When people learned that the game was a sandbox game, they were shocked. Who would dare to create a sandbox game at a time when gaming competition was fierce? With numerous new high-graphics games entering the market, why would someone opt for a sandbox game?
And who would even play a sandbox game at this point?
Almost nobody; the era of sandbox games seemed long gone. There were hardly any players interested in sandbox games anymore.
Despite people's disappointment and skepticism, some still decided to give it a try, intrigued by the developer who had previously surprised them with two successful games.
However, the game didn't attract much interest due to its price. Who would be willing to pay $10 for a sandbox game?
Only Leo's most loyal fans gave it a shot. Even they didn't hold high hopes for the game.
Among those trying out the game, most were mobile players. Leo's previous game had primarily been for mobile, so his player base consisted mostly of mobile gamers.
Only a small number of PC players noticed the game's PC release and decided to try it out.
Ria, a small streamer on I Tube with only a few thousand followers, mainly streamed PC games. Despite her high stream quality, she struggled to increase her follower count, feeling as though she was shadow-banned from the site and not being recommended to new viewers.
During one of her livestreams, she noticed a comment that caught her attention.
"Heh, Ria, that new developer Leo just released a new game, but it's a sandbox type."
Ria was surprised by the comment. While it wasn't shocking that the developer had released another game so quickly, the fact that it was a sandbox game was unexpected. She had played Leo's previous games and enjoyed them, making her a fan of the developer. However, she hadn't anticipated a sandbox game from him.
"Really? Why would he make a sandbox game when his other games were successful?" she pondered aloud in response to the comment. Typically, only developers with limited time and budget ventured into sandbox games, as they were relatively easier to create.
Curious, she checked the game on her mobile phone and found something unexpected. There were two versions available – a mobile version priced at $10 and a PC version priced at $30.
She hadn't realized the game was released for PC as well. Being a PC gamer herself, she was pleased to see the PC version but remained uncertain about purchasing it due to its sandbox nature.
"Okay, so the game is also available on PC. I'll give it a try today; who knows, maybe it's good?" she said, though she wasn't entirely convinced. She only decided to play it because she hadn't chosen a game for her livestream yet and wanted to see if it truly was as bad as she suspected.
There was some disagreement in the comments, but Ria had already purchased and downloaded the game on her PC.
Since it was a pixel art game, the file size wasn't very large, especially for a PC game.
Within moments, the game finished downloading, and Ria launched it.
Upon opening the game, an interface appeared.
In the center were five prominent options, flanked by two smaller buttons.
The main options were Single-player, multiplayer (with a 'coming soon' sign beside it), Minecraft Realms, Options, and Quit.
Ria was surprised by the simplicity of the interface but was intrigued nonetheless.
Driven by curiosity, she clicked on the single-player mode. Due to limited options, she created a normal world with normal difficulty.
After naming the world, she initiated its creation, watching as it generated.
1...2...20...80...100
After a brief wait, the world finished rendering, revealing a square-shaped world with even the sun being square.
She could see various elements like trees, flowers, ground, grass, and distant creatures.
Unsure of what to do, she left-clicked her mouse, causing the character's hand to move. Pointing the cursor at the ground, she clicked the left button, resulting in cracks appearing on the surface.
Holding the mouse button longer, she broke the block, which then appeared in her hand. Clicking the left button again caused the character to continue digging.
Switching to the right button, she placed the block on the ground, noting the green surface of the dirt.
Confused, she muttered, "Is this a Lego game? Do I have to build Lego in the game?" Despite her uncertainty, she enjoyed the creativity reminiscent of playing with Lego.
She began clearing the ground and building a crude house with dirt.
As she worked, the screen darkened, plunging the game into darkness.
Realizing this, Ria heard unsettling sounds around her and noticed creatures approaching.
"What in the world! A zombie? Is this a horror game? And what's that? A bone?" she exclaimed.
Panicking, she fled until her health depleted, resulting in her demise.
"Then you died" appeared on the screen.
Additionally, she noticed tips displayed:
-Build a house to stay safe from zombies at night.
It dawned on her that she had initially started constructing a house but had forgotten while fleeing in the game.
She glanced at her livestream comments only to find herself mocked by the crowd.
"Lol, Ria is hilarious; she died in a Lego game."
"Haha, I thought she had built that house for some purpose, but boy was I wrong."
"Was her brain even working properly while playing the game?"
Unsatisfied after dying in the sandbox game and seeing such mocking comments, she clicked the respawn button and re-entered the game.
"Where the hell is my house? Screw this." She couldn't see the house she had previously built. While cursing, she dug up a few blocks of dirt, creating a hole in the ground, then jumped into it and blocked the top with a block.
"This should keep me safe. Right?" She observed her dark screen. "Now what?" There was nothing to do when your whole screen was dark.
She then read the comments while waiting.
"Lol, even though it's a sandbox, it's kind of realistic in some parts."
"Ria, if we can build a house, we should be able to make a bed, right?"
"Haha, this game is fun."
"It's been a few minutes; it should be safe to climb up."
Reading that, she broke the dirt, and fortunately, she could see the sky getting brighter and brighter.
After climbing out of the hole, she saw many zombies and skeletons burning up.
She went to the nearest tree and started breaking the middle block.
When the block got collected in her inventory, a pop-up appeared.
"A new recipe is unlocked."
"But what recipe? It also appeared when I was collecting those flowers. How do I unlock a recipe? And why is the tree still standing after I had broken it from the middle?" Everything was so strange in the game. She felt confused.
She read the game controls and clicked the E button.
After that, her inventory opened up. According to the recipe, she ended up making a crafting table with one log.
She then placed the crafting table on the ground and opened it. Afterward, she opened the recipe guide and saw various items.
She started clicking on each one, remembering the required materials to make them.
After seeing the wide variety of items to make and the possibilities they offered, she was completely surprised.
As she played, the reactions of her viewers changed time and time again. People were excited to see the different variety of things in the game.
"The game is fun. It's a whole world."
"I am going to download the game. It seems fun."
Half an hour ago, if someone had said that, these people would have been so hyped for a sandbox game, nobody could believe it.
But now, nobody could refute it.
Though these arrogant fellows still haven't seen the true fun of the game.