Zhang Yi and Wang Han sat in front of the computer, their laughter filling the room.
On their journey, they encountered puzzles that briefly stumped them, but the game Divide offered excellent guidance for solving such challenges. Key information was marked in bright, conspicuous colors—an example of the contrasting help guide concept in game design.
[I made up that name. Lol ]
In their previous gaming experiences, this feature was most perfectly implemented in Picnic. However, in Divide, while players can explore diverse scene spaces, the activity range within each scene is relatively small. This design makes it easy to notice the embedded reminders marked by attraction anchors.
Even if players fail to notice, the game ensures no one gets stuck for long. If a level stalls progress, Cody and Mei, the protagonists, provide voice prompts to guide the player. It's safe to say that unless someone intentionally tries to get stuck, it's nearly impossible to do so in Divide. After all, this game isn't a hardcore gamer platformer like Weilan. Where people like to runs in loop either to break it or break their own mental circuits. Elsewhere, this focuses on providing a joyful experience for two players.
"This is so cool!" exclaimed Wang Han, while Zhang Yi echo this sentiment, their faces lighting up with excitement.
They launched themselves through a series of air ducts, executing a series of thrilling alley-oops. Ejected from one duct and sucked into another, the sequence played out like a cinematic action-adventure. It was exhilarating.
Level by level, their journey progressed until they reached the game's first boss battle. The enemy was none other than the vacuum cleaner that had earlier flung them across the room.
Seeing Cody and Mei approach again, the vacuum cleaner erupted in anger. The duo coax it, promising to fix its issues once they returned to their human forms, as Mei was a skilled engineer.
But before they could act, the Book of Love made an unexpected appearance.
"Wow! Is what you said true?" it asked. "Then why did you buy the expensive Turbo X2000 vacuum cleaner? Hmm?"
With that, the Book of Love vanished as abruptly as it had appeared. Not forgetting to add the chilies in the mix.
"My God, this guy is adding fuel to the fire!" Wang Han exclaimed.
"It's a bit too much!" Zhang Yi agreed.
Though momentarily distracted by the Book of Love's antics, they soon focused on the challenge ahead.
The boss battle commenced. Defeating the vacuum cleaner wasn't overly difficult. Its primary attack involved launching burning cans, and all the players needed to do was dodge the projectiles strategically.
When the boss stops throwing, one person climbs up the pipe on the steps to aim it at the boss, while the other uses the pipe to **** in the burning pipe thrown by the boss.
Although the boss has a second stage, it is obvious that the second stage in Divide is far less challenging than the bosses in Dark Souls. By carefully moving and repeating the previous actions, the boss can be defeated with ease.
After successfully defeating the vacuum cleaner boss, a cutscene animation begins. Once Mei and Cody escape, they see their daughter Rose. However, she cannot hear their voices. Just then, the hammer next to them speaks, indicating it can help them, but it needs their assistance to rescue the friends in the toolbox.
At this point, Mei and Cody acquire new tools: Mei gets the hammer, while Cody receives a nail. From here onward, all the puzzle levels require the clever use of these tools.
For example, Mei uses the hammer to hit switches, enabling Cody to stand on platforms and move to different positions. Cody, in turn, uses the nail to pin boards, creating a pathway for Mei to swing across by hooking the nail with the hammer.
"You can even play like this!"
Watching the interaction, Wang Han was amazed as Mei hooked her hammer onto the nail and swung across. She couldn't help but exclaim in genuine surprise.
Although only at the third level, the game's innovative mechanics had completely reshaped Wang Han's understanding of two-player games.
As the game progressed, the Purple Book of Love reappeared. This time, it introduced a mini-game called Beat Cody.
"This game even has mini-games!" exclaimed Wang Han and Zhang Yi in surprise. They hadn't expected a challenging yet entertaining addition within the main game.
"But why am I the one getting beaten up!?" Zhang Yi groaned as Cody, playing the gopher, had to pop out to score points but ended up being whacked repeatedly by Wang Han's hammer.
"That's just how the game works!" Wang Han laughed as she easily won the Whack-a-Mole mini-game.
"Not so fast!" Zhang Yi smirked, holding his nail, silently backing away, and then aiming carefully. With a resounding bang, Mei was pinned to the wooden board.
"Don't run! It's you who nail me, stand still and fight!" Mei shouted, breaking free and chasing Cody with her hammer. Although the hammer could cause damage, she couldn't catch up after Cody gained distance.
Just as Mei seemed to close the gap, bang! Cody's nail pinned her again.
"Hey, I'm an archer! Have you ever seen an archer fighting a warrior in melee?" Zhang Yi teased, laughing, as Cody prepared for another round.
"Alright, alright. Enough fooling around—let's advance the plot!" Wang Han coughed, trying to change the topic after realizing she couldn't win outright.
Hearing this, Zhang Yi chuckled, recalled the nails, and continued advancing the game's storyline.
After getting the hammer and nails, the puzzle becomes more complex, requiring greater mutual understanding between the players.
For example, when Cody gets three nails, a platform-jumping level begins. Platforms appear only when the nails are hammered into place. This level requires Mei to keep climbing while encountering a point where she must jump against a wall. Without proper coordination, progressing past this section can be challenging.
While the level seems to demand seamless execution, following the correct sequence makes it manageable. When jumping against the wall, Mei can cling to it for a while. As long as Cody doesn't rush to remove the nails supporting her, it's relatively easy to succeed.
Eventually, Cody and Mei clear several levels and arrive at the BOSS toolbox. The intense music and the toolbox's roars signal another BOSS battle.
Unlike the previous battle with the vacuum cleaner, this one is more difficult. Initially, iron nails rain down from the sky, and being hit twice in quick succession can deplete your health.
In the first stage, players need to dodge the sweeping toolbox shovel and avoid the falling nails. However, the second stage introduces new challenges. The blade fan and chainsaw cut through the wooden platform, reducing the available space. The toolbox's shovel then slams down forcefully, leaving only a tiny safe zone to stand in.
Here, Wang Han and Zhang Yi died several times.
"Thankfully, there's infinite resurrection, and progress isn't reset. Otherwise, this would've been really tough!" said Wang Han.
"Absolutely!" Zhang Yi agreed, sharing the sentiment.
One of the reasons divide feels more accessible is its lower difficulty compared to Chen Xu's earlier game. The infinite resurrection mechanic ensures that as long as one player is alive, the other can revive. Even if both players die, progress isn't entirely lost.
For players struggling with a particular section, the game offers dynamic difficulty settings. Normally, being hit twice by a nail or slapped with the spatula results in failure. However, enabling the dynamic difficulty reduces the BOSS's attack power, allowing more fault tolerance.
Not everyone is a gaming expert, and some players may struggle despite putting in their best effort. Since Divide isn't intended to be a hardcore game, these additional settings ensure smoother progress for those who get stuck.
Players can choose whether to activate this feature, maintaining control over their experience. For those seeking a challenge, they can opt to leave it off. For those who want to advance the story quickly, enabling it offers a more forgiving experience.
Along with the progression of the game, Wang Han and Zhang Yi kept repeating the same phrase: "It's actually possible!"
The game's content turned out to be incredibly rich. Beyond the puzzle-solving in the main storyline, the game included a variety of fascinating mini-games—almost like a collection of smaller games within one. Each chapter featured a unique theme, such as vacuum cleaners and toolboxes.
[Shack Level]
In this chapter, the theme revolved around a shack. The surrounding scenes tied closely to the setting, and the tools provided to the players included hammers and nails. After defeating the toolbox, Wang Han and Zhang Yi sent it to their daughter as a repayment tool. However, the daughter didn't seem to notice them.
At this moment, The doctor appeared once more. He advised them to reach the window on the upper floor if they wished to meet their daughter.
[Sliding on Wires]
Venturing outside the house, they slid along a wire, navigating the flow of electric currents. This thrilling sequence felt like an extraordinary blend of time and space. Once they completed the shack level, a new theme awaited them.
[The Heart of the Tree]
The next stop was the courtyard, where they arrived at a massive tree and ventured into its heart. However, they were captured by squirrels, who mistook them for spies sent by wasps. After negotiating with the squirrels, Wang Han and Zhang Yi were tasked with eliminating the wasps in exchange for their freedom.
The squirrels provided new tools: one that sprayed sap onto wooden surfaces and another that ignited the sap, creating explosive effects. The game's style transformed into a shooting adventure. Wang Han handled the sap-spraying tool while Zhang Yi used the ignition weapon, and together, they overcame challenges by combining their efforts.
Leaving the shack and exploring the outside world felt like stepping into a brand-new realm. Entering the heart of the tree added another layer of excitement. With firearms-like props, the puzzles grew more intricate, demanding sharper problem-solving skills. The pace of the game picked up, blending action and strategy seamlessly.
Big, vibrant scenes brought the cartoon art style to life. In one instance, Cody and Mei (representing the players) drifted through rapids on the lid of a barrel, progressing quickly amidst the chaos. Deeper inside the tree, dreamlike visuals captivated the players.
The adventure reached new heights as they commandeered a defeated beetle, turning it against the wasps. After a series of intense battles, they confronted the Queen Bee. To their surprise, the queen turned out to be a robot, and inside it, a small, pudgy drone was controlling the chaos.
As a result, Cody, Mei, and the Drone encountered the pursuit of wasps but managed to escape by detonating honey barrels.
The scene was as thrilling as watching protagonists in a sci-fi blockbuster destroy an alien brood. It was nothing short of spectacular.
And this was just the beginning.
While Cody and Mei were comforting the bees, the squirrel army suddenly attacked, opening fire. The fat beetle, who had just been rescued, immediately chose to flee. The battlefield shifted from the ground to the sky.
Cody and Mei boarded the Pants plane, staging an epic aerial battle. As they navigated the deep passage, the Squirrel Head climbed onto the plane, transforming the game into a side-scrolling 2D fighting experience.
For an entire day, Zhang Yi and Wang Han were immersed in Divide. When their stomachs began to growl in the evening, they reluctantly set the controllers aside while stretching their sore legs.
"This game is really fun!" Wang Han exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Yeah, and it's such a feel-good experience. There's so much more to come, too—I haven't even played everything shown in the promotional trailer!" Zhang Yi added, equally excited.
Unlike the chaotic overcooked, Divide offered its fair share of pitfalls, but the challenges left them laughing. More importantly, the game seemed to have an incredible amount of content. After spending the afternoon playing, it felt like they had barely scratched the surface.
"I'm going to change clothes. Let's go eat hot pot tonight and come back to continue," Wang Han suggested, glancing at the time.
"No problem," Zhang Yi agreed with a smile.
While Wang Han went to the room to change, Zhang Yi leaned back in his chair, took out his phone, and updated his social media. Then, he opened his chat app, found Song Ren's profile, and sent a message:
"Lao Song, have you played Divide? It's incredible! I never thought a two-player game could be done this well. And this time, Chen Xu wasn't lying—the game is so heartwarming and full of love!"
Ten seconds later, Song Ren replied with a brief message and an emoji.
The response was simple, but Zhang Yi could sense the bitterness behind it:
"I will play alone? (smile.jpg)"