Cancel character and weapon gacha, remove the stamina system. Is "Double Helix" going all out? | Discover Great Games
Written by Ma Xiaodi
Edited by Guo Fu
On the evening of August 26th, "Double Spiral," a fantasy-themed multi-dimensional combat game independently developed by Pan God Studio under Hero Games, officially announced through an official live stream that it will conduct a global multi-platform public beta on October 28th.
The public beta of "Double Spiral" is scheduled for October 28th.
In addition to announcing the public beta time, the official also responded to the player feedback from the limited-time paid test with data deletion, "To Tomorrow Test," which ended on July 2nd. While synchronizing the optimization progress, a series of new changes were also announced. For example, the protagonist of the "Night Voyage Chapter" will be officially added as a playable character in the public beta version; the time limit for all dungeons will be removed; and multiple aspects such as the movement method, forging system, and plot animations have been optimized or new features have been added.
What's most noticeable are three core changes: canceling the character and weapon gacha mechanism, removing the stamina system, and shifting the focus of commercialization to appearance-based payments.
These adjustments directly shake the underlying "gacha + stamina" framework that has long been relied on by second-generation anime games (hereinafter referred to as "2D games"), quickly sparking extensive discussions among players and in the industry. This game, which already has over 6 million pre-registrations, is trying to break the decade-long traditional rules of 2D games.
Screenshot of players' comments in the Bilibili comment section
Screenshot of players' comments in the Bilibili comment section
Why does "Double Spiral" do this?
Actually, the changes in "Double Spiral" are not a sudden idea but the result of the intensifying contradiction between its product positioning as a "treasure-hunting game" and the traditional 2D game framework.
The core logic of a treasure-hunting game lies in motivating players to continuously obtain equipment and improve character strength through high-frequency and highly repetitive combat processes, and forming a closed-loop immersive experience around resource circulation and Build construction. In "Double Spiral," the core material that players hunt for is the "Demonic Wedge." This kind of material can not only increase the numerical values of characters and weapons but, more importantly, can fundamentally change the character skill mechanisms, thus building a exclusive combat Build. Each hunt for the "Demonic Wedge" can both promote the personalized reshaping of the character skill mechanism and optimize the combat experience, fully meeting the core requirements of a treasure-hunting game for "cultivation-driven and enjoyable hunting."
However, paradoxically, in the early stages of game development, the traditional 2D game framework was adopted: characters and weapons needed to be obtained through gacha, and the gameplay had a stamina limit. Although this design can help traditional 2D games maintain economic balance and ensure online time, and was a "safe choice" in the early development stage, it fundamentally conflicts with the needs of a treasure-hunting game - treasure hunting requires "stable dungeon runs to obtain equipment" and "uninterrupted exploration," while gacha makes the acquisition of powerful characters and equipment full of randomness, and the stamina limit interrupts the rhythm of dungeon runs.
More importantly, the game did not build some novel systems during development to bridge the contradiction between the two. This incompatibility gradually emerged during the testing phase, and there were frequent criticisms and calls for adjustments in the player feedback. This voice reached its peak during the To Tomorrow Test.
It was against this background that the "Double Spiral" team made a bold turn near the launch. The adjustment details directly targeted the core of the contradiction: completely canceling the gacha mechanism for characters and weapons, all characters and weapons are now obtained for free through in-game gameplay, and the star rating system is also canceled. A "Thought Fragment" system is introduced, and players can collect character fragments and weapons by running dungeons or directly purchasing them in the mall, achieving a more stable and controllable cultivation path.
Free ways to obtain characters
At the same time, the game removed the stamina system. There is no longer a stamina limit for all dungeons, and players can freely arrange their hunting rhythm. Coupled with the retained continuous combat and double-drop vouchers, the smoothness and enjoyment of resource hunting are further enhanced.
In terms of commercialization, the project team has shifted the focus to appearance-based payments, including character skins, weapon skins, and accessories.
However, the risks of this turn are also significant. On the one hand, the changes have completely reconstructed the underlying resource logic of the game. The original resource distribution (such as gacha items and stamina recovery items) and recycling system based on "gacha - stamina" has been completely broken, and a new system needs to be redesigned for economic balance - it is necessary to ensure that under the conditions of "free characters + no stamina limit," players can still maintain long-term exploration interest through "equipment improvement," while avoiding resource flooding that would make "equipment lose value" or resource scarcity that would cause dissatisfaction due to "no feedback for efforts."
On the other hand, the changes have greatly increased the uncertainty of the commercialization model: shifting from "gacha" to "appearance-based payment" requires great courage. Compared with gacha payments, the revenue from appearance-based payments highly depends on players' aesthetic preferences and payment willingness for "character costumes and weapon dyeing," and both stability and predictability are more difficult to control. This is a great test for the team's content production ability and market judgment. However, the project team plans to conduct a small-scale confidential test in September, and also hopes that the team can continuously accept test feedback and polish and optimize to present a better product to the public beta players.
Ball-themed costume (the specific appearance quality is subject to the public beta)
Costume draft (the specific appearance quality is subject to the public beta)
Christmas-themed costume (the specific appearance quality is subject to the public beta)
The development process of "Double Spiral" from its first exposure to the public beta schedule
Looking at the development of "Double Spiral" from its first exposure to the public beta schedule, it is actually a process of continuous self-adjustment and strengthening of positioning based on test feedback.
On October 20th, 2023, "Double Spiral" released its first exposure PV. It combines a three-dimensional combat gameplay with high mobility and free switching between close and long-range combat, as well as a second-generation anime steampunk art style, quickly attracting a large amount of attention, and the playback volume on Bilibili exceeded one million on the same day.
The first exposure PV of "Double Spiral"
At that time, the product was widely regarded as a "second-generation anime version of a treasure-hunting-like game." Its core positioning emphasized "multi-dimensional weapon combination × three-dimensional combat," and it mainly had a sandbox level design. Although the business model was not clear, the industry and players generally speculated that it would adopt the traditional 2D game payment model centered around gacha.
The subsequent three tests became the key to the continuous iteration of the project. The technical test in March 2024 verified the basic framework of "sandbox exploration + dungeon combat." The combat system showed significant inclusiveness, with a balanced combination of close and long-range combat methods, smooth skill releases, and a prominent sense of enjoyment in mowing down enemies. However, the test also exposed problems such as frame rate locking, insufficient modeling accuracy, and a sense of disconnection in the operating feel.
In addition to the demand for optimizing the basic quality of the game, the player feedback at this stage was more concentrated on expressing concerns about future market competition - the 2D game market has long been a red ocean, with major games such as "Nirvana: Awakening," "Zone: Zero," and "Infinity" looming.
In contrast, during the Night Hunting Test in March this year, the game amplified the sense of "enjoyment." The instant switching between dual weapons, three-dimensional mobility without stamina limit (spiral leap, wall jump), and the construction of diverse BDs (Builds) through the "Demonic Wedge" system became the core of the experience, and the stress-relieving pleasure brought by clearing waves of enemies was further enhanced. Character cultivation became relatively lighter through the universal "Demonic Wedge" system.
At the same time, the game showed more novelty at the content level, especially the dual-protagonist and dual-line narrative (Night Voyage Chapter and Mooring Dusk Chapter) and the "Impression System" similar to a tabletop role-playing game's judgment system, which enhanced the player's immersion in the plot.
Dual-protagonist and dual-line narrative
By this time, the differentiated positioning of "Double Spiral" from traditional second-generation anime open-world products - that is, an "ACT treasure-hunting game" - became increasingly clear. However, there were also continuous calls in the player comments for a higher level of cultivation efficiency and optimization.
The "To Tomorrow Test" that started in June this year was regarded as a "qualitative change" milestone for the product quality. The project team significantly optimized the graphics, improving the character modeling accuracy, light and shadow rendering, and scene details, and opened the 4K/120-frame option. Seven new characters, weapon types such as "twin swords" were added, and side games such as roguelike ("Labyrinth" gameplay), pet-catching ("Demonic Spirit" system), and weapon dyeing were enriched, greatly expanding the game content.
In the combat dimension, the freedom and depth of BD matching were further enhanced. At the same time, by introducing a new resource acquisition path such as the "Commission Letter" mission system, an attempt was made to optimize the player's cultivation pressure. In terms of narrative, players can freely choose the gender combination of the dual protagonists, and a large number of cutscene CGs and a glossary explanation function were added, making the grand story with intertwined dual lines clearer.
At this time, the positioning of "Double Spiral" became clearer: it no longer tried to compete directly with traditional open-world products but firmly moved towards the integrated track of "high-speed ACT + in-depth BD construction + sandbox dungeon treasure-hunting," emphasizing the core experience of gameplay-driven and infinite mobility.
Finally, in the public beta schedule live stream in August, "Double Spiral" made the boldest strategic turn in its development history: completely subverting the traditional payment model of the second-generation anime category.
The positioning adjustment of "Double Spiral" is more valuable for industry reference in the context of the 2D game market from 2024 to 2025.
The 2D game market from 2024 to 2025 has evolved from a once "blue ocean of traffic" to a "red ocean of competition." According to the report of the Game Industry Committee, in the first half of 2025, the revenue of the second-generation anime mobile game market decreased by 8% year-on-year, showing a downward trend for two consecutive years. The market shows an obvious "Matthew Effect": the leading products occupy most of the revenue, and the living space of small and medium-sized manufacturers is constantly being compressed.
The situation of the second-generation anime mobile game market from 2020 to the first half of 2025
The problem of market homogenization is particularly prominent. Most 2D games still follow the traditional framework of "gacha + stamina + character cultivation," and the combat system often relies on numerical stacking rather than mechanism innovation. The commercialization model is also relatively single. Although the gacha mechanism has been verified by the market, the frustration of "bad gacha results," high costs, and numerical inflation problems it brings have caused widespread dissatisfaction among players.
Facing this dilemma, major manufacturers have been seeking breakthroughs and trying to optimize and innovate in details. The transformation from "Tower of Fantasy" to "Hetero Ring" by Perfect World reflects the strategic adjustment of large manufacturers in the 2D game track: "Tower of Fantasy" continued the traditional framework of an open world + multi - weapon gacha, while "Hetero Ring" tried to