'The Bustling World' Mixes City Building With Action Adventure Mechanics in Ancient China

A new RPG set in ancient China, "The Bustling World," is coming to Steam sometime in the future and seems to mix together various mechanics from city building, action-adventure, and more.

The latest trailer for the game showed in-game footage that gave players a glimpse of what they can expect when "The Bustling World" launches in full. The footage showed a game filled with intimate and colorful urban cross-sections.

The Bustling World

Additionally, the trailer showed dozens of NPCs interacting with one another, excluding the player's character. You can see some selling fish, shaking hands, carrying barrels, dancing with fans, and practicing their hobbies.

However, this was only a small portion of what "The Bustling World" has to offer, as it aims to be a 4X strategy game. It will feature factions and will let players control armies into battle while designing houses and building their own cities.

With so much crammed into one game, some players are concerned that "The Bustling World" might be biting off more than it can chew. Some believe that the game could implode on itself with everything it's trying to do, according to Rock Paper Shotgun.

While the trailer for the game seems to advertise "The Bustling World" as being played in real-time and in-engine, some are finding it hard to believe. The game was developed by Chinese studio FireWo Games and the publisher is Lightning Games.

A Combination of Various Genres

The game does not seem like it features a core storyline, but instead, it will have players take control of a nameless character. They will either carry on being your everyday NPC or transition into a proper protagonist who has great ambitions.

The official description for "The Bustling World" says that players will revel in the art of diplomacy, navigate the complexities of war, and engage in the craft of building and managing a growing city, Niche Gamer said.

Some of the features of the game include a dynamic world and extensive NPC AI where every element of the game world can think and decide independently. They will all react in a unique way to the player's action.

With all of its aspirations, "The Bustling World" is shaping up to either be one of the greatest RPG titles in history or one of the most disappointing. This is because of how much potential it shows with its first trailer, and if it fails to deliver, it could mean players will no longer be invested, according to Vice.