08 Apr Zeno Clash (PC)
This week we look back to one of the most unique games of 2009, Zeno Clash. From Chilean developer ACE Team comes an extremely unique punk fantasy first person fighter. It’s tough to be creative in this space, to break out of the Tolkein-verse, to make First Person Brawling feel good, are they up for it? We take a look at the surreal world of Zenozoik, the family troubles of Father-Mother and see if our hero(?) Ghat can reach the ends of the earth.
Our Review:
In the an interview with Gamasutra, lead developer from Ace Team explains that they wanted to do a fantasy game that stood out, he says most games are based on blockbuster action movies or LOTR style fantasy. The setting of Zeno Clash absolutely achieves this. The world of Zenozoik has deep lore, it’s unsettling, it’s nothing like you’ve seen. You get Pan’s Labyrinth vibes, you get brutal (PG13) up close violence, you get unique creatures that have great sound design and unique character models. This game is an experience. As far as gameplay goes, fun melee can be difficult to pull off. Some games sacrifice simplicity for variety of control, others feel clunky. Zeno Clash manages to keep it feeling fresh and challenging by introducing enough mechanics and mixing up the enemy playstyle. The game clocks in at about 2.5 hr for the story line. It could be a bit longer, perhaps another biome would have been a nice addition, but at $10 (or much cheaper on sale) this is a world absolutely worth exploring. We were all impressed and found this to be one of the highest rated (not ironically!) games we’ve played on GGN ranging from scores of 7.5 to 9. Check out Zeno Clash! Beat up some anthropomorphic ratpigs! Be saved from apathy!
References:
- Wikipedia
- Moby Games
- Steam Page
- Official Trailer
- Gameplay
- Hieronymous Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights
- Eternal Cylinder
- Watchmojo’s Top FPS Brawlers
- Cutscene Playlist
- Metacritic
- Zeno Clash 2 Gameplay
The Eternal Reward:
A Dali melting clock – Winner: Fredo
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