Elf Kingdom: Game of the World Tree

Chapter 18: Chapter 18 Game Review (Request for Recommendation Tickets!)

Editor: Henyee Translations

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After the half-day inner test of “Elf Kingdom,” the first game review was published online with texts and videos. The publisher was the veteran streamer Little Mu, and his review was quickly shared innumerable times…

When Eve discovered this lengthy article, it was already a day later on Blue Star, and at this moment, the post had already surpassed a million clicks, with comments breaking into five figures.

Eve did recognize Little Mu. In the previous life, Eve had also watched many of his videos, but this time, in order to be first, Little Mu had clearly abandoned his usual form of video commentary.

Eve didn’t hesitate, but rather, with great interest, clicked it open:

“Hello everyone, I’m the streamer Little Mu. I bet recently, your social media has been flooded by a newly released virtual reality game. Yes, I’m talking about the fantasy masterpiece that claims to use ‘mind acceleration technology’ and perfectly mimics reality—’Elf Kingdom’!”

...

“Luckily, this time I was also selected by the game officials to become one of the 300 inner test players. This time, I won’t discuss game strategies, as there are many strategy players selected for the inner test, and their guides should be released soon. I just want to talk about my personal experience with this masterpiece.”

“Yes, masterpiece. This truly is a masterpiece! A cross-century masterpiece!”

“I think most people must have been shocked by the promotional video of this game a while ago online, and doubted whether the game could indeed achieve such effects. Well, here, I want to say—every word in the game’s promotional video is true!”

“First and foremost, there’s the mind acceleration technology that everyone is most curious about. Before the game, I was also dubious about its authenticity, but after entering the game, I found out it was real.”

“Although only half a day has passed since the game opened for the inner test, in the game, our real experience is that we have already spent an entire day! To prove this, I’ve uploaded a 12-hour-long recording from the game onto the video site, here’s the link…”

“Friends planning to stream this game might be disappointed because everything in the game appears in quadruple speed in reality due to the presence of mind acceleration; the streaming effect is thus very poor. This point, my live audience can attest to. Below is a screenshot of the barrage from the live stream at that time…”

“I don’t know what technology the officials used, but the facts prove that they did extend the game time in a certain sense. By this alone, other online games can never surpass it!”

“And about the graphics, after experiencing the game I want to say, discussing graphics with respect to this game would be an insult!”

“The game graphics of ‘Elf Kingdom’ can no longer be described by mere high quality. As the propaganda says, it has really achieved ‘the most realistic,’ ‘the most profound!’ It’s truly immersive! Moreover, the scenery in the game is exceptionally magnificent, each screenshot far surpasses most wallpapers on the market.”

“Friends who like scenery can take a look. I’ve specially captured a video of the primeval forest scenery in the game for everyone to experience. It’s far superior to Jiuzhai, and Shennong streams! Here’s the link…”

“Besides, you guys should know my nickname, during this time in the game, I’ve always been looking for bugs, but facts have proven that even I couldn’t pick out the slightest fault.”

“Furthermore, you know that although there are more and more virtual reality games, and more are trying to incorporate gravity and perception, most of them are not perfect—if not rough—and have poor realism…”

“But ‘Elf Kingdom’ is different, the game’s gravity engine and sensual experience are definitely the most advanced in the industry, with nothing out of place. If I didn’t clearly know I was logging into a game, I would really think I traveled to another world!”

“As for the game content… Currently, it seems like building a town belonging to the elves, as the main script is the revival of the Elf Clan. I strongly suspect this will be the novice village during the public test…”

“I have to say, the officials’ way of letting players participate in game construction is indeed clever. It can be predicted that as the plot progresses, the historical sense of depth will become increasingly strong.”

“Due to the real perception, the experience of magic and sword skills is unbelievably realistic, and the sense of accomplishment in leveling up is unprecedentedly wonderful. Personally, I’m not very keen on grinding and upgrading, but this game has rekindled my interest! Haha, although in the game, I’ve only been cutting down trees for a day…”

“However, none of this is what surprises me the most. What surprises me the most is the NPC system of this game!”

“So far, I’ve only seen two NPCs in the game. One is a goddess named Eve Yggdrasil. I have to say, this is the best model of a character I’ve ever seen, my absolute favorite. Here are some images…”

“Isn’t she beautiful? Isn’t she awesome? Bow down, mortals!”

“She’s the embodiment of the World Tree and only appears at character creation to randomly give players two initial skills. What skills you draw depends on your luck. Other intelligence is temporarily insufficient, but according to the game’s main storyline, players are tasked with helping the Goddess Eve to rebuild the Elf Clan.”

“The current goddess is very weak but allegedly will have an incarnation after recovering strength. Players can look forward to interacting with the goddess in the future…”

“And the other is the goddess’s believer, the Natural Saintess Alice Wind, an innocent and lovely Elf Lady. The initial tasks for players primarily revolve around her. Here are character screenshots…”

“Apart from these two NPCs, it’s said there’s also an Oak Guardian, but I couldn’t find him. People say they’ve seen him on the edge of the safe zone, seemingly exploring something. I’ve heard he’s quite mighty. I suspect this NPC is likely related to the plot after level 11…”

“Next, I’ll detail the NPC system.”

“If you compare the NPCs in this game to those in other games, I think you’ll miss out on a lot of fun. The NPCs in ‘Elf Kingdom’ are absolutely the most intelligent AI I’ve ever seen! Enough to pass off as real!”

“This doesn’t just show in NPC expressions or language mannerisms but also in interactions with players. If they had the green name, you’d even think they were players! Here’s a video…”

“This is a video of our interaction with the NPCs upon first meeting. As you can see, when teased by players, NPC reactions are quite lively, even showing states like shyness or anger…”

“Initially, many of us communicated with NPCs using the old set concepts, summarizing that although reckless behavior persisted, completing tasks well could still curry favor with the NPCs. However, this is a common issue with NPCs in major virtual online games currently on the market.”

“But in fact, all the players who held this view were all dropped in favorability by the NPCs in ‘Elf Kingdom.'”

“If my analysis is correct, the officials might have developed independent emotion systems and thinking systems for the NPCs, possibly with memory functions. Every action you take toward the NPCs will get a human-like response, and every player who has interacted with them will be remembered by the NPCs. For example, the player who teased the NPC never got a good expression again…”

“Only by truly immersing yourself in the game and communicating equally with the NPCs will you gain their favor.”

“I think… This is also the intention of the officials. If there were only realistic graphics and perception, then at most, ‘Elf Kingdom’ is a great work with an overwhelming sense of substitution and an excellent experience. But once you add a lifelike NPC system, the entire game experience is sublimated again…”

“It’s no longer a great work but a masterpiece!”

“For me, it feels like this is not just a game but a real world full of fantasy and mystery!”

“Yes, this is a game that reaches the pinnacle of the virtual online gaming pursuit, which is to paint a real world for players! Unprecedented immersion!”

“Trust me, in this game, you will have an unprecedented experience not found in other games and embark on a new life journey!”

“I won’t say much more, it’s daybreak in the game, I’m off to cut trees!”

After finishing reading this not-so-long review, Eve felt enlightened:

“No wonder players have been taking the game more seriously lately… So that’s why.”

Then she looked at the comments below.

Unsurprisingly, the review once again ignited public opinion, attracting countless players’ attention, and what was most discussed in the comments was when “Elf Kingdom” would open for public testing.

Seeing this, Eve knew that one of her objectives had been achieved:

“From now on, no shortage of players.”

But thinking about the recent consumption since the player arrivals, Eve sighed helplessly:

“Still underestimated the difficulty of connecting the two worlds, and in just less than a week, I’ve consumed around 0.3 divine power, while the output from investing in players is far from enough…”

“Alas, I don’t know when this group of compatriots will let me turn a profit…”

Thinking of her divine power which was less than 11 points, Eve felt her heart was bleeding.

“When can I manage to accumulate 100 points…”

And just as Eve sighed, she suddenly heard mumbling prayers coming again, ethereal.

Eve identified that it came from her enlightened silver mid-rank Oak Guardian—Berserker.

At this moment, his emotions seemed to carry a hint of excitement.

Berserker? Could it be he discovered something?

Eve’s heart was stirred.

These days, after Berserker cleaned threats within a ten-kilometer range, Eve ordered him to start exploring regions beyond the ten kilometers.

Although Eve inherited the heritage of the former World Tree and part of its memories, those memories were incomplete, and Eve’s understanding of the Elf Forest was not comprehensive.

Plus, after a divine war, time had quietly slipped by millennia. The present-day Elf Forest had long been unrecognizable, urgently needing further exploration.

And Eve, due to her weak state, could not examine the surroundings personally.

Therefore, until human players grew stronger, the Oak Guardian Berserker became the best choice for exploration.

Thinking of this, Eve immediately contacted through the faith channel and cast her consciousness over…

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