Chapter 185
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 185
Chapter Title: Release - Hellic 2 Remake (1)
The quietest winter had arrived.
It was a winter devoid of people excited by the thrill of Christmas, and of the year-end drinking parties that used to pop up everywhere.
In the first winter after the pandemic began, with even private gatherings of five or more people now being debated as a quarantine measure, one couldn't find a crowd anywhere in the country.
A global silence had descended, and within it, people were finding ways to live. It was for this reason that the game market was growing even larger.
Studio Rewind was riding the favorable winds of this era.
“We can proceed as is.”
“Thank you.”
Yuri Jackson bowed his head deeply.
Whether it was because he had grown accustomed to life here, or because the ghostly rumors about Team 3 were true, it was clear that an Eastern sense of courtesy had permeated Yuri's entire being.
Many thoughts crossed my mind…
‘…Well.’
As long as the game was well-made, that was all that mattered.
From the moment the trailer was released, the response to the *Hellic 2 Remake* had been explosive.
Putting aside all other system-related aspects, it was visually overwhelming.
One post, in particular, set the online world ablaze.
It was a side-by-side comparison of the characters and bosses from the original *Hellic 2* and the remake.
『WalkiesPoppy: *Hellic 2* Remake Before and After Comparison
(Image comparing the in-game models of Alice and the chapter bosses)
The visuals are definitely very satisfying.
Alice, in particular, has become so cute ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
StillLoveHellic: I really want to pinch her cheeks… ㅠㅠ
BangbaeBloodlord: The way her skirt flutters is so well done. She walks like she’s toddling, but because of the story, my heart just shrinks for her lololol』
What was the reason this era was so enthusiastic about remakes?
It was because they allowed people to re-experience the masterpieces of the past, once buried only in memory, with their now-elevated standards.
Furthermore, since the works were already proven, the resistance to purchasing them was significantly lower.
‘This will do more than just well.’
My years of experience told me so.
There were many reasons, but the remastering of the entire game's content was the most effective.
If I had to pick one part I was personally pleased with, it would be this.
“A-yun, you did great.”
“Hehe…”
The sound.
The reason I was praising Jo A-yun from my own team, rather than someone from Team 3, was because she had personally overseen the sound remastering.
Strictly speaking, *Hellic 2* was an indie game.
It was only natural that a lot of money couldn't be spent during its production, and for that reason, various art and sound elements couldn't help but have an indie feel—in other words, some cheap-sounding parts.
Han Seo-rim had felt this way too, but Jo A-yun had been even more regretful about it.
—I think I could do so much better if I made it again now…!
Trusting her on that one statement and entrusting her with the job was the best decision I could have made.
It had been a while since I’d experienced the richness of sound and overall balance working in tandem with the game to elevate immersion.
There were just so many elements that I couldn't help but have high hopes for.
Amidst all this, there was a particularly important reason for the release of the *Hellic 2 Remake*.
“This is Studio Rewind’s first PS5 title.”
It would soon be 2021. The PS5 was in the early stages of distribution, and users during this period tended to buy new games with specs that matched their new hardware.
In other words, along with the pandemic, it was the perfect time to pump up sales.
I said to Yuri,
“Leave the marketing to us. Just maintain your focus until the end and finish up the optimization and debugging.”
The January 11th release date was less than a month away.
***
It was late December, on a white Christmas Day.
The online communities were stoking warm fires, as if to overcome the holiday silence, or perhaps as if such things never mattered in the first place.
『TheKing: This winter is going to be a warm one….
Alice-chan… thank you!!!!
ExamFailed: lol
Templar: lol』
『BangbaeBloodlord: Anyone buy a PS5?
I’m thinking of getting one since the *Hellic 2 Remake* is coming out. Is it worth the money?
StillLoveHellic: It’s worth it, but isn’t it super expensive right now because of the semiconductor shortage?』
『WalkiesPoppy: The PS5 is off to a great start ^^
From the *Hellic 2 Remake* right now to upcoming games like *Biohazard* or *Legend of War*, they're all picks I like!
Plus, it has full PS4 compatibility, so for a gamer, the purchase itself is a no-lose situation!
OldGamerDad: Hoho,,, brings back,,, old memories,,, and my son,,, will like it too,,, so I’m,,, buying one,,, ^^』
The kindling at this moment was the newly released and now publicly available PS5.
And decorating its debut was the *Hellic 2 Remake*.
The publisher, Sona, was putting a great deal of effort into this release.
In collaboration with Studio Rewind, they were featuring the *Hellic 2 Remake* as the main title in various marketing campaigns and were planning to position it as a strong contender in this year’s GOTY competition.
It was a genuinely viable marketing strategy.
Especially from the perspective of Yeon-ho, who knew the future.
The 2021 GOTY had no shocking blockbusters, so the awards were split among different games.
Of course, those games were excellent, but none were monsters that swept the awards, so it seemed plausible that the *Hellic 2 Remake* could compete.
In any case, that was why the release had been pushed to January 11, 2021. The users, who had no way of knowing this, could only eagerly await the impending launch.
Somewhere in Seoul, a woman with a hat pulled down low, her body hidden inside a long padded coat, was doing just that.
“Hooo…”
Her exhaled breath did not turn to vapor and disperse into the air.
A thick mask blocked it all.
Only an unpleasant stuffiness lingered around her respiratory system.
The woman, with her rather large eyes, frowned prettily as she looked down at her smartphone.
『GloomyFuture: Fucking cold as hell….
Is this weather for real?
TheKing: Gloomy, you’re outside because it’s Christmas… you….
┕GloomyFuture: F.U.』
The woman who, as always, vented a stream of curses into the community before heading home was named Yu Ji-hyeon, age 27.
Her community nickname was ‘GloomyFuture’.
She was a super-hardcore gamer who had been a fixture here for over a decade, and…
“Jinny-Jinny!”
“…What, why are you here?”
“My commercial schedule got canceled, so I stopped by. Jinny, are you still unemployed these days?”
“Yeah, forever unemployed.”
She was a former idol who had been active under the stage name ‘Jinny’ in the group ‘One Hit Girl’.
***
Everyone has a time when the world feels like their own.
It’s just that when that time is, differs for everyone.
That’s why the standards and value of happiness can’t help but be different for each person.
After all, how could the value of someone who slowly rises from the bottom to stand at the top be the same as someone who starts at the top and only experiences a fall?
It was a story in that context.
In Ji-hyeon’s life, the period when the world was in the palm of her hand came too early, and she experienced falling from a high place at too young an age.
At 15, in her second year of middle school, Jinny debuted as the youngest member of One Hit Girl and lived in the spotlight as the next-generation idol of a major agency.
Her confidence soared to pierce the sky, and her results were just as good, so the expectation that her future would be bright rarely waned.
That expectation crumbled in her fourth year after debut.
She was at a point where she had gained what could be called experience, with nowhere left to go but down.
The new idols following behind were too amazing, while she, whose image had already been severely consumed, had nothing new to offer.
She needed to find another breakthrough, and among the four-member group, she was the only one who couldn't.
Se-jin, the eldest and the leader, debuted as a solo balladeer and successfully continued her career.
Hwa-rin, the second eldest and the rapper, joined a hip-hop label and is enjoying a second golden age.
And Hyo-seong, the third eldest, sub-vocalist, and the one who had visited two weeks ago, became an actress.
She was now the nation’s girlfriend, a name everyone knew.
Only Ji-hyeon had become nothing, just eating away at the money she had saved.
“Damn it.”
She had given up on self-management long ago.
It had also been ages since her seven-year exclusive contract ended.
She didn't even think about the future.
Thankfully, she had helped write and compose a few songs on their albums, so the royalties alone were enough to live on.
This was because her spending habits were extremely limited.
The only things she spent money on were soju, dried snacks, and games.
She didn't bother to find a reason why she got drunk and frequented online communities.
It was the end of an idol who had been cast out of the spotlight, barely remembered as ‘that one girl from back then’.
‘Should I have worked harder?’
When she thought about it, she still shook her head.
The reason she hadn't become anything back then was because of the voices that berated her as she slowly fell.
—She’s not the fresh-faced youngest anymore, is she…
—Being young was her only character, and now that’s gone lol
—Didn’t she try to push the game-nerd image once? But she didn't even know the names of online games properly lolol. She should’ve at least studied them lololol
When social anxiety reaches its peak, going outside becomes terrifying.
Speaking also becomes frightening, and eventually, one finds stability only when hiding behind anonymity.
Ji-hyeon knew her own condition well.
Going outside was an inconvenience to others.
It was better to stay at home as if dead.
Ji-hyeon often spent her days lost in such thoughts.
But she didn't actually want to die.
She had to do something else to forget, and that was console games, which she had genuinely loved since she was young, and soju, which she only began to enjoy after becoming an adult.
Fumbling, Ji-hyeon drunkenly searched for her console controller.
‘*Hellic 2 Remake*.’
I have to play it.
I bought it, and I was looking forward to it.
Thank goodness.
If I just play this, I can spend another few days without thinking about anything.
The moment she turned on the game.
[Kyaaaaaaah!!!]
The familiar intro calmed her heart.
She blinked her bloodshot eyes at the screen; it was better this way, as it erased her thoughts.
A smile formed on her lips.
It was at that moment.
—How about trying to stream online?
The words Hyo-seong had said when she visited two weeks ago suddenly flashed through Ji-hyeon's mind.
—Why not? Our Jinny-Jinny likes games and is good at them. You tried to do it before, didn't you?
The smile quickly vanished.
It was true, she had.
‘Come to think of it, it was a Studio Rewind game back then too.’
Which title was it?
Was it *Hellic*? Or *Identity*? *Demon’s Relic*?
Her mind was hazy from the alcohol, so she couldn't remember clearly.
All she remembered was being scared to speak in front of others, and for that reason, she had turned off her camera and played the game in silence.
She had been feeling quite at ease, smiling to herself as she played, until she accidentally let her voice slip and cursed.
‘I was so startled I turned it off immediately.’
Her grip on the controller tightened.
There was no need to search for the reason why the same words kept echoing in her mind, even now.
‘I know, too.’
That she couldn't keep living like this.
She knew that better than anyone.
More than anything, she herself was afraid of a future where she would live and die like this.
That’s why she was anxious.
Ji-hyeon’s gaze turned to the streaming equipment that had been set up for years, left untouched.
She didn't know what change of heart it was.
It might be because she had been feeling particularly restless lately, with the pandemic season.
Or maybe it was a mistake made while drunk.
She didn't know.
Thinking this, Ji-hyeon reached out her hand.
*Click—!*
The computer whirred to life.
The carefully stored streaming software launched.
She even forgot to turn off the camera.
[The broadcast is starting!]
The screen lit up, and…
[TheKing: Gloomy…?]
A viewer entered.