Chengzhi Zhang

Ashes: How NOT to do Chinese localization

'Ashes is a first person narrative with melee combat, puzzles and light platforming. It is a mix between games like skyrim and a walking simulator, a short experience to be enjoyed in one sitting where you can explore a dungeon and be immersed in the character's story and the adventure.'

Firstly, the localizer used a font that was not compatible with the Simplified Chinese characters, resulting in display artifacts which are an annoying eyesore for native speakers:

Certain UI elements weren't properly adjusted, which caused the top part of the characters to be blocked by the text frame:

Finally, some essential words and phrases are left untranslated, something that shouldn't appear in the work of any professional translator:

So, it is always a good idea to hire a qualified localization service provider, whether an agency or a freelancer. Most developers report very positive financial returns for properly implemented Chinese localization. Bad unoptimized translation might cost you a huge market!