Tencent’s Lightspeed & Quantum Studios, has released poetic puzzle game The Everlasting Regret on iOS and Android in more than 50 countries and regions with language support for English and Chinese. The game is an adapted version of the Chinese narrative poem Song of Everlasting Regret and features tailor-made levels told across four chapters designed to present this tragic love story in a beautiful artistic style reminiscent of the Tang Dynasty.

Song of Everlasting Regret is a poem written by the Chinese poet Bai Juyi. It is inspired by the love story of an emperor of the Tang Dynasty who falls in love with a beautiful young girl. Emperor Xuanzong becomes so entranced by Lady Yang that he forgets all of his responsibilities while they both enjoy every minute of their love. Suddenly, war breaks out and the emperor must lead his troops into battle but brings the girl for fear of leaving her alone. His men see that he is distracted and demand Lady Yang be killed to focus his attention on the battle. Xuanzong has no choice but to allow it. After her death, Xuanzong regrets his decision and reflects on all the happy moments they had together.

Xuanzong misses her and even asks priest to contact her soul. This is a sad love story but people are touched by the love, sacrifice, death, and the hope that couple will be reunited one day. The poem ends with the lines “The boundless sky and endless earth may pass away, but this vow unfulfilled will be regretted for aye.”

The Everlasting Regret plays like an interactive poem as players need to solve puzzles in order to move on to the next page. Three paint elements, Vivify, Bond, and Destroy, will help players interact with each story segment to complete its narrative, but they can also be used to discover secret scenarios featuring new illustrations. The whole love story of Xuanzong and his beloved concubine Lady Yang is reproduced after finishing four chapters. In addition to its main story, The Everlasting Regret boasts an encyclopedia with a dictionary, commentary, achievements, and artifacts.

The game chooses a Chinese  ink-brush painting art style to tell its love story. This special drawing technic and symbol of oriental esthetics is created by using a brush dipped into ground ink, then submerged in water before being painted onto a canvas of paper or silk. A similar impressive visual presentation can also be found in Zhang Yimou’s film Shadow.

The game’s soundtrack also plays a key role in telling this tragic love story and is characteristic of the Tang Dynasty in its use of Chinese traditional instruments.

The Everlasting Regret is now available on iOS and Android devices in more than 50 countries and regions for Android and iOS.