courtesy of X account of Street to Empress/New One Studio
Phrase of mouth inside Korea helped the sport acquire a rising native following. Park Jae-hyun, a 37-year-old workplace employee in Seoul, stated he started taking part in after studying {that a} fashionable Korean YouTuber, ChimChakMan, had tried it.
“Since many video games already concentrate on European historical past, the true appeal of this title is that it allows you to naturally find out about Jap historical past as an alternative,” Park stated.
“It additionally turns into extra partaking as a result of it introduces many actual historic sources throughout gameplay, despite the fact that some fictional components are blended in with the story.”
Park added that the sport’s easy mechanics make it accessible and pleasing for gamers of all ages and backgrounds. Including to the enjoyable is the fun of exploring the story’s branching paths and uncovering the numerous completely different endings formed by participant selections.
In line with a web-based sport evaluate revealed on Brunch, the enchantment of Street to Empress comes from the “transformation of the linear ending” of conventional historic narratives, turning it into an interactive expertise. Gamers aren’t simply mere observers of the sport, however the contributors, the evaluate added.
“The sport breaks free from these constraints, permitting gamers to discover the query: ‘What if she had made completely different selections?’” wrote the evaluate, including that the sport offers gamers an opportunity to step outdoors the confines of historical past.
One other evaluate posted on Naver stated that the sport consists of fantastically shot live-action scenes, “making it extremely immersive,” and satisfies gamers with “nice filming high quality and glorious efficiency of actors.”
Huang Gejun, assistant professor of media and communications on the Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool College in China’s Jiangsu province, stated that the sport’s historic background and palace setting resonate extra simply with Koreans, as many Ok-dramas even have related components.
“The sport’s success can also be constructed on the inspiration established by the rising world reputation of Chinese language internet novels, which have gained vital traction abroad. Whereas the xianxia (which means ‘immortal heroes’) style stays extremely fashionable, palace intrigue tales have additionally cultivated a robust viewers,” stated Huang, who specializes within the gaming trade and cultural coverage.
The sport provides a branching narrative construction, permitting gamers to form the story’s path by means of their in-game selections. Courtesy of X account of Street to Empress/New One Studio
The rising world reputation of Chinese language historic dramas is one other key issue drawing worldwide gamers to the sport. For the reason that late 2010s, high-quality productions comparable to Empresses within the Palace, Story of Yanxi Palace, and Everlasting Love have captivated audiences throughout Asia with their elaborate costumes and compelling storylines.
Park echoed that time, saying that he turned curious after studying a evaluate saying that the sport evokes Empresses within the Palace, which he loved so much.
The interactive sport, with a second half to be launched, faucets into the rising pattern of “short-form dramas,” that includes over 1,200 minutes of footage and greater than 400 interactive moments all through its storyline.
Huang added that Street to Empress can encourage the short-form drama trade by incorporating interactive options and producing interactive game-style short-form drama. With China’s considerable sources — a talented workforce, superior know-how, various filming areas and ample funding — the nation is well-equipped to excel in growing interactive short-form drama, he stated.
“At the moment, most short-form movies don’t assist interactive options that mix gaming. Nonetheless, if such performance turns into out there, it is going to undoubtedly spark the following main pattern,” he added.
Alyssa Chen is a reporter with the South China Morning Submit. She is presently based mostly in Seoul, writing for each The Korea Occasions and the South China Morning Submit beneath an change program.
