Zarya-1: Mystery on the Moon

About

Zarya-1: Mystery on the Moon is a single player action game with a mystery theme. It was developed by Plug In Digital and was released on May 22, 2017. It received positive reviews from players.

"Zarya-1: Mystery on the Moon" is a narrative-driven adventure game set in a Cold War-era lunar base. As a member of a rescue team, you must uncover the truth behind the sudden silence of the base and its crew. The game features puzzles, exploration, and a rich, immersive storyline inspired by classic science fiction.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

81%

Audience ScoreBased on 27 reviews

story14 positive mentions

gameplay4 negative mentions

The story is well-written and intriguing, providing a sense of tension and horror.
The game features multiple endings, encouraging exploration and replayability.
The sound design and music are praised for enhancing the overall atmosphere.

Gameplay mechanics are tedious, with unskippable timers and repetitive dialogue that detract from the experience.
Players have limited control over characters, leading to frustrating trial-and-error gameplay.
The lack of graphical artwork and reliance on text can make the game feel underwhelming and boring.

story
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
59%
9%
The game's story is described as intriguing and well-written, with a mix of horror elements and engaging characters, but its presentation is often criticized for being tedious and poorly executed. Players find the interactive mechanics frustrating, as they frequently interrupt the narrative flow and require repetitive replays to explore different outcomes. While the core story has potential, many reviewers feel that the gameplay detracts significantly from the overall experience.
- “Great story, though it can get tedious going through all the decisions and endings.”
- “The tale is immersive, the characters are friendly, and the story is actually interesting and original.”
- “Amazing story and writing!”
- “This isn't really a text-based RPG by definition, because those usually have descriptions of what's going on or what you see, etc. This game's story is only conveyed by dialogue in the form of a text chat.”
- “The game is very stingy with information about the characters, about the story, or about why you should care for any of this.”
- “Zarya-1 is a 'choose your own adventure' style story, but the interactive elements are very rare, quite limited, and -- which is the worst aspect -- the game is full of unnecessary and unskippable mechanics which only waste your time and contribute nothing.”
gameplay
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
37%
36%
The gameplay of Zarya-1 is criticized for being overly simplistic and often tedious, with many players feeling it leans more towards an interactive story than a traditional game. While some appreciate the clever fast-forward mechanic, it is marred by clunky controls and unnecessary, time-wasting features that detract from the overall experience. The limited interactive elements and poorly executed mechanics ultimately undermine the game's potential for engagement and immersion.
- “Really liked the clever mechanic of fast forwarding mission time.”
- “This mechanic is a lot like in Steve Jackson's Sorcery!”
- “I played enough of Zarya-1 to concede that the story is pretty interesting, but the execution of the gameplay makes going through it a mind-numbing chore.”
- “Overall, the game follows a very boringly presented story using very boring game mechanics.”
- “More of an interactive story than a game - gameplay elements are sparse and basically only serve to put the player in the story.”
- “Zarya-1 is a 'choose your own adventure' style story, but the interactive elements are very rare, quite limited, and -- which is the worst aspect -- the game is full of unnecessary and unskippable mechanics which only waste your time and contribute nothing.”
graphics
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The graphics in the game are primarily text-based with limited still images, which some players found lacking in artistic depth. While the visuals are described as "nice" and the graphical style received praise, there are notable inconsistencies, particularly in the final chapter. Overall, the graphics serve more as a backdrop to the engaging story and characters rather than a standout feature.
- “It's well-written, and alongside the writing, you get some decent artwork with the narrative justification that one of your squad members has a camera that he sends you photos from.”
- “The story and the characters seem interesting, the sound effects and the music are adequate, and the visuals are nice.”
- “The graphical style, even though it is mainly just text, was really good; you should give your artist a raise.”
- “The game lacks graphical artwork.”
- “Kinda like playing a text adventure with limited still image graphics on a C64.”
- “Also fix his graphic for the final chapter, which seems to be replaced with bones for some reason.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and paradoxical, as it requires repetitive replaying of sections to uncover all endings, which can detract from the overall experience despite the engaging story. The waiting mechanics and lack of clarity in character motives further contribute to the frustration.
- “Zarya-1 not only costs money, its waiting walls are also pointless, making this game extremely paradoxical and tedious.”
- “Great story, though it can get tedious going through all the decisions and endings.”
- “I really wish we got to see what was on the hard drive you can recover (you can't to my knowledge), and it gets really tedious replaying sections of the story to find all the endings. Something that really bugged me after a while... I wish some character motives were a bit clearer and also for a better understanding of what was happening in the Soviet base.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for being creepy and well-executed, contributing to a decent horror experience. However, some players feel that the mechanics detract from the overall immersion and tension, with criticisms aimed at the game's length and certain design choices.
- “Well, the atmosphere is quite creepy and well executed in my opinion, so no faults there.”
- “Now some of the good aspects: the horror is alright, the writing is decent, and the atmosphere is quite well executed.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music and sound design in the game are praised as phenomenal, enhancing the overall experience. However, some users find the music and sound effects to be merely adequate, overshadowed by frustrations with gameplay elements.
- “Absolutely phenomenal music and sound design!”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game relies heavily on ad support, with players facing delays unless they pay to remove ads, which detracts from the experience of repeated play. While the game encourages exploration of multiple endings, the reliance on time-wasting mechanics and the need for payment to enhance gameplay can frustrate users.
- “It seems that all these time-wasting mechanics are actually just delaying tactics for the ad-supported mobile versions, where players can only fast-forward time during countdowns and remove ads if they pay for the game.”
- “The game is not set up to encourage repeat play, despite its premise of failing and trying again, which is misleading given the advertising tagline: 'How many endings will you find?'”