Zeno Clash

About

"Zeno Clash" is a first-person action/fighting game set in a punk fantasy world, where players take on the role of Ghat and engage in brutal close combat as they journey through a visually striking and original world. The game is known for its unique visuals and melee combat mechanics that offer a fresh take on the first-person genre. Experience a deep storyline and face the forbidden in this award-nominated game.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

+13

87%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,938 reviews

story332 positive mentions

replayability11 negative mentions

Unique and bizarre art style that creates a captivating atmosphere.
Engaging first-person melee combat that feels satisfying and impactful.
Intriguing story and characters that keep players invested despite some confusion.

Short campaign length (around 3-4 hours) with limited replayability.
Clunky controls and frustrating mechanics, especially when fighting multiple enemies.
Poor voice acting and some technical issues that detract from the overall experience.

story
914 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
55%
9%
The story of "Zeno Clash" is characterized by its bizarre and surreal narrative, set in a uniquely imaginative world filled with strange characters and creatures. While some players find the plot engaging and intriguing, others criticize it for being confusing, shallow, or poorly executed, often describing it as a fever dream that lacks coherence. Overall, the story serves as a vehicle for the game's distinctive atmosphere and combat mechanics, leaving players with mixed feelings about its depth and clarity.
- “The story is actually really good and engaging, aided by the craziness of the world it is set in.”
- “The story is quite fascinating; however, it is indeed full of plot holes.”
- “The story is bizarre, yes, but extremely fascinating and does a good job of keeping you engaged through the whole game.”
- “The story is confusing and hard to follow with interesting voice acting.”
- “The story seems like it's going somewhere interesting at first, but it's ultimately utterly pointless; the whole plot is centered around the protagonist knowing the dark secret that the giant bird-monster isn't actually his biological parent, which the game reveals to you at the end as if this is a big plot twist.”
- “The story is a bit bizarre, and not too amazing, but the challenge levels are highly entertaining and very challenging.”
gameplay
490 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
57%
12%
The gameplay of "Zeno Clash" is characterized by its unique first-person brawling mechanics, which combine hand-to-hand combat with occasional ranged elements. While many players find the combat satisfying and immersive, there are frequent criticisms regarding its repetitiveness, clunky controls, and linearity, leading to a mixed reception overall. Despite its flaws, the game's distinctive art style and engaging atmosphere contribute to a memorable experience, making it worth exploring for fans of unconventional gameplay.
- “The gameplay largely consists of first-person brawls that are just fun to play through.”
- “Overall, all the game mechanics work much more often than not; when a fight works, it feels like a Jackie Chan movie. You dodge, block, and kick enemies into one another, tackle an enemy to make him drop his weapon, and scramble to pick it up. It feels great.”
- “The gameplay is straightforward and satisfying but just nuanced enough with dodges, timed blocks, and counters to be stimulating.”
- “The gameplay can get tedious later on; I'd say the universe/setting here is the real selling point.”
- “The gameplay loop is boring; it isn't helped by non-intuitive, slow controls.”
- “The gameplay is incredibly janky, but if you have the patience for that, it's worth a playthrough for the very original world and character design.”
graphics
358 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
55%
5%
The graphics of Zeno Clash are widely praised for their unique and surreal art style, which combines elements of fantasy and punk aesthetics, creating a visually captivating experience. While some reviews note that the graphics are somewhat dated due to the game's reliance on the older Source engine, many players appreciate the creativity and distinctiveness of the character designs and environments, often describing them as beautiful and imaginative. Overall, the game's visuals are considered a major highlight, contributing significantly to its charm and appeal, despite some technical limitations.
- “The game has a very surreal and imaginative art style that keeps you hooked, waiting to see what crazy creatures, characters, and environments you are going to find next.”
- “Not only are the character designs and environments absolutely stunning, the cell-shaded graphics provide the game with a very strong sense of identity.”
- “Zeno Clash sports a very unique art style that places you in a surreal world with a strange geography and is populated by strange creatures.”
- “The graphics are nothing to write home about either and come across as kind of amateur, but this might just be a consequence of how old the game is.”
- “The graphics are bad.”
- “I'm not a graphics whore, I don't need every game to have Witcher 3 graphics to enjoy a game, usually I don't even care that much about graphics, but this game's graphics were a pain to look at, ugly and apart from characters everything was bland.”
music
87 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
52%
7%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its ability to enhance the atmosphere and complement the unique visuals, often described as haunting, eclectic, or fittingly surreal. However, some players criticize it as repetitive, generic, or forgettable, detracting from the overall experience. Overall, while the soundtrack is appreciated by some for its creativity and mood-setting qualities, others find it lacking in memorability and coherence.
- “The haunting soundtrack complements the game's eerie atmosphere.”
- “The soundtrack is equally as effective in accomplishing this, ranging from the beats of war drums and chanting to make you feel like this could be your last stand, to music that makes you feel both elated, but also that not all is right with the world.”
- “The music fits the atmosphere and the mood perfectly, similar to Abe's Odyssey.”
- “The controls are wonky, the music and voice acting are just bad.”
- “The music and voice acting are all incredibly amateur, the structure repetitive, and the writing subpar.”
- “It sounds like generic full-midi video game music without soul and, in my opinion, doesn't usually resonate with the atmosphere of the game.”
atmosphere
74 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
66%
30%
4%
The atmosphere of Zeno Clash is widely praised for its unique, surreal, and immersive qualities, characterized by a haunting soundtrack and striking visual style that create an eerie yet beautiful world. Reviewers highlight the game's exceptional worldbuilding and creativity, noting that its bizarre and disjointed elements contribute to a captivating experience that stands out in the gaming landscape. Overall, the atmosphere is considered the game's greatest strength, drawing players into its intoxicating and original environment.
- “Eerie atmosphere in a strange and beautiful world.”
- “The atmosphere, worldbuilding, and music are super cool and unique, which seems to hold true for a handful of the other ace games I have seen.”
- “The environments are all exquisitely crafted and manage to pull off a bizarre yet beautiful atmosphere.”
- “The music in Zeno Clash is as weird as everything else in this game, and really seals the atmosphere.”
- “I'm not really sure if it's a good or a bad thing, but I suppose it's another small contributor to the strangest, most bizarre atmosphere you will ever encounter in a computer game.”
- “The atmosphere is full of creepiness, mostly because of the creatures.”
humor
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in this game is widely praised for its bizarre and surreal elements, with players highlighting memorable lines, absurd character designs, and intentionally bad voice acting that contribute to its comedic charm. Many reviewers found the humor to be a delightful surprise, often blending dark and whimsical tones, making for a uniquely entertaining experience despite some criticisms regarding gameplay mechanics and story depth. Overall, the game is described as hilariously fun, with moments that evoke genuine laughter and a lighthearted approach to its absurd world.
- “Some of the lines in this game are hilariously weird and I still remember them to this day.”
- “It has some hilarious parts like bad voice acting and that one mother holding her 'baby' that is just a pig in a blanket.”
- “The story is bonkers and the characters are all ugly and wear funny clothes.”
character development
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
38%
9%
Character development in the game is marked by its unique and imaginative character designs, which are often described as stunning, bizarre, and creatively inspired. While the visual aesthetics and art direction receive high praise, some reviews note a lack of depth in character development and storytelling, with a few mentioning that the plot is muddled and poorly explained. Overall, the game's strong visual identity and distinctive character models contribute significantly to its appeal, despite some shortcomings in narrative coherence.
- “Not only are the character designs and environments absolutely stunning, the cell-shaded graphics provide the game with a very strong sense of identity, something recent game releases lack, excruciatingly so.”
- “Character design is also marvelous to look at, with many of your adversaries having unique models and despite the game's age, some, especially your female companion, having some really beautiful facial and motion animations with expressive features and lively (and equally bizarre) voice acting that enhances this ethereal fever dream you experience.”
- “The art department really outdid itself on character design, and there isn't a single character in the game that could be classified as 'bland'.”
- “- poorly explained, muddled plot with little character development and too many answers left out (topped off with a mediocre cliffhanger)”
- “- some of the voice acting is under-par, but the character designs and mysterious story is more than enough to make up for it.”
- “Overall: Zeno Clash is a 'weird' game, in setting, character design, story, and even in the base concept of a first-person brawler.”
replayability
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
41%
38%
Overall, the game's replayability is generally considered low, with many players noting that while there are some challenge modes and achievements to pursue, the main campaign is short and lacks substantial content for repeated playthroughs. A few reviewers highlighted the enjoyment of the challenge tower and the fun combat mechanics, but most agree that the game does not offer enough variety or depth to warrant multiple playthroughs.
- “Really good and fun game, the combat feels a bit clunky at times, but it's worth the try and you get used to it. It's really short, but there are challenges, so there's a lot of replayability.”
- “Replayability 9/10: this is an absolute joy to play, whether you're looking for overly fun gameplay or delicious eye candy, this is worth the price it has.”
- “Once you've beaten the main campaign, there are some great challenge maps to play, making for good replay value.”
- “Essentially no replayability though.”
- “There is so little replay value that there is, in fact, no play value.”
- “After the campaign there isn't much replay value other than a few easter eggs and achievements.”
stability
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
89%
The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting various bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, particularly during combat encounters. While some users found the experience enjoyable despite these imperfections, others noted significant frustrations due to technical limitations and unpolished mechanics. Overall, the game is described as "janky" and "buggy," with some players recommending it only for those willing to overlook these issues.
- “Polished, solid, and I haven't run into any glitches.”
- “If you can't really overlook the issues, then this may be one of the only times I say to try the console version out since it sounds virtually bug-free.”
- “Game is buggy, forcibly restricted in many ways (like save locations), deliberately made hard, etc. What I'm trying to say is that at some point you'll pretty much get frustrated by some of its bad designs.”
- “The hit detection is ridiculously absurd, enemies fall into planes where you can't reach them, the triggered events do not trigger (twice in a row in a climactic part of the game)....and heck even the credits are buggy. Play this game only if you want something different, but if you want a nice experience, I wouldn't recommend it.”
- “Expect a buggy, tedious and rather boring experience.”
optimization
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
36%
29%
The game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it runs well on low-end PCs and generally offers solid performance, players frequently report persistent stuttering, particularly during camera movement. Despite various suggested fixes, many users have been unable to eliminate the stuttering entirely, indicating that optimization issues may stem from the underlying engine. Overall, while the game is accessible for a wide range of hardware, the inconsistent performance detracts from the experience.
- “It does this at the same time as it provides solid performance.”
- “And best of all, it is well optimized for my low-end PC, which all Source engine games do.”
- “The combat is brutal, satisfying, and easy to learn; gameplay is well-paced, and the graphics use the Source engine, so you don't need a beastly computer for this game to run smoothly and look great.”
- “Very bad stuttering when looking around (which is 99% of the game).”
- “Constant stuttering while viewing surroundings.”
- “However, I could never get the gameplay to stop stuttering no matter what was suggested on the forums by users and by the developer.”
grinding
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, with combat becoming monotonous due to damage sponge enemies and simplistic mechanics. While some enjoy the inventive setting and moments of fun, many feel that the overall experience is marred by a lack of depth in gameplay and a non-existent story, leading to a frustrating grind that detracts from the enjoyment.
- “The gameplay can get tedious later on; I'd say the universe/setting here is the real selling point.”
- “Dark Messiah is way better, but this is just clunky and nothing about it feels good with the damage sponge enemies and just repetitive tediousness.”
- “The tedious fights feel like a punishment and distraction from the not as unpleasant cut-scenes.”
emotional
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game presents a bizarre blend of surrealism and dark humor, evoking a range of emotions from derision to unease. While it features a heartwarming narrative about confronting impostors, many players feel it lacks depth in emotional storytelling and character development. Overall, it offers a unique experience that may provoke laughter and introspection, but ultimately leaves players feeling disconnected from its emotional core.
- “Finally, if you like weird trippy artwork that could be considered a masterpiece, alongside weird comedy that you want to laugh at, but also makes you want to cry, this is the game for you.”
- “The story is nicely confusing, but lacking emotionally a little.”
- “This is a very strange game about punching the same six or ten people in the face over and over again to make them leave you alone so that you can sort out your crippling emotional problems in peace.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The monetization strategy involves forcing players to watch ads in order to shoot effectively, as gameplay without ads limits weapon use to swinging at enemies.
- “The monetization system feels exploitative, as it pushes players to spend money just to enjoy basic gameplay features.”
- “I find it frustrating that essential items are locked behind a paywall, making it nearly impossible to progress without spending real money.”
- “The constant barrage of ads and in-game purchases detracts from the overall experience, making it feel more like a cash grab than a game.”