"Gold Digger Game: Immerse Yourself in the Game"

A month ago, "36Kr Games" contacted a colleague from the project team through the Bilibili account that released the PV of The Gold Digger Game. They hoped to have an exchange with Hu Yaohui, the well - known director from Hong Kong, China, who is the core creator of this interactive romance game.

However, since the game was approaching its launch, the project team and the director were too busy at this stage, and this exchange didn't happen in the end. However, what we didn't expect was that this game has become the most - discussed non - big - studio game during the summer season of 2025.

On June 19th, The Gold Digger Game was officially launched on Steam. On its first day, it made it onto the Weibo hot search list, and countless netizens launched enthusiastic discussions on platforms such as Zhihu and Hupu. As of now, it has received more than 7,000 reviews on Steam, with a 96% positive rating, and it topped the Steam sales list.

Image source: Steam store page

The day after its launch, the director's accounts on various social media platforms began to be blocked. Jimu Video published an article criticizing the content of The Gold Digger Game for stigmatizing women and inciting gender opposition. In response, the game urgently changed its name on the Steam platform to Emotional Anti - Fraud Simulator.

Image source: Weibo

In fact, from the names The Gold Digger Game and Emotional Anti - Fraud Simulator, one can tell the highlights of this game, and the reviews are thus polarized. On Steam, which is centered around the player community, there are continuous positive reviews. At the same time, due to the particularity of its theme, there are also various disputes and discussions in the community. On the one hand, a large number of the game - related matrix content was reported, and the built - in message board function was cleared and taken offline for unknown reasons.

On the other hand, these disputes have instead encouraged more players to buy Emotional Anti - Fraud Simulator, even if they may not actually play it.

Image source: Player comments on social media

From a product perspective, the theme of this game is indeed too... direct and bold.

It doesn't follow the path of Oh No! I'm Surrounded by Beauties, which sells emotional value and special benefits in the romance - themed interactive movie - game genre. Instead, it rather bluntly reveals the boundary between love and material desires in contemporary society. At the same time, it touches on one of the most sensitive topics on the Internet today - gender opposition and emotional fraud.

Beyond the sensitive topic, we hope to talk about the product itself. As industry observers, we of course hope that popular games and hot topics can attract more attention. However, since we haven't fully experienced the game and communicated with the project team about the game concept, we can't rashly define or speculate about the game.

Therefore, we invited a player from the community who has experienced more than a dozen interactive movie - games. After fully experiencing Emotional Anti - Fraud Simulator, the player wrote a "post - play impression". The following is part of the content submitted by this player:

Actually, what really piqued my curiosity about Emotional Anti - Fraud Simulator is not just the concept of emotional anti - fraud itself, but what it aims to achieve in the current environment.

Source: Game screenshot

Before starting to play, I guessed that Emotional Anti - Fraud Simulator could only present a few possibilities.

For example, if the game was developed based on the "Fat Cat Incident", it might be a story from a male perspective, a revenge - filled story targeting "gold diggers", like a feel - good novel. Or, players might play as a "gold digger", enjoying a gray - area story where they trample on money, power, and even personality through human nature. Considering that director Hu Yaohui once directed Go West, it's possible that this game is also an adapted movie that satirizes the current social situation and shows the dark side of human nature.

It wasn't until I spent 8 hours finishing the game on the night of its launch that I realized I was completely wrong. Not only does this product outperform many interactive movie - games in terms of filming techniques and acting levels, but Emotional Anti - Fraud Simulator is built on a theme of absurd realism with a set of values that are "right to the extreme".

01 Revenge Against "Gold Diggers"

In short, Emotional Anti - Fraud Simulator tells a story of "revenge against 'gold diggers'", and the overall plot structure is rather traditional. In the game, the protagonist, Wu Yulun, establishes an anti - gold - digger group and engages in a series of games with an organization called "Transform into Phoenix", which is dedicated to training "gold diggers". He also returns all the money they've swindled to the victims.

However, after finishing the game, I just can't "hate" the "gold diggers" in the story - Emotional Anti - Fraud Simulator has portrayed all the important characters in the story so vividly.

To avoid spoilers, let's take Tang Xiaotian as an example. She has the lowest "gold - digger" level and serves as a beginner's experience package in the game. This character almost fully embodies the term "gold digger". With relatively few scenes, it's hard for players to form a complex understanding of her, and the impression she leaves is mediocre. In the story, after being completely attracted to the male protagonist, she instantly transforms from a "gold digger" into the "fish" she used to catch. No matter how much money the male protagonist asks her for, she is willing to give it and doesn't want to let go.

Source: Game screenshot

At the end of Chapter 2, Tang Xiaotian's story comes to an end. The male protagonist admits that he has returned the money she swindled to the men she hurt in the past. Even so, Tang Xiaotian doesn't hold any grudges against the male protagonist and doesn't want to let go.

This part can be understood as her being affected by the sunk - cost fallacy, or that she is just unwilling to accept reality. However, if we consider the stories of the subsequent heroines and the "love files", the essence of Tang Xiaotian's behavior is that she really believes it's love and thinks she has found her utopia.

Source: Game screenshot

Emotional Anti - Fraud Simulator criticizes the actual actions of each "gold digger", but still retains the humanistic shine in them. Put simply, in the value system of this game, no one is inherently evil.

Source: Game screenshot

This is even more evident in the highlight part of Chapter 3 of the game, where the portrayal of human nature is more complex. After many years, when facing Chen Xinxin, who once swindled his grandfather's inheritance, the protagonist's emotions are complex. She was the moonlight in his darkest times and the salvation when he was in trouble. So, even after all these years, he still believes that her motivation of swindling the money to treat her mother's illness was genuine.

And Chen Xinxin's reaction is not simply a "yes" or "no".

Source: Game screenshot

If the story continues, Emotional Anti - Fraud Simulator directly reveals the essence of Chen Xinxin - an ordinary person with no choice in the face of the tides of life. In similar situations, most people's choices may not be much better than Chen Xinxin's. After reuniting with the male protagonist, the truly redeemed Chen Xinxin seems to suddenly wake up and resolutely wants to break away from the "gold - digger" identity and return to a normal life.

However, evil is still evil. Every "gold digger" in the game must ultimately be responsible for their actions. Although Chen Xinxin has found the destination she's been seeking for a lifetime, she can't escape punishment. So, Emotional Anti - Fraud Simulator also arranges a most reasonable ending for her.

This is why I say that the values of Emotional Anti - Fraud Simulator are extremely upright. Every "gold digger" in the game is a rather complex person. Some are independent, some are strong - willed, and some are helpless. Becoming a "gold digger" seems more like a possibility provided by society and life. They seized this possibility and obtained the money and power they once pursued, but deep down, they still yearn for the kind - hearted selves of the past, and there's a child who has never grown up inside them.

Source: Game screenshot

What the male protagonist does is to open the door and let these "children" out, making them willing to believe in love again. However, regardless of the reasons, they must also swallow the bitter fruits they've sown in the past and spend their whole lives repaying, even if she is the male protagonist's first love.

Interestingly, what Emotional Anti - Fraud Simulator really criticizes is not the individual "gold diggers" but the social environment that creates them. If you play the last two chapters and see the multiple clashes of worldviews between Pan Mengna and Wu Yulun, you'll probably understand this more clearly.

For example, their discussion about the issue of public welfare. Wu Yulun regularly brings warmth to children with natural physical disabilities and helps auction their paintings to improve the children's living conditions. At the same time, Wu Yulun also uses this as a means to break through Liu Yueying's psychological defense.

Source: Game screenshot

Therefore, when Pan Mengna retorts that the male protagonist has other motives for doing public welfare, the male protagonist can only helplessly say, "Judge by actions, not by intentions."

The protagonist, Wu Yulun, is not a perfect, morally - upright person. Every time he tries to "conquer" a "gold digger", he actually enjoys the excitement brought by the emotional game. Money is not that important to him. After spending resources to "conquer" a "gold digger", he never calculates his gains and losses and knows how to show sympathy for the weak. Like the "gold diggers", he also likes to use emotional manipulation to benefit himself.

So, all he can do is not use this ability to do bad things. He can even comfort himself with the saying, "The strong, when angry, draw their swords against the stronger; the weak, when angry, draw their swords against the weaker." This is another layer of values covered in Emotional Anti - Fraud Simulator. Human nature has its good, true, and beautiful sides, but individuals after growth are also complex beings with both good and bad sides. After all, "judging by intentions, no one is perfect."

Let's stop here. You'd better open the game and experience it for yourself. At least I can guarantee that it's really worth the price, which is even cheaper than a movie ticket.

02 Learn to Love Yourself Before Loving Others

As an interactive movie - game, gameplay is actually an inevitable issue. To be honest, the gameplay content of Emotional Anti - Fraud Simulator is just mediocre.

For example, the arrangement of Chapter 1 would be completely fine in a movie. It is the core and starting point of the whole story and even serves as an essential prelude to the emotional impact in Chapter 3.

However, as the opening of a game, it's not quite qualified. Players start the game with an