The age-old Chinese RPG The Bustling World actually covers all genres, from city building to life simulators

It’s awfully early in the year to be busy, but I can’t get enough of the busy streets of the age-old “Chinese-style” RPG The Bustling World. The latest trailer is a series of sweeping yet intimate, colorful city cross-sections, showing dozens of NPCs selling fish, shaking hands on balconies, carrying barrels on their shoulders, dancing with fans, perfecting their feng shui, and various other activities that are supposedly part of full NPC life simulations . It’s like analyzing a Hitman level from above, except that all these people have evolving relationships and sleep patterns and can track you down if you murder any of their relatives. I just want to play Where’s Wally.

This is a sampling of the smallest details of the game. In its most wide-ranging version, The Bustling World threatens to become a 4X strategy game: you can take command of factions, command armies, design houses, build your own cities and organize production chains in – my God, it looks like they’re trying to make it also factory SIM card? “Crowded” is certainly the right word. “Cracking” would be more appropriate. “Breaking” seems possible. It’s an interspecies pudding of terrifying, perhaps unreasonable scale. The trailer proudly advertises itself as real-time and in-engine, but I don’t fully believe they’ll pull it all off.

A vivid world – Steam page here – is the work of Chinese developers FireWo Games and Lightning Games publishing house. There doesn’t seem to be a basic plot. Instead, you take on the role of a nameless Everyperson who can either remain a nameless Everyperson or evolve into a true MC with aspirations spanning the globe.

“Unlimited possibilities await us in this ancient world,” we read in the press release. “You can choose a tranquil life – work, trade and raise a family. Alternatively, you can satisfy your insatiable desires for wealth, status and military power. Embark on daring journeys, explore, adventure, solve mysteries, fight bandits and recruit heroes. Or strive for the pinnacle of power through gaining influence, city planning, policy formulation, diplomatic efforts and territorial expansion.

The game promises “dozens of diverse maps, from peaceful villages to strategic border fortresses” and several special locations that combine “historical monuments and mythology – such as Xiaoxitian and the Underworld.” There is a building system with “over 2,000 authentic components, allowing players to design and decorate with ancient Chinese furniture, tools and artwork”, as well as a farming component with “over 60 varieties of typical plants from ancient times”, each of which requires a specific type of soil and temperature.

You can also form bonds with “over 30 creatures” by training them to become mounts and selectively breeding them. But maybe you’d rather start a metallurgical company, hire employees, open branches and do promotions while sabotaging competing companies at night. Or maybe you prefer to be a diplomat. Or a black market dealer with a hook. Or a wandering martial artist. Or a general with his own chariot and retinue of catapults. Or a voracious combination of all these things.

I’m deeply suspicious that all of this will work as promised, especially “in a world where every choice affects the fabric of the game” and NPCs “driven by their unique character traits and family ties dynamically shape the cityscape based on player interactions” – they are apparently able to build their own homes and run their own businesses, and they also engage in more personal behaviors such as escaping war zones and avenging slain loved ones. That’s a lot of causes and effects that can be combined.

The Bustling World doesn’t have a release date yet. I’m not sure how long the game has been in development, but I feel like it should be a ready-when-ready gig like Hooded Horse likes to bankroll, or maybe even a Caves of Qud-style marathon with over a decade . It’s not advertised as an early access game and I haven’t been able to discover how gigantic FireWo games are. I hope they have resources and people available.

At least in trailer form, The Bustling World is a feast for the eyes and synapses, a lavish historical ant farm where every NPC looks like they’re worth following. What I like most about this movie is the children – will they eventually grow up to be adults? This seems consistent with the premise – everyone bounces around in the same carefree gait, whether they’re taking part in a lion dance or stomping on fish entrails on the waterfront. Ah, my sweet summer children. You’re going to be in a lot of trouble when I discover my textile manufacturing empire.

A tiny update on FireWo: reader Eva Zetkova launched a gadget that translates the studio’s Chinese language About the website (which has been updated at least in 2023) and was sent an email stating that “the R&D team size is approximately 30 people.” According to The Bustling World’s, reader Zecknaal adds this canceled Kickstarter pagethe original creators of the game are a married couple and have been working on it since 2019.