514th played so far
Genre: Shoot ‘Em Up/Fighting
Platform: PC/Xbox 360
Year of Release: 2009
Developer: ACE Team
Publisher: ACE Team/Atlus
I’m not quite sure where to put Zeno Clash in the list of games for me. The concept looks interesting, but at the same time a first person brawler isn’t normally my thing. The setting seems different, though, a jungle fantasy world that looks more primitive than we’re used to. Even though I feel like I might not necessarily enjoy it, I do just want to try it.
Our Thoughts
There were places where this game got incredibly frustrating – I had to look up a few enemies online to find out how to tackle them – but just as often the game was fun to run around, smash into small creatures or shoot them and defeat them. The game makes for a good 3D brawler, plenty of tight fighting with loads of variation in the different fights, needing some experimenting but put together well.
What felt even more important is the variation of looks in the game. The lush environments feel like a jungle setting, villages in drier plains and strange fantasy creatures that feel they could live in a jungle. The bigger creatures – bosses, mostly (although slightly more common than that name implies), as well as NPCs, are even more interesting. They might seem drug induced hallucinations, weird descriptions from some dream world, but you meet them in real life here – a weird creature that moves in a straight line all the time, no matter what stops it. Giant stone-feeling knights that teach you how to use your abilities. Bird-headed creatures that sneak around the cities. It’s something new each time, it looks well and makes you wonder what will be around the next corner.
Final Thoughts
Zeno Clash is an amazing looking game, with a nicely realised world that feels unique – jungle-based world, with primitive, stone age seeming technologies seems unique, but works so incredibly well. It also feels superbly suited for a brawler like this – one that’s a bit tough for me in places, but again offers enough variation to stay fun.