Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: The First Review
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It began on a dark beach.
A grim landscape woven from a crimson-black sky, black sand, and a gray sea.
*Swoosh—*
The sound of waves washed over him through the headset.
Seok-hoon’s gaze was fixed on the girl standing in the middle of it all.
‘Ah, she must be the protagonist.’
She was the same girl from the key art.
A sense of awkwardness washed over him.
As someone who knew nothing about *Hellic 2* yet, the girl’s appearance, a complete one-eighty from the previous game’s protagonist, was more than enough to feel alienating.
Seok-hoon let out a low “Hmm.”
It was a little different from the start he had been expecting.
But that feeling was soon erased.
‘...No, it’s too early to judge.’
Isn’t the gameplay more important than the visuals in a game?
It was a 3D shoulder-view game. Action using a TPS perspective.
The information he’d heard beforehand was certainly enough to pique his interest.
Just as he thought that.
[Hello.]
A butterfly appeared, and with it, a line of script.
*Clack-clack-clack-clack!*
Seok-hoon mashed the spacebar, skipping the text.
He wasn’t the type of gamer to prioritize story, and more importantly, with a 30-minute time limit on the demo, he had no time to read all this.
The dialogue flew by.
Amidst it all, a few keywords certainly stuck in Seok-hoon’s mind.
‘Hell, Escape, Guide.’
This was Yeon-ho’s hidden intention.
Through the placement of script, changes in font, and even the skip speed, he had designed it so that even someone who blew past the story like this could grasp the general flow.
As a result, without even realizing it, Seok-hoon understood the game’s setting.
And so it began.
Finally in control of Alice, Seok-hoon was grinning from ear to ear in less than a minute.
‘Ah! It’s the equipment evolution tree from *Hellic 1*!’
The moment he pressed the hotkey, the screen desaturated to gray.
And with the butterfly floating in the air as the centerpiece, an equipment evolution tree branched out like a mind map.
It was a ‘welcome element.’
Inheriting the equipment evolution tree from the previous game meant that the fatigue required to understand the game was reduced.
Besides, it wasn’t an exact copy of the previous game.
‘There’s a new ranged tree!’
The main build included a ranged option using a slingshot!
It was a clear differentiating factor from the predecessor, which only had melee weapons!
It was from that moment.
The moment Seok-hoon began to feel interest and excitement for the game.
‘How do I unlock the locked builds? Ah, the info is hidden! Right, so I won’t know what those question marks are until I open them?’
One of the most crucial elements in game development was ‘presenting a direction.’
It was about quickly presenting an element of interest to the player after they start the game, before they can feel bored.
However, it couldn’t be too blatant.
This was one of the reasons Yeon-ho was so obsessed with the interface and flow.
This time, too, his intention was getting through.
Seok-hoon wasn’t someone who analyzed games.
His entire thought process was from the perspective of a dedicated gamer, and as such, he followed Yeon-ho’s intentions without a filter.
The first choice.
Which of the four weapon trees should he unlock?
Bladed weapons, blunt weapons, chemicals, and the slingshot.
Remembering *Hellic 1*, Seok-hoon thought to himself.
‘The first run is always the sword. The other weapons...’
Could be for the ‘next playthrough.’
*Click!*
The butterfly transformed into a dagger and was placed in Alice’s hand.
With that simple action, Seok-hoon understood the butterfly’s role in this game.
‘It’s a weapon and a guide. Alright. Let’s follow it.’
Seok-hoon maneuvered the girl across the beach.
He farmed various key items and experienced combat with enemies.
Knowledge of the game’s impact feedback and control scheme built up in his body.
It was then.
[That’s a soul fragment! Give it to me!]
A speech bubble appeared above the butterfly’s head.
Seok-hoon realized it at once.
‘Ah! It’s the resource needed for equipment growth!’
A familiar structure leads to quick understanding.
When it came to the growth system, *Hellic 2* had clearly inherited the system from its predecessor.
‘Let’s see...!’
A box marked with a gray question mark in front of the dagger icon was blinking.
When Seok-hoon unlocked it, a machete, longer than the dagger, appeared.
‘Oh!’
The first accomplishment.
But his joy was short-lived.
It was then that Seok-hoon realized one more difference between *Hellic 2* and the previous game.
‘Quick slots?’
*Hellic 2* allowed players to organically mix and use up to four unlocked weapons through quick slots 1 through 4.
This was a surprising change for Seok-hoon.
‘This means the combination possibilities are much richer, right?’
It was a sense of ‘anticipation.’
As a veteran of the previous game, Seok-hoon’s mind instantly conjured up all sorts of ways to use the quick slots.
From focusing on a single tree to combine bladed weapons, to organically unlocking multiple trees to fight enemies with combinations.
‘Ah, why is it only 30 minutes!’
The demo time felt far too short to explore all the combinations.
A sense of urgency arose.
Guided by this feeling, Seok-hoon’s Alice traversed the forest on the beach and headed into a cave.
Immediately after, a gentle orchestral score began to play as the background changed.
[This is the ‘Hell of Heretics’.]
A stunningly beautiful flower garden.
A white temple.
And...
‘...A god?’
An out-of-place giant loomed there.
It captivated Seok-hoon.
Seeing the giant, Seok-hoon instantly associated it with a ‘god.’
The combination of this scenery, the words ‘Hell of Heretics,’ and that giant so clearly pointed in a single direction.
The emotions that surfaced were ‘unease’ and ‘grandeur.’
‘The atmosphere is insane...’
He continued playing, lost in idle appreciation.
The rest of the playthrough was like that.
As Seok-hoon made his way through the map, he had to remain aware of the ‘god’s’ presence, its head tilted as it looked down from a corner.
It was as annoying as the sound of a mosquito’s wings buzzing in your ear as you lie in bed on a summer night, and at the same time, it stirred a sense of anxiety.
A form that evoked displeasure because it did nothing, yet still asserted its presence.
There was a moment when that feeling was truly amplified.
15 minutes into the playtime.
*Thump, thump, thump!*
With the ground shaking, a red circle appeared on the floor.
A gamer’s intuition spoke.
‘Dodge.’
Right after he moved out of the circle.
*CRACK—!*
“Whoa!”
With the sound of shattering glass, the god’s fist suddenly slammed down.
Seok-hoon’s body jolted.
His pupils dilated.
After swallowing his surprise and composing his startled heart, recognition followed.
‘Ah!’
It’s something like the Cancer Giant!
That’s the chapter boss I’ll have to fight when I enter the boss room!
*Dun-dun-dun-dun—!*
The orchestral melody became more vivid in his ears.
The music, somewhat reminiscent of a hymn yet mixed with sharp noise that heightened the tension, made Seok-hoon’s heart race.
A grin spread across Seok-hoon’s face.
Another direction presented.
How would he use the ‘weapon evolution tree’ he already knew to fight that ‘god’?
Seok-hoon’s thoughts were already racing toward the end of the chapter.
However, the unfortunate truth was that he didn’t have much time.
[This is a trial of the god! Let’s fight back!]
27 minutes in.
By the time he reached the boss room, there were only three minutes left in the demo.
Seok-hoon managed to confirm two things.
‘The boss shrinks to human size. The red circle is one of the boss’s patterns.’
That was it.
Seok-hoon swallowed his disappointment and returned the game to the main menu.
‘Ah, this is driving me crazy. Seriously...!’
He wanted to play more.
If he could, he would have grabbed the computer and run off with it.
There were still so many things he hadn’t tried, so many things he wanted to try.
Despite being only 30 minutes, *Hellic 2* had presented countless directions.
His mind was racing with all these things, making him antsy.
He licked his lips and stood up from his seat.
It was at that moment.
“How was the game?”
Startled by the voice, Seok-hoon turned his head.
Standing there was a handsome man, much taller than him, with a somewhat stoic impression.
“Uh...”
“Ah, I’m Cheon Yeon-ho, the director of *Hellic*.”
He offered a handshake.
Seok-hoon was stunned.
‘Wow, this guy is the director?’
Then is ‘Seorimseorim’ an employee?
Could she be that blonde booth girl? Now that I think about it, she does look a bit like the picture.
The initial sense of unfamiliarity and surprise was quickly followed by delight and curiosity.
Seok-hoon awkwardly took his hand and spoke.
Once he started, the words came out like a flood.
That’s how much Seok-hoon had enjoyed *Hellic*.
“It was really fun! I really enjoyed the first game, too, you know? That’s why I came all the way from Seoul to play this...”
His words were a bit disjointed.
However, he could clearly feel that the person he was talking to was pleased to hear them.
This made Seok-hoon’s praise go on even longer, and at the end of it all, the words that burst out were:
“When is this coming out? Oh, will there be an easter egg this time, too?!”
The director’s eyes widened slightly.
Oops, did I go a little overboard?
Just as he thought that, the director let out a small laugh.
“The demo version you just played is scheduled for a free release on Steam in early December. As for the easter egg... I’ll have to say no comment.”
A huge smile spread across Seok-hoon’s face.
Early December.
It was just a demo version, but it wasn’t that far off.
“Th-thank you!”
“No, thank you. I’ll work hard to meet your expectations. Get home safely.”
Seok-hoon said his goodbyes and turned to leave.
At that moment, the tinfoil monster once again entered his field of vision.
“Ca-care to play a game...?”
The monster was once again stopping a passerby.
‘Aha!’
So that monster was a cosplay of the god!
With this belated realization, Seok-hoon smiled and turned on his phone camera.
*Click!*
The screen captured the person who had come to the booth with a mesmerized expression, and the tinfoil monster beside them.
Seok-hoon immediately turned and walked away.
‘I need to hurry up and write a review on the forums!’
His G-STAR experience ended on a very satisfying note.
***
Jo A-yun was incredible.
I don’t know why, but she was doing an amazing job of attracting people.
“Ca-care to play a game...?”
Jo A-yun would ask a passerby with a bashful smile.
And just like that, people would nod as if possessed and enter the booth.
It was more successful than we had initially anticipated.
The booth was bustling, with a short line forming, and the feedback from those who played was overwhelmingly positive.
‘This is promising.’
It was enough to have high hopes for the demo version’s success.
My fists clenched.
It was at that moment.
“...Sunbae, sunbae.”
Kim Hye-ji poked me in the side.
Wondering what was wrong, I looked to see her motioning with her chin toward Han Seo-rim.
“...Hm.”
Han Seo-rim, standing silently, overshadowed by Jo A-yun’s presence, had a rather grim expression on her face.
To put it one way, she had the air of a wounded beast.
Maybe that’s why there was no one around her.
“Sunbae, you should go do something...!”
Kim Hye-ji’s voice trembled.
It was clear that if left alone, she was going to explode.
I took a moment to compose myself, then approached her and asked cautiously.
“...Are you having a hard time?”
Han Seo-rim’s reply came after a three-second silence.
“Sunbae.”
“Yeah.”
“What am I doing here?”
“...”
“You said you needed me.”
“...”
“But it doesn’t look like I’m all that necessary, does it?”
“...”
Han Seo-rim’s gaze turned to me.
Her eyes were filled with a demonic energy.
Enough to send a chill down my spine.
“How much longer do I have to stand here like this?”
There are moments like this.
Moments when survival instincts produce an answer before conscious thought can.
“...Should we switch?”
*Thwack!*
Han Seo-rim’s wig was placed on my head.
“I’m going to take a break. You stand here.”
“...Okay.”
And with that, Han Seo-rim left.
Immediately after.
*Click—!*
The sound of a camera shutter echoed in my ear.
***
That evening, a G-STAR review was posted on an online community.
『[Review] WaitingForHellic2: My G-STAR Hellic 2 Demo Experience.
(Photo of the booth)
(Photo of the tinfoil monster)
Bottom line up front, I was very satisfied!
The booth was right next to Space Craft, so it was easy to find!
When you get close, the person in the tinfoil cosplay above guides you inside.
At first, I was confused about what that was, but after playing the game, I understood the cosplay lol.
It was really creative and fun.
·
·
·
...Now, moving on to the game, it was seriously fun.
When I first started, I was a little disappointed because it seemed so different from the first game, but I realized I was mistaken in less than a minute.
They deepened the weapon evolution system from the previous game, and the fact that you can understand it instantly without needing to study is the most commendable point.
Combat controls are good, the pace is fast, and there’s a story, but you can understand it without reading every line of dialogue (but I’m not really a story person, so it didn’t grab my interest that much. It just helped me understand the world better?)
The only downside: The demo time is super short.
It’s obvious that if you dig into it, a single run could take several hours, so the short demo time was driving me crazy.
Seriously, if they told me to wait a few years like this, I would’ve wanted to hang myself...
The good news is that the demo version I played is coming out in early December.
I’m just desperately waiting for that to come out.
That’s it for the review, the rest is just rambling.
p.s. Besides the tinfoil monster, there was a booth girl cosplaying the main character, and she was very beautiful.
I think she might be one of the developers.』
Seok-hoon’s post quickly received a barrage of upvotes and made it to the main page.
It was the result of the small *Hellic* fandom that frequented the community fanning the flames.
『
┕LordofBlood_Bangbae: It was pretty fun. I went today too.
┕CrystalClearT: lol what is that tinfoil monster?
┕SweetBelfGuy38: I hear,,,it has,,,deeper,,,elements,,,than the first game,,,I'm looking forward to it,,,^^
┕ImmaBigSwordsman: I'm going tomorrow!!! Tomorrow!!! Ah!!! I'm so excited!!!
┕zZone_Hansu: I'll have to play the demo when it comes out. G-STAR is too far since I live in Gangwon-do...』
The few users who had already been to G-STAR, those who were planning to go, and most of the users who were already favorable toward *Hellic* showed their blatant anticipation for *Hellic 2*.
With the news of the demo version’s release, at least within this community, the topic of ‘*Hellic 2*’ became as much of a hot topic as ‘*Space Craft 2*’.
And when a topic gets that much attention, incidents are bound to happen.
『(Chat) FlowerJaeheeCherryLips: Hey WaitingForHellic2...
I went to G-STAR today too, you know? But...
(Photo of Yeon-ho wearing the blonde wig, trying to attract visitors)
This is your ‘beautiful woman’...?
Could it be...?
┕WaitingForHellic2: nO nOnOnoNOnoNO
┕LordofBlood_Bangbae: Gay
┕CrystalClearT: Homo
┕S2PoppyS2: ...^^』
A community rife with slander and propaganda.
The weak do not survive.
Anyway, that was that.
“Seorimseorim! Look over here for a second!”
Using the community buzz as kindling, the second day of *Hellic 2* became incomparably busier than the first.
The demo release.