Here are the top 10 most anticipated games of 2018 based on Chinese gamer votes on 17173.com. While some of these amazing games are already out in the States, others will not be available to American players for a while yet.
10. Need For Speed: Online
Called Need for Speed: Edge out side of China, this is a free-to-play MMO racing game that’s currently being developed by EA Spearhead (formerly EA Korea). Known as 极品飞车 in Chinese, the Need for Speed gaming franchise has been around for more than 20 years, and is now the number one racing game in the world. This new MMO is the only free-to-play racing game that runs on Frostbite 3 game engine. It includes more than 300 top car brands such as Lamborghini, and the high quality graphics provides players with an exciting and realistic racing experience.
9. Conqueror’s Blade
Developed by NetEase, this is their flagship product in 2017. Conqueror’s Blade is an innovative strategy RPG that takes place in magnificent ancient battlegrounds across Eastern and Western civilizations. Other than being a gorgeous game, it has an innovative system which allows players to enjoy single player combat as well as control whole armies. As a general, the player battles others to conquer territories in the open world sandbox. With galloping horses and supposedly accurate historical weapons, this game allows you to step into an ancient world and experience the excitement of warfare.
8. Lost Ark
In this 3D fantasy MMORPG, you explore an exciting world as you search for the lost ark. The game adapts a fast paced action play style with a non-targeting combat system. Just think Diablo. Only it’s much prettier than Diablo because it’s developed by Koreans.
7. Age of Wushu 2
The Chinese name of the game is 九阴真经. In the novels by Jin Yong , 九阴真经 is the name of the epic super secret martial arts text that contains techniques which basically makes you unbeatable if you study them, thus making it a treasure that is highly sought after. If you don’t know who Jin Yong is, he’s only the most respected writer in China who’s series of historic fiction novels that takes place in the martial arts world led to the creation of countless tv shows and games. Think George R. R. Martin only with like 10 separate series on par with Game of Thrones. This game is a remake of the popular Age of Wushu game that’s powered by Unreal Engine 4. Like the original game, it’s based heavily on the culture and world of martial arts as described in novels by Jin Yong and similar authors of the genera. The sandbox creates a truly independent and free world for the player to explore. With no quest system to limit your options, both players and NPCs are free to do what ever they want in this world, without the restraints of traditional games such as game plot, and tedious systems. The point here is an immersive interactive experience in a fantasy world that Chinese players are familiar with. As the owner of all of Jin Yong’s books, I’m so excited to be able to dive into Wuxia world myself. This is one of those games that Chinese players definitely get a lot more out of than gamers who don’t know the lore.
6. Lineage Eternal
This is the newest MMORPG from the Korean developer NCSOFT, makers of such games as Guild Wars. As the third installment of the Lineage series, the story continues 70 years after the inception, what ever that means. I didn’t play the first 2 games so I don’t really know, but what’s cool here is each hero in your party has unique skills to be used based on the situation. So as you explore the dynamic dungeons, you would play through it using different characters, and experience different battle scenarios.
5. Legend of the Ancient Sword Online
This is the online version of the famous Legend of the Ancient Sword desktop game. Like Age of Wushu, this is another MMORPG that’s based in the ancient Chinese martial arts world. Unlike Age of Wushu, this game is pay to play based on time spent in game. The developers of the game Shanghai Zhu Long (上海烛龙) showed up at E32017, which means there’s a possibility that it’ll be available in the States in the near future.
4. MU: Legend
MU: Legend is another MMORPG. It’s continues the same kind of hack and slash action as its predecessors under the same franchise. The range you can control your character is further than in MU: Miracle, and the design is appropriately darker. There’s PvP, PvE, lots of skill points, equipment, and such that allows for really focused builds.
3. Black Desert
In this fantasy MMORPG, you have action based combat that requires you manually aim your attacks. There’s also a dynamic weather system, not just day and night, but things like typhoones and fog influence your gameplay and can be utilized to your advantage. You also have mounts you have to take care of like a real pet, or they’ll get killed.
2. 逆水寒 Justice Online/Treacherous Waters
逆水寒, another WuXia MMORPG. The English name is Justice Online, or Treacherous Waters. This game is based on 温瑞安(wēn ruì’ān)’s famous novel 《四大名捕之逆水寒》(Sì dàmíng bǔ zhī nìshuǐ hán). The story takes place during the end of the Northern Song dynasty, where a huge manhunt led to the involvement of jianghu heros, turmoil in the imperial court, and vengeance among martial sects. The emotional content and details of life during the Northern Song Dynasty creates a compellingly immersive interactive story world.
And the most highly anticipated game in China in 2018 is…
1. Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds
No surprise here. This third person shooter game is developed by the Korean company PUBG Corp. Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds is considered a breakthrough in competitive strategy gaming. It’s realistic environment design went viral on Chinese social media, and it brings about a deeply immersive experience that’s hugely popular among players. Other than winning G-STAR’s highest presidential award along with 5 other awards, this game also broke 7 Guinness World Records. Each round of the game hosts 100 players. Players parachute onto a deserted island, landing in a random location. Starting off empty handed, you must find weapons, transportation, and items, and fight others among all kinds of different terrains. As time passes, safe zones will continue to change, danger lurks in every corner. Thus, to achieve victory, you must utilize strategy as well as good aim to beat out the other 99 competitors. That sounds amazing. Even though I tend not to be a huge fan of 3rd person shooters, this is one game that I would really want to play too. I’ll probably not last too long though…
And that’s it for 2018’s top 10 most anticipated games in China. Were you surprised by some of the results? Were you excited to find out about certain games that haven’t made it to the States yet? Share your thoughts on the comments below.
