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A month ago, I did what every true gamer said I would never do. I went outside. I left my house, even touched grass. But, I didn't stop there. I took a 13-hour flight and went far, far away to a place I never imagined I would ever be. I went to China. You're probably asking, "Act Man, why did you go to China?" And the truth is, for a long time, I thought the Great Wall was a great hoax. Now, actually, I was offered this unbelievable opportunity to travel across various parts of China with a guided tour, head to the NetEase campus, and play the newest expansion for their game, Where Winds Meet. So, thank you to everyone at NetEase for sponsoring this video and my journey to China and for being able to
share that with my fans and make a video about my experience in China. Would you take that deal? I'd make that deal. I don't blame you. Damn good deal. And in this video, I'm going to take you across the world to Kaifeng, China, to a radically different time and a radically different world, all to show you how authentic Where Winds Meet is to real-life locations in China and why you should play it. But, I didn't just play Where Winds Meet. I starred in it. Look at me, I'm on set. I'm in the game. That's the same outfit the protagonist wears. By the way, you can scan any face and it'll imprint that on your custom character, and your face will appear in every single cutscene. Endless
possibilities. But, I spent a whole week in China. I got to see a Chinese 7-Eleven, a McDonald's, a Pokémon shop. Isn't it funny that those are the things I bring up first? Flying to China was one thing, but going to a movie set to film promotional material was a wild experience. They did my makeup, my hair. I was given lines to read. I thought, "Oh my god, I'm not prepared for this." I called myself the Act Man, but I didn't think I'd ever act. Okay, maybe I'm not literally in the game, but when I was in their studio and what they called Chinese Hollywood, I felt like I was. I was as impressed with their
production values on set as I am with the production values of the game. And so today, I'm taking you across the globe to visit one of the oldest civilizations on Earth. And I'll show you the real-life locations that inspired the setting and style of Where Winds Meet. I saw some crazy while I was there, man. Now, if you're unfamiliar with Where Winds Meet or Chinese games in general, you might experience a bit of culture shock when you boot the game up. There's a lot of menus, submenus, stats, status effects. Most of this stuff you don't
have to worry about until you're late, late into the game and very familiar with it. Because at its core, Where Winds Meet is one of the best Souls-like games I've ever played, with fights based around pulling off these endless combos, dodging, blocking, parrying, destroying your enemy's poise. You can swap weapons mid-combo and continue a brand new string of moves. There's like 20 weapon types, each with a different move set, but you also have core combat abilities that work with any weapon. One of which is a quintuple spinning hook kick. I'd recommend Where Winds Meet to any RPG enthusiast or Souls-like fan just because of the combat alone. And it's free to play, not pay-to-win. But,
the exhilarating combat is just the tip of the iceberg for Where Winds Meet and what it has to offer. The game has robust social features, allowing players to share screenshots and post seemingly with no text filter at all. I will I will spare you the details on the things I have read. So, as you journey through the game, you will feel like you're not the only one experiencing it. If a character dies during the main quest, you'll see other players posting about it. You can play Where Winds Meet solo or with friends. It's a sort of choose-your-own-adventure type game. Now, before I show you Hussi, the game's newest area, I want to take you to Kaifeng because Hussi is more dream-like and mythical, whereas Kaifeng is
grounded in history. We did and saw many amazing things in China, but one thing that really stood out was that in order to get to Kaifeng, we had to ride a bullet train. Excuse me, do you know where platform 9 and 3/4 is? 9 and 3/4? Think you're being funny, do you? Folks, this is the fastest train in the world. It cruises at 217 mph or 350 km. No other creature on the planet has ever moved this fast on the surface before. Kaifeng is where the history is. And while yes, you can transform into a giant sand-surfing guppy, the setting of Where Winds Meet is based on real-life locations, not just ancient ones that no longer exist, places you can still go to today. I love historical
accuracy in video games. There's something about playing through a world which is real, seeing where this digital space actually came from. Ladies and gentlemen, I flew across the world to witness in real life what might be the most historically accurate game I have ever played. And this sprawling world is set in 10th century China during the Song Dynasty. Known as the golden age for China's cultural, artistic, and technological advancements, it's easy to see why this time period and the city of Kaifeng is so important to Chinese history. I previously made a video on this game calling it the most surprising game of 2025. And while in that previous video, I mostly just appreciated the flashy, satisfying combat, I have a
whole new level of appreciation for its authenticity, its historical and real-life accuracy. For example, we went to an ancient prison. I was a little worried at the time, like, why are you guys bringing me here? Then, they tried to execute me. No, so this courtroom you're seeing was remade in the game with the exact same painting behind. I took two selfies here. And these three guillotine you see, each was used to behead criminals depending on their class and their crimes. I was one of the best criminals. This is just one of many examples how Where Winds Meet takes something that's real and puts it in their game. I want to show you the game's main setting, Kaifeng. I want to go to Kaifeng with
you. This is one of the ancient capitals of China, meaning it's a place where the emperor lived at one point. It's a setting of great historical significance, and I think it shows the level of pride that not only the Chinese people have in these places that are important to their history, but also the developers of Where Winds Meet because they have replicated this place like to the blade of grass. It is insane. Oh, yeah, they even have Yeah, they got the wanted posters there. Now, one of the things I love so much about a game like Fallout: New Vegas is how authentic patrolling the Mojave is to the real location. The developers at Obsidian didn't just look at photographs
or videos of Las Vegas. They did that themselves. They did on-the-ground research, and I think it's a huge reason why for us Americans, we love New Vegas because it's like that place actually exists. You know, the giant dinosaur, the strip. It reflects a part of American culture in a way that we can explore digitally, albeit in a post-apocalyptic world. That is the exact thing that NetEase has done with Where Winds Meet and how they've crafted the world, and not just the city of Kaifeng, but everything from the outfits, the costumes, the decorations, the colors, the structures, the different pagodas and temples. A big part of Kaifeng is set in what is called Millennium City Park. This place is what
you'd get if Disneyland was created in China, but during the 10th century. It was borderline impossible to go 30 seconds without seeing something interesting or cool or some incredible performance with guys on hamster wheels. And that's the exact vibe they're going for in the game. It is a place where there is so much content to explore, so many NPCs to talk to. The logistics of running a place like Disneyland are already mind-boggling enough, how complicated that must be. But, to then take something like that and put it in a video game is just next level. Like, is there a Disneyland video game? As a side note, Kaifeng is located deep in mainland China. And Millennium City Park is a tourist attraction for Chinese
residents, not so much for old whitey over here. Between my brother, the other content creators, and I, we were routinely stopped by random people who didn't even know who we were, but just wanted to take a picture with us because they'd never seen a white person in real life. It was I got told I was handsome, man. It was a good feeling. And as an American who loves fireworks, I give my seal of approval. Your eyes do not deceive you. This was one of the coolest things we saw. A man using a water-propelled hover pack attached to a jet ski shooting a five-barreled flamethrower. This wasn't even for Chinese New Year, man. They just do this every night. Also, all
those sparks, that's molten iron, by the way. And yes, you do this in Where Winds Meet, as well. Regrettably, I don't think this jetpack is available in game for the aforementioned historical accuracy reasons, but this is just an appetizer of what the city of Kaifeng has to offer. When you first approach the city in game, you are greeted by this giant gate. It's a moment that feels similar to stepping out of the tomb in Elden Ring. Like, you are just You walk through that gate and you just see this sprawling, gorgeous world with thousands of people and houses, markets. Walking through this iconic gate is a breathtaking experience. One I've done in real life and in game. So, this is Where Winds Meet.
This is Where Winds Meet. Wait. Yeah. This is Where Winds Meet. The amount of effort it must have taken to create this whole place in a video game is staggering. Millennium City Park is a place filled with performances, activities, demonstrations. All of these things we saw have been meticulously recreated in game. Because this place has been so well preserved in real life, the transition from like the year 2026 to the year 968 is seamless. It feels like you're stepping back in time. In Kaifeng, we met up with some native content creators and cosplayers who demonstrated one of the techniques you can use in game, fire breathing.
[screaming] YOU MIGHT BE WONDERING HOW THIS IS DONE. THE trick is you fill your mouth with ethanol and spit it out over an open flame. I think most people who play Where Winds Meet can enjoy it purely for the gameplay and the boss fights. Oh, Oh, Oh, I'm on the other side. Oh, okay. This is pretty sick. What the is that? But that is just like That's the first layer. There are so many layers. Like, this giant tower. That is the game's complexity. I would live there. Even something like these roof ornaments are an exact replica of what's in the game. You see, these are the things you notice if you're like me and you have obsessive ADHD. And while on the roofs, I looked
at them and I was like, man, I just have this compulsion to jump up and run up there. But this is where I realized how cool it is to have a triple jump and wall running and gliding and mounts. It's not just how authentic the world is, but all the different ways you can see it in game and how easy it is to, you know, get to a high point and just look down and see all this activity, all these NPCs, like the arched like the Rainbow Bridge. A place where you can take in the sights, take photos. This river, too, has been recreated in game. We took photos atop the roofs of these houses, and the view was simply stunning.
This is what the developers must have looked at and thought to themselves, what if you could play this in a game? Wow. What a screenshot. That, I think, is what makes Where Winds Meet so special. Is how much time they must have spent in a place like Millennium City Park taking notes, drawing illustrations, pictures, videos. It's almost like they took the most detailed satellite videos, mapping everything out, and 3D printed that into video game form. The authenticity applies to the character designs, as well. There's a guy called Big Xiao, and we got to meet him. He looked exactly like he does in the game. Both of the cosplayers we met were dressed exactly as the male and female protagonists of
the game. But what is there to do in Millennium City Park besides watching guys smack molten iron into the river? Like, that's really not that cool. A better question would be, what isn't there to do? Well, much like how if you were to go to Disneyland, you would see people dressed up as various princesses, maybe giving performances, putting on shows, so too do you see that in Millennium City Park. There's a place called the Song Dynasty Banquet, and we got to watch various performance there. It's a place that you can go in game and an activity you can enjoy. This entire hall is in the game, as well, and it's
where the emperor and aristocrats would go to watch these performances, where you are served by beautiful women in elegant dresses wearing veils as if their beauty is only meant to be seen by a select few important people. In Kaifeng, you can see any number of incredible things like lion dances, fireworks shows. Both in the real world and in game, Kaifeng Millennium City Park is a place you can spend days and see all these new and exciting things. Now that you've seen Kaifeng in Millennium City Park, why don't I show you what it's like inside of NetEase? And I'll give you a preview of what to expect from the Hexe expansion, which by the way is available to play right now.
And like the game itself, this expansion is entirely free. Just on that point alone, this game's live service is killer. Now, I wasn't the only content creator invited. I met Blue Squadron, Memplex, and Open World Games. Just wanted to give those guys a shout-out. You guys were so much fun to hang out with. ActBro was also allowed to come with me, and so thank you, NetEase, for that. Are you going to be saying dumb this whole time at me? you got it. And when we went to NetEase, we got to play this expansion early. They were filming B-roll and watching my gameplay, and I thought, please God, don't let it be a skill issue today. Let me just say, I was able to fight a couple bosses, and my God, did I get
absolutely destroyed. While at NetEase, we played this arrow throwing game. They gave us a goose plushy, man. The goose is kind of like the mascot of the game. We saw one at the zoo in Kaifeng. They had one on set. They love their gooses. If Kaifeng is the real ancient Chinese experience, Hexe is the mystical Chinese experience. I'm in a boat calmly floating down the river seeing some glowing buildings and But guess what? Oh. I awaken a dreamscape, a forgotten realm. Now, Hexe is divided into three main areas, the Jade Gate Pass, Longshou, the Winter Mountains, and Qinshui, the forested plains. Jade Gate Pass has its own rules. The harsh desert
here is loaded with weird critters, little gold monsters, what appear to be walking broomsticks. Now, I wanted to rush straight towards the big main boss of this area, and I got jump scared by another boss. Oh. Oh, okay. Wait. Oh, I got clickbaited. These bone horses are no joke, man. Ah, Jade Gate Pass is a wide, somewhat empty desert, but these like magic dust roads make navigation quick and painless. I don't want to spoil too much, but Jade Gate Pass introduces a ton of new content. There was a rhythm mini-game, Flute Hero, which I enjoyed. But my favorite was this action chess mini-game, where you try to knock other players' pieces off the board while protecting your own. See, the trick of it is to not
overcommit. Get just the right amount of power and not put your guy out of position. This expansion also introduces a few new weapon types and move sets. The umbrella is sick. You could throw it out, teleport to it, then spin around like a Beyblade. They made an umbrella, a freaking umbrella, an awesome weapon to use. And as a martial artist myself, I say, bravo. Well, you want to see the big bad boss? You want to taste of what he's like, what you're up against? Ah, Oh, yeah. Get it Get that out of here. Holy this guy whooped my ass. Yeah, I couldn't beat his second phase. While I would love to sit here for the next couple hours and just tell you and show you all the awesome cool
things I saw and did in China, I'm going to leave that for some follow-up videos on the second channel, ActMan TV. Now, if you've watched all the way in this video and you're still unsure if you should try out Where Winds Meet, just do it. Get the Kaifeng, explore the city, and just take it in. Going to China was one of the best vacations I've ever had, and I've gone on a lot of trips. I have NetEase to thank for this incredible opportunity, and apart from the lifelong memories and the desire to go back, I have a newfound appreciation for Where Winds Meet and what the team has managed to do with this game. As one of the oldest civilizations on Earth, there is a lot of history, and Where Winds Meet
stands as a testament to not just the people at NetEase, but the Chinese people's reverence and respect for their history. And I got to see firsthand how this rich culture has inspired this rich game. [screaming] Now, at a time when it seems like Western game publishers and developers are really struggling to meet customer expectations and demands, China has been throwing its full weight behind its video game publishers and its industry, and I think the results are speaking for themselves. I mean, Blacksmith Wukong, the upcoming Blood Message, and now Where Winds Meet, a game that I can't believe was free. A game that I can't believe I flew to China to play and star
in. And if you're someone who appreciates attention to detail, authenticity, effort, vision, and if you want to explore the rich history of China, or you just want to play a quality Souls-like game to smack some dudes with a giant sword, I think you will find Where Winds Meet will more than meet your expectations. I got to go back to China, man. That was so much fun. I still can't believe that was a real sponsor, but uh thank you so much to NetEase and all the people that helped us out on our journey. It was truly unforgettable. Click that link in the description and pinned comment to play and download Where Winds Meet today. All right, everyone, that's all I got for today. This is the ActMan, signing out.
Ni hao.
