I remember the first time I saw the KFC sign on the Erangel map, I was actually quite stunned. It was not because it was so beautiful, but because it was so out of place. The red and white colors were like a heavy hammer, smashing into the gray-green battlefield. At that time, I was carrying a 98K on my back, hiding in the telescope on the top of the hill to look for someone, and suddenly a KFC logo popped up in my field of vision, and my eyes changed from a tactical perspective to a life channel.
It really doesn’t look like something in this game. The gas station has become a fast food restaurant. You originally thought it was just an ordinary supply point on the map, but now it has become a place where you can “order food”. The way to order food is also very direct: walk in, see the lighted ordering machine, and lightly press it, just like in reality, standing in the fast food restaurant downstairs of the company to order a takeaway.
Then, your game nickname will pop up on the screen. It is not as impressive as the ranking list, nor does it have the tension of health bars and equipment. It just sits there quietly, telling you: this “fried chicken” is yours. This feeling of personal customization, to be honest, makes me feel that this game is suddenly not so cold-blooded.
What’s more interesting is that you can really “eat” fried chicken. The so-called KFC family bucket is actually a first aid kit. The character will bite off a chicken leg and chew it very seriously, as if saying to you: “Don’t worry, finish this bite before fighting.” French fries are bandages, drinks are energy drinks, everything is familiar and strange, both funny and gentle. At that moment, I suddenly felt that this game seemed to understand people.
The game designer is quite “stingy”. In a game, you can only order one KFC per store, and you can only have another bite in the fourth stage. I guess they want to remind us: hot things can’t always be available; what is really worth looking forward to always takes time. Just like life, who is not enduring the fourth stage before finally waiting for a little reward.
Later I found that not only Erangel, but also Miramar, Sanhok, Vikendi and other maps have added KFC. Sometimes you will see KFC banners on the plane before takeoff, red and white swaying in the sky, as if shouting to you: “Wait until you finish this game, I will treat you to fried chicken on the ground.”
Interestingly, these designs do not affect the rhythm of the game, and even make it more three-dimensional. You are no longer just mechanically shooting and running in circles, but suddenly realize that you can still leave yourself a hot meal in such a tense game. Even if it is just a game, someone will leave an ordering machine for you in the corner.
I especially like the sense of life brought by this kind of details. It is like when we work overtime until late at night, the lights are still on in the convenience store downstairs; it is like you walk into a small store in the cold winter wind, and the heat and the smell of fried chicken hit you in the face; it is like a small pause button in all the chaos, reminding you: you are still alive and deserve a bite of delicious food.
Maybe this is what makes it touching to me.
The game is originally a high-intensity reality transfer. Most of the time we pursue victory, skills, and speed in it, but this time the appearance of KFC brings us back to the rhythm of life-telling you, don’t forget to eat, don’t forget to take good care of yourself.
Sometimes, people don’t really need to win. What we want more is to have someone, a corner, and a piece of fried chicken in a chaotic world, quietly telling you: “I know you are tired, but you still have the energy to eat this bite.”
This is not a cheat in the game, nor is it a miracle in reality.
This is just that we are willing to believe that life is sometimes bitter, but it will occasionally be fried just right, crispy, hot, like a long-lost comfort.