This Is the Zodiac Speaking
- October 15, 2020
- Punch Punk Games
Taking inspiration from the infamous Zodiac Killer, you too can feel the fear of hunting the hunter, or are you in fact also his prey?
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Get on Xbox Games Store"This Is The Zodiac Speaking" is a single-player adventure thriller set in the 1970s California, based on the story of the infamous Zodiac serial killer. As a journalist, Robert Hartnell, you receive a chilling call from the killer, putting you in the center of the investigation. The game combines stealth and detective modes in a stylized world, offering a dark and fact-based experience.
Reviews
- The game offers a satisfying experience when playing through the zodiac killings, providing a fun and engaging gameplay loop.
- The atmosphere and sound design effectively create a sense of dread, enhancing the horror elements of the game.
- For a low-priced indie game, it provides decent entertainment value, especially for fans of the Zodiac case.
- The game suffers from numerous technical issues, including bugs, poor voice acting, and mismatched dialogue and captions.
- Gameplay can feel tedious and repetitive, with frustrating stealth mechanics and a lack of clear objectives.
- The story is criticized for being generic and not accurately representing the Zodiac case, leaving players disappointed.
- story25 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 72 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The story has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it predictable and underwhelming, while others appreciate its psychological depth and connection to true events. Although the narrative is described as simple and occasionally repetitive, it offers an interesting premise for those seeking a short indie horror experience. Technical issues and lackluster writing detract from the overall immersion, but strong voice acting has been noted as a positive aspect.
“It is more than a psychological crime thriller; it explores the very essence of what makes a killer tick, and being based on a true story, it is surprisingly and hauntingly accurate!”
“No, this is a game that wanted to tell a story about the character you play as, and how his life goes after meeting the killer in person, and his relationship with the other victims due to survivor's guilt and his childhood.”
“The story parts were pretty fun, and piecing the crime scenes together was pretty interesting, but I wish I could give it a 'middle rating' instead of good or bad since the issue with the killer and some technical issues with the audio being wonky at times.”
“In terms of story, I was quite underwhelmed.”
“The story itself is generic and one-dimensional.”
“The writing and voice acting are godawful, making it very difficult to get absorbed into the story.”
- gameplay17 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and monotonous, particularly criticizing the lack of depth in its mechanics and poor level design. While the stealth elements and item collection are present, they often feel underdeveloped, and the overall experience is marred by bugs and an easy difficulty level that diminishes the challenge. Despite some appealing aspects like graphics and sound, the execution of gameplay mechanics leaves much to be desired, leading to a generally underwhelming experience.
“Nice soundtrack, graphics, sound, voice acting, and overall gameplay.”
“Most of the gameplay revolves around stealth, and when not in stealth, you collect items around the level.”
“The gameplay, while not going around your own house, is pretty easy to play even on 'killer mode' with the zodiac running around the levels.”
“To start off, I think the game looks good and I liked the premise; however, I found the gameplay to be quite tedious.”
“I’m a fan of stealth games such as Dishonored, but this gameplay was borderline frustrating.”
“Monotonous gameplay, unsatisfying ending, poor level design.”
- music10 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed feedback; while some players appreciate the atmospheric and spooky soundtrack that enhances the mood, others found it repetitive and occasionally overwhelming, leading them to turn it off in favor of their own music. Overall, the soundtrack is noted for its quality, but its lack of variety and occasional audio issues detracted from the experience for some players.
“Nice soundtrack, graphics, sound, voice acting, and overall gameplay.”
“The music choices really drove the mood home as well.”
“I also turned the music off and listened to my own music; you could argue this ruined the game because I broke the atmosphere.”
“The soundtrack is spooky, but there is no variety between the levels.”
“The issue with the killer and some technical issues with the audio being wonky at times (music being too loud over a scene, had to lower it multiple times) really detracted from the experience.”
- atmosphere5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
Reviews of the game's atmosphere are mixed; some players feel it lacks depth and is hindered by technical issues, while others appreciate the effort put into creating a compelling environment. The presence of the zodiac killer is noted as a factor that can enhance or detract from the overall atmosphere, depending on the context. Overall, the game's atmosphere is seen as a work in progress, with potential that may not fully resonate with all players.
“It's got good atmosphere, and I can tell a lot of work went into this.”
“The atmosphere, the image, the emotion you get from that image.”
“The game never really had any atmosphere to begin with, unless half the screen being black and janky AI creates a scary atmosphere.”
“I also turned the music off and listened to my own music; you could argue this ruined the game because I broke the atmosphere.”
“Really, the Zodiac Killer is kind of annoying when he's not chasing you or being intimidating via atmosphere.”
- graphics4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The graphics received mixed reviews, with some players finding them decent but ultimately unremarkable, while others appreciated their quality alongside the game's soundtrack and voice acting. Overall, the visuals seem to be overshadowed by a lackluster story and character engagement.
“Nice soundtrack, graphics, sound, voice acting, and overall gameplay.”
“The story was interesting, and the graphics were nice.”
“The graphics aren't anything to write home about and the story itself is really lackluster; I really did not like the player character.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and tiresome, with some describing it as a significant drawback that detracts from the overall experience. Despite a promising premise and appealing visuals, the gameplay lacks polish and fails to introduce anything innovative to the genre.
“To start off, I think the game looks good and I liked the premise; however, I found the gameplay to be quite tedious.”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“A tiresome and tedious effort, 'This is the Zodiac Speaking' is very unpolished and doesn't offer anything new in the genre.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous bugs affecting gameplay and achievements, particularly on Xbox and PS, where players report that certain achievements remain ununlockable. These problems have persisted since 2020, leading to frustration among users who feel the developers have not addressed the ongoing issues.
“Very buggy and unexplained.”
“After looking into it, I found that this game has a history of buggy achievements. So much so that I believe no one has unlocked the achievement on Xbox or PS due to it being bugged. It seems like the devs don’t care, as these issues go back to 2020 and they still haven’t been fixed.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is perceived negatively, with users reporting a clunky experience that induces discomfort and a sense of frustration, leading to feelings of headache.
Critic Reviews
This is the Zodiac Speaking [Nintendo Switch] | REVIEW
The core mechanics of This is the Zodiac Speaking and the mystery that it offers are intriguing, but the ugly visuals make it extremely difficult to recommend on the Nintendo Switch. I can’t deny that actually enjoyed investigating the case and seeing how it affects Robert does add a neat personal touch to proceedings, but the fact that it has such a blurry resolution, dark environments that are difficult to make out, and terrible pop-in that springs objects into your viewpoint from out of nowhere just soured the whole experience for me. This is the Zodiac Speaking is certainly playable on the Nintendo Switch and in fairness it does have its moments where even the graphics are passable (even if they are few and far between) – if you really want to enjoy the clever concept of the game though, I’d implore you to try it on a platform where the awful visuals won’t ruin the experience for you.
44%This is the Zodiac Speaking PC Review
Taking inspiration from the infamous Zodiac Killer, you too can feel the fear of hunting the hunter, or are you in fact also his prey?
82%Masking the mystery --- This is the Zodiac Speaking review
A mediocre, meandering mystery game hiding under the mask of something greater. While it has a competent story to tell, it lacks the means to tell it in an engaging manner.
40%
