Leading publishers have capitalized on overlooked opportunities, turning niche games into bestsellers

As a classic, highly adaptable game genre, tower defense has remained a perennial favorite in the casual gaming market. Thanks to developers’ ongoing exploration and innovation, this genre has spawned a variety of new game types in recent years, including “Bullseye-like,” “Lie-Flat-like,” and “LD-like” titles.

Recently, another uniquely styled tower defense game from Haoteng Chuangxiang (Crazy Games)—*The Abandoned Land*—has taken the gaming world by storm, achieving remarkable success in both mobile games and mini-games. Since its official launch in late November, the *The Abandoned Land* mobile game has steadily climbed the charts and has now successfully entered the Top 22 on the iOS Top Grossing Chart.The mini-game version, after first appearing on the charts in mid-November, took just half a month to climb from outside the top 80 on WeChat’s mini-game sales chart to the 16th spot.

"Land of the Forsaken" Bestseller Rankings Trend, Image Source: Qimai Data

So what sets this game apart, and can it spark a new trend in the tower defense genre?

Paper-cut art style + folk themes: an easy way to grab users' attention

In recent years, as a large number of developers have flocked to popular genres, tower defense games have become increasingly homogeneous. However, Haoteng Chuangxiang’s latest release, *The Abandoned Land*, has chosen not to blindly follow trends. Particularly in terms of visuals, the game blends Chinese folk themes with a traditional paper-cut art style, standing out from the crowd with its highly distinctive visual presentation.

The game’s backgrounds, characters, and props are all rendered in the style of paper-cutting art. The layered, textured cuts and intricate patterns effortlessly create a visual style that blends traditional charm with striking visual impact. At the same time, various elements of Chinese folklore are woven throughout the game—mysterious talismanic symbols and villainous characters steeped in folklore—which, combined with atmospheric sound effects, collectively create an immersive atmosphere of Chinese horror.

The ingenious fusion of niche paper-cutting artistry with the popular "micro-horror" genre not only gives the game a highly distinctive look but also provides rich and unique content for subsequent marketing efforts, further strengthening the product’s market competitiveness.

According to DataEye-ADX data, among the core creative assets recently used in the game’s advertising campaigns, one category focuses specifically on the “Chinese horror” theme. By drawing on well-known folk legends such as “The Ghost Bride,” “The Fox Spirit,” and “Zhong Kui,” these assets precisely tap into players’ interest in folk lore and horror themes;Another category utilizes high-quality CG animations to showcase the game’s signature paper-cut art style, intuitively conveying the textured craftsmanship of layered paper-cutting and the aesthetic charm of Chinese culture to potential players, quickly capturing their attention with its unique visual style.

Advertising creatives, Image source: DataEye

In fact, the "light horror" genre has always been popular among players in the mini-game and casual game sectors. For example, Badger Studio’s flagship title *Lie Low and Level Up (Haunted Dorm)* stood out from a sea of competitors and became a phenomenon-level hit by skillfully blending the "light horror" genre with innovative gameplay—all without relying on large-scale user acquisition campaigns in its early stages.

The recent rise of *The Abandoned Land* once again demonstrates the vast market potential and innovative possibilities of the micro-horror genre.

Localizing niche gameplay has breathed new life into the game

In addition to its distinctive visual design and choice of themes, the game’s core gameplay also differs from the mainstream tower defense formats currently on the market.

The game's main storyline follows a classic level-based design: in each level, "puppet" characters stand atop a high wall on the left and attack automatically, while monsters surge in from the right in waves, following a pattern of "minions as the opening act and a boss as the finale."

At the same time, the system will randomly distribute a new spell (skill card) at fixed intervals. Spells are categorized into four attributes—Fire, Water, Stone, and Wind—and four tiers—White, Blue, Purple, and Gold. Spells of different attributes and tiers offer varying damage output and control capabilities, and three identical spells will automatically merge into a higher-tier spell.Players must assess the battlefield situation and select from their hand of talismans, swiping cards to deploy them and precisely counter the enemies on the field.

In addition to single-use spells, the game features a Grimoire system (global skills) that activates on a loop. Before each match begins, players can select and combine Grimoires from their unlocked collection and equip a certain number of them for battle. During combat, once enough elemental energy is accumulated, players can unleash the Grimoire’s effect. Once activated, the Grimoire will trigger repeatedly on the battlefield according to its cooldown timer.

The Puppet, Talisman, and Celestial Book systems form our three main sources of combat power. Players can clear the level by using these systems to defeat all monsters in each wave; otherwise, the challenge will fail.

After failing a challenge, players can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their attacks through off-game progression. Off-game progression primarily revolves around three major systems: Puppets, Charms, and the Celestial Book.

Through "Training," players can spend copper coins to directly boost their puppets' core attributes—such as attack and health—and strengthen their combat foundation.

In the "Haunted Shop" mode, players spend copper coins and Five Emperors coins to exchange for random treasures. These treasures not only directly boost attribute stats but also unlock new in-game bonuses, such as increasing the number of bullets in normal attacks or granting blue-quality or higher talismans at the start of a match.

In addition, the game features a "Puppet Gear" (equipment) system. Once unlocked and equipped, players gain additional effects; for example, the "Furious Arhat" set increases the maximum number of Celestial Books that can be equipped.

In the Talismans section, players can use Talisman Shards to upgrade specific talismans, increase their skill coefficients, and gain additional base attribute bonuses. Once a talisman reaches a certain level, it can also activate Yin-Yang effects, allowing players to evolve the talisman’s effects through branching paths.

In the Celestial Book system, players can unlock, upgrade, and equip Celestial Books to create the primary set of passive skills for each match.

The three major systems—Puppets, Charms, and the Celestial Book—form a well-structured progression path with clear rewards. By allocating resources wisely and focusing on enhancing core attributes, players can achieve a quantum leap in their combat experience.

In the early stages of the game, players can achieve highly efficient "mowing-down" clearances by making full use of development resources. When facing waves of minions, combining basic attacks with high-stat bonuses and area-of-effect spells allows players to instantly wipe out all enemies on the screen. When facing bosses, chaining Celestial Book skills with high-quality spells enables players to deal burst damage quickly, while using crowd control spells to restrict the boss’s movements can significantly reduce the difficulty of the battle.Moreover, the entire gameplay requires no complex controls—simply select talismans and cast skills to experience the exhilarating thrill of watching enemies fall in droves.

In the later stages of the game, as the difficulty of the levels increases, the scope for strategic play also expands significantly. To clear these levels, core players must carefully consider the numerical counter-relationships between monsters and skills, thoughtfully plan their choice of grimoires before entering a level, and meticulously use Rune Energy to summon grimoires during gameplay.

With its core gameplay featuring "lightweight controls and intense, satisfying action," and its progression system that offers "low barriers to entry early on and increasing depth later," the game perfectly aligns with the preferences and needs of casual gamers. It’s no wonder that the game has been a hit with players since its launch.

However, if we trace its origins, this game isn’t entirely original; its structure and gameplay design draw inspiration from *Remi Zeros: Card Defense*, a game tested by the South Korean developer 111% in February of this year. That said, the South Korean game didn’t perform particularly well during its testing phase, with its highest ranking hovering just outside the top 140 on the casual games chart.

《Remi Zeros : Card Defense》

Haoteng accurately identified the potential of this "hidden gem," breathing new life into it through highly distinctive localization, and ultimately turning it into a top-selling hit. This case clearly demonstrates that both a keen eye for selecting products and the ability to innovate on existing game prototypes are key to helping mini-game developers stand out in the market.

Currently, *The Abandoned Land* continues to climb the charts and see steady revenue growth, and it is expected to achieve even more impressive results in the future.

This game is worth discussing not only because of its outstanding performance but also because its developer, Haoteng Chuangxiang—a leading game publisher—has consistently drawn significant industry attention. In the past, their hit titles *King of Salted Fish* and *Crazy Knights* not only generated staggering revenue for the company but also sparked industry trends such as “Salted Fish-style” and “loot box-style” gameplay, catalyzing the emergence of a wave of viral mini-games.

It remains to be seen whether the success of *The Abandoned Land* will inspire other developers to follow suit and lead to the creation of more high-quality new titles.