Recently, NetEase has released the demo version of a deck-building game called Project Castle on Google play. The game draws a lot of designs from well-established card games; the game mechanics are simple but have great potential for further development.
Project Castle's world-building is nothing new, putting the player into the game as a brave warrior who saves the world, leading his heroes to save the demon-occupied continent and eventually rebuild humanity’s home. However, the game has a very innovative mechanic that requires players not only to use the right combination of card skills to defeat their enemies in battles but also to manage castles that they saved from the hands of demons. The game has an interesting simulation system that allows players to upgrade and manage their castles in different ways to buff their characters in the battle. Players can also play a number of casual mini-games like tile-matching in their castle. NetEase has successfully blended a variety of games with casual gameplay, and players can now experience different kinds of happiness in just one game.
The overall art style of the game is also worth noting. Unlike the large mobile games with detailed modeling that NetEase has always pursued, Project Castle has a hand-drawn style, using very soft colors and character modeling to highlight the "casual" elements of the game.
As of now, NetEase has not announced whether the game will be brought to the Chinese market, which may make this another in a series of recent attempts to break into international markets by NetEase Games.