I logged into the game the moment it updated, eager to clear the new DLC, "Pearl of Jiuquan," for my favorite pixel-art city-building game.
My conclusion: The game is great, but the little monsters are a bit annoying.
The early game is brutally difficult!
Wandering bandits periodically come to steal supplies.
Elite monsters spawn at random and pick fights.
Some bandits can't be recruited and are always shouting for reinforcements.
And some NPCs speak a language I can't understand.
What are they even babbling about? Just keep grinding.
At last, I built a lovely, sturdy city in Liangzhou. New elite characters flocked to it every day.
One day, a little golden-glowing figure wandered into my territory.
The System told me that if I placed him in the center of my city, I could gain all sorts of buffs and unlock new areas.
So that's what I did.
My farmland kept expanding.
My pea-soldier army kept growing.
My progress in developing the wilderness kept climbing.
Then, at last, the evil villain came to provoke me.
A speech bubble appeared above his head: "I shall come and punish you, traitor who holds the Son of Heaven hostage!"
Me: "...Huh? Who's the traitor?"
Wait, wasn't I playing an ordinary city-building game?
Zhao You felt that his luck had truly hit rock bottom.
The Central Plains had fallen into chaos. Rebels had seized the capital, and the last capable minister had been defeated at the river and died coughing up blood. The rest were all ambitious schemers who wanted to use him as a puppet emperor.
He'd heard that someone had united the Qiang tribes, kept the Xianbei in check, and was recruiting soldiers and building a city from scratch. They were even said to have the power to turn stones into gold and beans into soldiers. Finally, he mustered the courage to flee to them.
Then someone picked him up and put him inside a transparent, sparkling dome.
That person said, "Look! A mascot!"
Zhao You: I give up... Can I take back my decision to seek refuge here?
But wasn't the unification of Huaxia and the submission of the Four Barbarians what everyone wanted to see?
They all said it was a miracle, a journey from the frontier to the heart of the empire.
(*) Stockpiling, city building, and conquest.
(*) Become emperor: see your way through to the end of city management, and you'll change dynasties.
(*) If you ask me, the protagonist has maxed-out obliviousness and is a total oddball.
Theme: To be determined
