Bilibili World (hereinafter referred to as BW) 2025, held last weekend, saw an astonishing 400,000 attendees over three days.
According to the seventh national census data, the average permanent population of counties is 399,000.
In other words, as the host venue for BW, the National Exhibition and Convention Center welcomed nearly as many visitors in three days as the entire population of a county. What was once a niche anime convention has quietly grown into Asia's largest ACGN comprehensive expo—even if you haven't been there in person, you've surely felt the overwhelming crowd density from pictures circulating online.
The massive foot traffic undoubtedly makes BW an important platform for game exhibitors to promote their products. Thus, you can see popular domestic games like Genshin Impact, Arknights, and Delta Force at BW. On the other hand, overseas titles like Brown Dust 2 and Borderlands 4 are also keeping pace, setting up eye-catching booths.
But besides these well-known titles, BW also set up a separate section for indie games in one corner of the venue.
Yes, this BW featured the largest indie game section ever, with over 60 indie games participating.
Some friends might not know that we at 3DM have recently started publishing games under the label 3DMGAMES. So, this time, we brought our published title, Tokyo Underground Killer, to the indie game section to join in the fun.
Although the indie game section wasn't as popular as other hot game areas, players visiting the 3DMGAMES booth to try out the game were still endless. Firstly, our booth was located roadside, giving us a slight geographical advantage; secondly, the trailer showcasing Tokyo Underground Killer's high-speed slashing was indeed thrilling, attracting many visitors to stop and watch. Eventually, they decided to sit down and try it themselves.
Most importantly, besides casual passersby, many 3DM fans learned that we had a booth at BW and specially came offline to "catch the Three Big Moms." After trying the game, they shared many wonderful memories associated with 3DM. Many of these fans didn't expect that "Three Big Moms," who accompanied them along the way, would start publishing games, and they expressed their intention to buy a copy of Tokyo Underground Killer to support us. The liveliness of our booth greatly exceeded my expectations.
Freebies given to players
I must admit, although I've long known that Tokyo Underground Killer was published by our company, I hadn't personally tried it until now. So, taking advantage of my visit to BW, I headed to our booth and spent some time getting hands-on with the game.
Next up is the part where I sing our own praises.
Just by watching trailers, you can roughly understand the genre of Tokyo Underground Killer—it's an ultra-fast action game similar to DOOM. However, unlike DOOM's gun-blazing approach, Tokyo Underground Killer focuses on close-quarters melee combat with cold weapons, emphasizing dodging, weaving, and visceral slashes. In terms of gameplay and style, Tokyo Underground Killer clearly differentiates itself from typical ultra-fast games.
Ultra-fast games typically grant players generous character capabilities, but often impose limitations elsewhere to ensure the gameplay doesn't devolve into a mindless gore fest.
For instance, an enemy's shield can only be broken by specific attacks, their assaults can only be dodged with particular moves, or in terms of resource loops, you must kill monsters in a specific way to recover more health and ammo. In other words, the "problem" and the "solution" are tightly bound together.
These tightly interconnected counter mechanisms naturally add strategic depth to the game while keeping it enjoyable, but they inevitably introduce a slight sense of lecturing, making players feel like they're dancing in shackles—follow the rules set by the game, and you'll glide through effortlessly; but if you try to break free and follow your own whims, you'll suffer considerably.
At higher difficulties, player resource redundancy is significantly reduced—thus, the benefits provided by mechanics become crucial. At this point, some levels may even require memorization to play smoothly.
In Tokyo Underground Killer, such counter mechanics naturally exist but are designed to be less rigid. Interactions between player and enemy aren't strictly one-to-one; there are multiple solutions to the same problem.
As a result, players have greater freedom to act according to their own ideas.
To achieve this "free-flowing" gameplay experience, Tokyo Underground Killer first provides players with character performance that is not just sufficient, but even overflowing.
In the setting, the player-controlled protagonist "Kobayashi" is a trained vampire hunter, proficient not only in swordsmanship but also agile, skilled with firearms, and capable of using vampire superpowers. Precise dodging, parrying, shooting, multi-stage dashes, skill trees, various flashy Blood Skills... most mechanisms that might appear in action games can be found in Tokyo Underground Killer.
But players don't need to worry about the learning curve for combat. Thanks to the loosely coupled counter mechanics, mastering just a few abilities is enough to handle all enemies.
For example, when facing enemies with shields that resist basic attacks, you can use the Blood Skill "Blood Fist" specifically designed to counter this mechanism, breaking the shield in one hit; you can also pull out your gun and shoot, showing these stubborn folks who still use cold weapons in the cyberpunk era what "times have changed" means; or you can simply overpower them with brute force, triggering bullet time via precise dodges or parries, and relentlessly slash through the shield with basic attacks.
For example, when facing ranged attacks, you can time your moves perfectly to parry bullets with your katana and send them back at the enemy; you can also wildly spam basic attacks to intercept projectiles; or activate the Blood Skill "Blood Shield," which slows down time for enemies and projectiles within a large area.
Compared to tightly interlocked counter logic, this "multiple solutions to one problem" experience ensures that combat in Tokyo Underground Killer is neither too mindless nor lacking in freedom. There are no levels that require specific abilities to pass—even if your chosen ability isn't the optimal solution, you won't find yourself stuck in a difficult situation.
Regarding resource loops, Tokyo Underground Killer doesn't impose overly strict conditions either—enemies drop health packs upon death, which can restore health and replenish the energy bar for Blood Skills. By simply pressing TAB, characters can absorb nearby health packs. Some Blood Skills can even remotely absorb health packs after killing enemies.
Reducing the burden on resource loops allows players to focus on killing enemies and avoids interrupting the combat rhythm when characters run out of ammunition or resources.
Although Tokyo Underground Killer features lenient counter mechanics and relaxed resource loops, this doesn't mean combat will be easy—enemy offensives remain fierce. When exchanging deadly blows, players must stay mobile to avoid fatal damage. Under high pressure, the splattering blood and flying limbs enhance the immersive combat experience, elevating the game's satisfaction to another level.
Of course, currently, Tokyo Underground Killer does have some minor issues—the light pollution scenery fitting the cyberpunk worldview looks good but somewhat interferes with visual judgment; some unconventional key bindings also require players to spend time adapting.
However, if you're looking for an ultra-fast combat experience with higher freedom, Tokyo Underground Killer is definitely worth a try.
Please believe me, I'm not saying this just because I work at 3DM.
In the future, 3DMGAMES will continue to bring you more exciting and fun games, bringing them offline for you to try out and interact with. We hope to hear your stories with 3DM next time.