High Hopes, Low Expectations

These are the opinions of the writer meant to highlight her own experiences and start a discussion prior to the release of the new game this fall. Gameplay enjoyment and experience may vary from player to player, and all opinions are valid. If you disagree, or agree, feel free to leave a comment and tell us why!

It’s been just about a year since BTS WORLD was launched last June, and the reaction from the fandom has been mixed. However, Netmarble recently announced on May 13th that the next BTS game - this one based on the Bangtan Universe (BU) stories - will be released sometime in the third quarter of 2020.

Before we’re able to explore this new game by BTS, let’s look back over the game we already have, both its successes and failings and talk about what we’d like to see in the upcoming game.

To keep this simple, we’ll be looking at three different angles for both of these games: visuals, story, and gameplay.

Let’s start with BTS WORLD.

Visuals

In the beginning, there were relatively frequent videos showing a cute, if somewhat idealized and stereotyped, version of the boys ARMY knows and loves. These videos ranged from staged awkward silences to a birthday party gone wrong, and they were admittedly a delight to see.

However, time goes on, and cute videos are replaced with somewhat awkward still frames, highlighting the visual novel-esque nature of the game. In the main story, the visuals have slowly declined, until the cringe-worthy dialogue and poses prompt players to simply double-tap past the skits to get to the next playable level.

That said, clips were taken from the Another Story visuals to incorporate into the BTS WORLD MV/Trailer, and it’s easy to see why. The visuals are nothing short of cinematic, and comparing the Another Story chapters to the latest sections in the main storyline only serve to highlight how much the quality has fallen.

Overall, I would have to rate the visuals below average. Something I’d never thought I’d say in regards to something with BTS’ brand on it.

Story

Mashable called this game “basically fanfiction.” Writer Natalie Flores from Paste Magazine captured my own experience with the story fairly well when she summarized “While I want to be a professional manager, I’m forced to flirt with the band members or be flirted with more often than I’d like...I would’ve appreciated more dialogue options; sometimes, I felt like my only options were flirty or mean…”

Admittedly, this could be exactly what some fans wanted, but it’s very narrow of a path. As a gamer, I am something of a completionist. If viable, I enjoy taking every single route possible, trying to achieve every possible ending and outcome. So one can imagine my disappointment upon the discovery that the choices made by the “manager” affect the world, not at all. The most change one can expect is a slightly different reply in a text chat or a reduced “affinity” bonus reward for successfully having a conversation.

This ties into a slight controversy that BTS WORLD faced early into its release. Even though updates have remedied this, female pronouns were originally all that were available to players - an option was and still is not given. Updates have changed the pronouns from the feminine to the neutral, but the strange unprofessionalism remains the same.

With the lack of choice within the game, there comes a lack of stakes. A lack of stakes brings a potential loss of interest and investment.

In Another Story, there is a sizable improvement. There, the members undergo more feasible character arcs alongside loveable side characters unique to each story, facing challenges that range from as mundane as pushing a wheelbarrow around a farm to as heart-pounding as a kidnapping mystery. Within Another Story we’re also given far more video clips to help move along the stories, showcasing oftentimes brilliant acting and cinematography that wouldn’t be out of place in a kdrama.

Gameplay

The aforementioned concept of lack of choice truly could summarize the entirety of the app’s gameplay. To be perfectly honest, the most interactive part of the game is the style section, where you can dress up the seven members with skins you have earned while playing the game… or that you have bought in the shop.

Speaking of the shop, this game is riddled with microtransactions. Yes, you can play the game without spending a cent, but it makes for a slow grind and limited options, often leaving less financially-inclined players trapped behind the wall of an impossible level.

On one hand, players who dedicatedly grind their way through the repetitive math and luck-based levels are rewarded with unique video clips and videos of the members of the biggest boyband in the world. On the other, said video clips have become few and far between as it’s clear the creators of the game are running out of unused videos made by this world-class band, who are understandably far too busy to dedicate much more time to a mobile app - not when there were albums to be made, tours to be had, and plagues to avoid.

To be perfectly frank, this game best resembles a visual novel - and not one that’s entirely well written.

But enough of that, let’s move on to examining what we know and what we hope of the upcoming BU game.

“When all our trials seem to be over, despair always awaits us. A new contract, and fate shrouded in pitch darkness. Who is to be saved? Where is the map of the soul to open the future?”

That’s the narration on the concept art trailer that dropped last August.