Aside from the shock brought on by the story mode itself, Ocean Fortress had many other elements that pleasantly surprised Chen Sha.
For instance: the combat feel.
As a hardcore FPS veteran, Chen Sha possessed top-tier technical skill. Whether it was tap-firing, weapon control, or precision aiming, he had long since mastered the fundamentals.
In short, his aim was excellent—and he had incredibly high standards when it came to how an FPS game felt.
In the FPS genre, a huge portion of the experience comes down to feel—how responsive, fluid, and satisfying the gunplay is.
When Chen Sha had tested Bullet Hole, he had already been surprised that a domestic studio could polish an FPS game to such a degree. It had even come close to the gold standard set by Counter-Terrorism Plan.
But Bullet Hole was, at its core, imitating Counter-Terrorism Plan.
And that was perfectly understandable.
Counter-Terrorism Plan had been universally acknowledged as the most refined FPS experience in recent years, especially in the Chinese market, where it remained virtually unmatched.
Mimicking the feel of Counter-Terrorism Plan was a safe bet—at the very least, it wouldn't go wrong.
The problem, however, was this:
No matter how well you imitate something, you'll never surpass the original.
Bullet Hole tried to replicate that feel, but subtle flaws and limitations always kept it from fully reaching Counter-Terrorism Plan's standard.
Even Chen Sha, who gave extensive feedback on improvements, couldn't precisely explain what those differences were.
Because "feel" is a notoriously hard-to-define concept.
You can tell when something's off, but explaining how to fix it is another story entirely.
But then came Ocean Fortress—and it took a completely different route.
Chen Sha had already sensed this during the story mode.
The gunplay in Ocean Fortress felt drastically different from Counter-Terrorism Plan.
For example:
Guns had much less recoil and were more stable.
Recoil control (spray management) was easier.
It was easier to land headshots.
Weapon switching and aiming down sights were noticeably faster…
His first impression?
Smooth. Crisp. Satisfying.
If Counter-Terrorism Plan was a high-intensity tactical shooter requiring intense focus and mechanical discipline, then Ocean Fortress had lowered the barrier to entry, turning gunplay into something much more accessible and fluid.
Had Chen Sha encountered this style in competitive multiplayer from the start, he might've been turned off.
After all, for players like him—who had spent years honing their skills in Counter-Terrorism Plan—a lower skill ceiling felt like a slap in the face.
But Chen Sha had entered the game through the story mode.
And within the story mode, this easier, smoother combat feel?
It felt incredible.
Even though ammo was limited in campaign mode, facing down hordes of zombies while effortlessly swapping weapons and chaining headshots was exhilarating.
It was fun.
It was responsive.
It was pure gameplay joy.
And it was all because Ocean Fortress had decided not to imitate—but to innovate.
To forge its own combat identity, on its own terms.
After playing through several hours of story mode, Chen Sha was surprised to realize he had fully adapted to Ocean Fortress's control scheme.
There was no resistance anymore, now it just felt natural for weapons to switch that fast, and recoil to be that easy to manage!
And throughout the story, Chen Sha began to notice how many elements were clearly foreshadowing content from the multiplayer modes—as if story mode was actually a sneak preview of the versus gameplay.
For example:
One boss in the campaign was a semi-invisible zombie, clearly hinting at Ghost Mode.
The zombie hordes? A direct taste of the upcoming Biohazard Mode.
And the mercenaries with high-end gear? Those very weapons were the same ones available for players in versus mode—available for purchase or unlock.
It was like story mode wasn't just a narrative—it was a perfectly disguised tutorial, a seamless bridge for players transitioning from games like Counter-Terrorism Plan into Ocean Fortress.
And Chen Sha had crossed that bridge without even realizing it.
He glanced at the time.
He had started playing Ocean Fortress's story mode at noon—and now, more than five hours had passed.
The story campaign wasn't particularly long—far shorter than those in many AAA titles—but emotionally? It felt complete.
It had pacing, catharsis, and resonance.
Excited, Chen Sha immediately opened his FPS community group and dropped the link to Ocean Fortress's game page in the official store.
"This game is freaking amazing! You have to try it!"
Everyone in the chat was taken aback.
It was rare to see Chen Sha this excited about recommending a game.
Was he… cashing in on a promo deal?
Didn't seem likely.
Sure, Chen Sha did take sponsor money from time to time, but even when he did, he never got so hyped about it. He'd usually just toss a line in the chat like "Easy money, bros. Who wants in?" and leave it at that.
Like when he recruited players to test Bullet Hole. He never once praised the game—just pitched the testing gig as a side hustle.
Everyone knew Chen Sha had high standards.
He thought Bullet Hole was decent, but nothing more.
So he treated the testing like a job—he'd never sell it to his friends.
But now?
This attitude was… unusual.
"Brother Chen, were you hacked?" someone joked.
Chen Sha rolled his eyes.
What the hell?
Can't a normally reserved guy just genuinely recommend a game once in a while?
"I wasn't hacked! It's seriously a very special kind of game. You guys should check it out—it's free anyway."
"Special how? You saying it's better than Counter-Terrorism Plan?" another asked.
Chen Sha paused.
Then typed:
"Hmm... hard to say. But it's that kind of special.
Among FPS games with story modes, it has the best versus gameplay.
Among FPS games with versus gameplay, it has the best story mode.
And it somehow has an insanely overpriced microtransaction…but still feels totally cheap and generous overall…"
The entire chat went silent.
Then—
"Pfft!"
"What kind of description is that?!"
"Brother Chen, are you drunk???"
"LOL. 'Best story in a versus game, best versus in a story game!' You wildin', bro."
"Alright, I'm almost off work anyway. I'll give it a try tonight."
Chen Sha followed up with another message:
"Anyone want to play the special modes together? I wanna try out Biohazard and Ghost Mode. Anyone up for it?"
It wasn't that Chen Sha didn't want to queue solo.
The problem was—Ocean Fortress barely had any players online right now.
At most, maybe a few dozen active players.
If he tried to queue for special modes alone, he'd never find a match.
So he had to call on his FPS group and self-organize.
Sure enough, the chat burst into discussion about Ocean Fortress.
Everyone was shocked to discover that—aside from the terrible name—the game was… actually kinda awesome?
<+>
If you want to see more chapter of this story and don't mind spending $5 monthly to see till the latest chapter, please go to my Patreon[1]
Latest Chapter in Patreon: Chapter 102: A Low-Key Grand Opening[2]
Link to the latest chapter: https://www.patreon.com/posts/129254813?collection=1399284[3]
https://www.patreon.com/collection/1399284?view=expanded[4]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/collection/1399284?view=expanded
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/129254813?collection=1399284
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/129254813?collection=1399284
[4] https://www.patreon.com/collection/1399284?view=expanded