ZAAM

About

"ZAAM is a first-person psychological thriller, where you play as a father searching for his missing daughter, Lucy, in a surreal and interactive world inspired by John Carpenter and David Cronenberg. Your choices determine Lucy's fate in this emotional rollercoaster, appealing to fans of Gone Home and Layers of Fear. The game features a dreamlike story and physical interactive environments, making you feel truly immersed in the experience."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

75%

Audience ScoreBased on 32 reviews

story5 positive mentions

gameplay3 negative mentions

Zaam offers a unique and surreal atmosphere that immerses players in a dreamlike world filled with intriguing visuals and sound design.
The puzzles are challenging and rewarding, providing a sense of accomplishment when solved, making players feel like geniuses.
The game tells a powerful and emotional story that resonates with players, despite its short length.

The game is very short, with many players completing it in under two hours, leading to concerns about its value for the price.
There are numerous bugs and technical issues, including problems with achievements and game resets, which can detract from the experience.
The narrative can feel disjointed and lacks depth, making it difficult for players to connect with the characters and story.

story
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
50%
19%
The game's story is described as a surreal and emotional journey that unfolds through exploration and memory collection, with players piecing together a sad narrative primarily through notes and dream-like sequences. While some reviewers appreciated the atmospheric storytelling and found it engaging, others criticized its coherence and brevity, noting that the simplistic puzzles detracted from the overall impact of the plot. Overall, the story evokes strong feelings, but its execution may leave some players wanting more depth and clarity.
- “This was a very well told story game.”
- “It is telling a sad story and the gameplay consists of exploring the environment to collect and relive 4 memories before reaching the endgame.”
- “A powerful and engaging sad story.”
- “The story snippet on the game's store page is actually thrown out the window the moment you find a couple of notes, and you can very quickly piece large chunks of the story together.”
- “Not only is it extremely short (you can most likely beat it in less than one hour), rather than having a coherent story, the game is just a series of four dream-like stages that you unlock by solving kindergarten-level puzzles, all serving to explain the very basic plot. It's supposed to be emotional or something, but the game is so terrible I couldn't care less about some little girl dying.”
- “(On top of that, there are a few parts of the story that I felt contradicted each other quite directly, or at least things were insinuated when they weren't supposed to be.)”
graphics
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
22%
33%
The graphics in Zaam are characterized by a surreal and trippy art style that enhances its atmospheric experience, blending colors and shapes to create a dreamlike quality. While some users appreciate the immersive visuals and intriguing story, others note issues with blurriness and poor interaction with certain setups, suggesting a mixed reception regarding technical performance. Overall, the game's graphics contribute significantly to its psychological thriller elements, though they may not appeal to everyone.
- “The visuals are a trippy blend of colors, shapes, and perspectives that'll make you question reality.”
- “A weird horror game with a great atmosphere and an intriguing surrealist art style.”
- “The graphics are really blurry and the game interacts badly with my flight sim HOTAS setup.”
- “The graphics blur when looking around.”
- “Zaam isn't about flashy graphics; it's about creating an atmosphere that's like a fever dream mixed with an art gallery.”
atmosphere
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The atmosphere of Zaam is characterized by a surreal, fever dream quality that blends elements of horror and art, creating a unique and immersive experience. While not traditionally scary, the game effectively evokes suspense and emotion through its intriguing art style and poignant storyline, making it a worthwhile investment for players seeking a distinctive atmosphere.
- “A weird horror game with a great atmosphere and an intriguing surrealist art style.”
- “This game had a lovely surreal atmosphere, a sad storyline, and very straightforward puzzles.”
- “Zaam isn't about flashy graphics; it's about creating an atmosphere that's like a fever dream mixed with an art gallery.”
- “It's not horror, it's not scary, but it has its atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere is very well done.”
gameplay
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The gameplay is centered around exploring the environment to collect and relive memories, enhancing the emotional depth of the story. While the gameplay is engaging and offers a rich narrative experience, some players have noted issues with saving mechanics and room resets that can disrupt progress. Overall, it combines intriguing storytelling with interactive elements, though technical flaws may detract from the experience.
- “It is telling a sad story and the gameplay consists of exploring the environment to collect and relive 4 memories before reaching the endgame.”
- “Really interesting story and great gameplay!”
- “The only thing that bothered me is the saving mechanics. I saved and quit, and when I resumed, the video tape and notes counters had been reset. Also, all of the spaces/rooms reset after a few minutes; I'm not sure if this is on purpose or not.”
- “It is telling a sad story, and the gameplay consists of exploring the environment to collect and relive four memories before reaching the endgame.”
- “There's a lot of story hidden underneath the gameplay, which gives you something to consider while you're playing.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The music in the game features a blend of haunting melodies and unsettling rhythms that enhance the immersive experience alongside the surreal visuals. It effectively contributes to a creepy atmosphere, with nerve-wracking sound effects that evoke feelings of fear and unease.
- “The music is a mix of haunting melodies and unsettling rhythms, blending seamlessly with the surreal visuals to create an immersive experience.”
- “Frightened and unsafe, all you need is a creepy environment, disturbing images, and nerve-wracking sound effects and music.”
- “The music's a mix of haunting melodies and unsettling rhythms, blending seamlessly with the surreal visuals to create an immersive experience.”
- “The 'gifted musician' achievement should be named 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds'.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is criticized for feeling forced and artificial, with a short runtime that fails to develop a coherent story. Players find the simplistic puzzles and disjointed dream-like stages detract from any potential emotional impact, leaving them indifferent to the narrative's tragic elements.
- “There's a moment at the end of the game that might evoke some reaction from you, but for me, it felt artificially creepy and less like an actual emotional moment.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by some amusing easter eggs and a particularly funny ending, though players find that the main endings lack coherence. Overall, while there are moments of humor, the lack of clear direction can make it difficult to fully appreciate these comedic elements.
- “One of the endings is quite funny, but the two real endings don't make much sense to me.”
- “There are some funny easter eggs, but you really have no direction and a lot of the stuff is not obvious in the slightest.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users report that the game suffers from significant bugs, indicating stability issues that affect overall performance.
- “The game is quite buggy.”
- “It crashes frequently, making it hard to enjoy.”
- “I experienced numerous glitches that disrupted gameplay.”