Zeno Clash

Console/PC game reviews by 5punkers

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HereComesPete
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Zeno Clash

Post by HereComesPete »

This game looks like Salvador Dali did a painting of a bestiality film whilst playing oddworld games. Strange colours, strange animal/human hybrids and strange weapons all sit nicely in this acid fest of an indie game.

Bit of story you want is it? Well okay then. You play Ghat, human looking skinny guy who retells the story of how he discovered a dirty secret and attacked a creature called father-mother. This creature is a hermaphrodite and spawns the vast majority of all the human/animal creatures, so when you give it a bit of a slap you get all your brothers and sisters in a right tizz and they follow you trying to beat the snot out of you.

You relive the fights and situations up to the beating you give to father-mother as you tell the story in flashbacks. At the same time you're journeying around and fighting to escape your brothers and sisters. It's all a bit memento and it works really well.

The fighting is definitely the highlight of this for me, but will turn other people off. First person, restrictive viewing and a lot of moves to master. The fights against multiple enemies are tense affairs where if you linger on a beating of one opponent too long then you'll soon get a tree branch or similar to the back of the head. The guns are just shit enough that you'd rather fight, but when you need to use them they perform the job perfectly.

Voice acting is a bit flat on occasion, but I keep forgetting it's actually indie because generally all the work done is superb.

Fighting clicked for me after one point, before it was surviving with button mashing and not really finding any rhythm but suddenly I was dodging, snap kicking and upper cutting like motherfucking Chuck Norris.



Pro -
- It's about 4/5 hours of story, I like this because it isn't a game that could go on for a long time without becoming a bit stale.
- It is really rather beautiful, the physics are top notch, the ideas are hatstand and it's fun to enjoy just standing watching strange things going on in a multi-coloured landscape.
- The fighting works very well and they've put a lot of effort into getting the physics and hit detection working well.

Con -
- It's rather buggy, but the ace team are very active in the steam forums and have addressed quite a few issues quickly and helpfully.
- It's about 4/5 hours long, if you want more game for your money you won't get it here.
- If you like answers answered then you'll hate the ending of this because it leaves the whole more wide open. Ridiculously so in fact.

7.5/10

:starfull: :starfull: :starfull: :starfull: :starfull: :starfull: :starfull: :starhalf: :starempty: :starempty:
Last edited by HereComesPete on April 26th, 2009, 14:53, edited 1 time in total.
Grimmie
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Post by Grimmie »

Good review :D Was wondering if I should get this after looking at the video preview on steam.
HereComesPete
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Post by HereComesPete »

I got it D2D given it's a bit cheaper but it's £15 on steam and I personally would pay that to support the guys who made this. Their attention to detail, level design and ideas are all good and well executed and they deserve recognition and support for their efforts.

Plus as people discover bugs and post on the forums the devs and their mods are straight in with helpful advice and searching questions to try and get the game as close to perfect working order as they can.

editz - Then again, I did only discover all this after running into a game stopper bug and resorting to the steam forums. I wouldn't have paid the £15 on the strength of initial reviews and what I'd seen, just that they seem to actually care that tips it in their favour.
Baliame
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Post by Baliame »

Did a TPB for try before buy.

Interesting fact, the devs themselves put this on TPB.
Mr. Johnson
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Post by Mr. Johnson »

I just got this the other day, my favourite part is kicking chickens and pigs about. :P
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Post by FatherJack »

Sounds like it might do well as a console release.

Fighting never clicked for me in The Witcher or in AoC and I'm not really getting it in the PC Jade Empire, yet that with game on the XHueg and the notoriously scrupulous Shenmue on the Dreamcast I just got into a zone and felt the chi flow through me.

I feel a bit stupid using a controller on the PC for some reason, largely because the only games you really need to use one for I already have sitting downstairs on the 360 (ie: Last Remnant, Phantasy Star, FFXI)
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