Zeno Clash 2

About

"Zeno Clash 2" is the sequel to the distinctive first-person brawler, taking players back to the peculiar world of Zenozoik. The game offers enhanced combat and level variety, and continues the story of Ghat and his quest to prevent sinister schemes. Newcomers can also enjoy the game, with a setting that introduces them to the universe's eccentricities. The Special Edition includes a digital artbook and original soundtrack.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

81%

Audience ScoreBased on 835 reviews

story132 positive mentions

stability18 negative mentions

Zeno Clash 2 features astounding visual design and a unique, surreal world that captivates players.
The combat system has been improved with more combos and mechanics, making it more engaging than the first game.
The story expands on the lore of Zenozoik, providing a deeper narrative that answers many questions from the first game.

The game suffers from bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay and immersion.
The open-world design feels empty and can lead to tedious backtracking without meaningful exploration.
Voice acting and dialogue quality are inconsistent, with some performances feeling flat and unengaging.

story
446 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
65%
5%
The story of Zeno Clash 2 continues directly from the first game, expanding on its bizarre world and characters while introducing new plot twists and themes. While some players find the narrative compelling and unique, others criticize it for being convoluted and lacking depth, often feeling disjointed or confusing, especially for those unfamiliar with the original. Overall, the storytelling is seen as a significant improvement over the first game, though it still retains its surreal and eccentric charm.
- “Zeno Clash 2 takes place directly after the first game, continuing the story with all the characters from the original, and in my opinion giving us one of the most outrageously weird and utterly awesome stories out there.”
- “The story delves deeper into the world of Zenozoik, introducing new characters and plot twists.”
- “The story here keeps a few red lines from the first game while expanding in several new directions, keeping its audience's attention for longer in the process.”
- “The story is completely nonsensical and after a while I just started skipping all the cutscenes, because it became painfully obvious to me that no amount of cutscenes will be able to clarify what the hell is happening in the game.”
- “The story is very strange, but that's not a bad thing.”
- “The story is decent but isn't presented as well as it should be and that is a shame because the story touches upon some interesting themes that should be explored further.”
gameplay
218 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
64%
8%
The gameplay of Zeno Clash II has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its open-world structure and new mechanics, such as companion recruitment, while others criticize it for being repetitive and clunky compared to its predecessor. Many find the combat mechanics fun yet awkward, with issues like unresponsive controls and a lack of variety in attacks. Overall, while the game offers a unique and imaginative world, its gameplay struggles with consistency and depth, leading to a somewhat polarizing experience.
- “The gameplay is functional and actually very fun (especially in co-op) - once you get used to it you might find yourself spending some time in the arena mode just for the fun of it, but mostly it is a vehicle to explore and experience one of the most astoundingly exciting and original worlds ever realized in a video game.”
- “The gameplay is a fresh approach in an FPS game where you punch, kick, and smash opponents with a caveman-like hammer or other weird things you can pick up.”
- “Tight combat mechanics, a shockingly intricate and interesting story, crazy-go-nuts-amazing art direction, great music, and wonderful animation abound.”
- “As far as I managed to play it, there seemed to be no guidance, no explanations, the gameplay felt unintuitive and clunky. The narrative gave me the impression that it was written by someone high on something that didn't go quite right - his imagination kept going and going but his ability to write things down didn't quite keep up, so the result feels like there are gaps in logic.”
- “The gameplay is still boring and limited and frustrating.”
- “The combat system, which is the bulk of the gameplay, is terribly unresponsive and feels incredibly awkward.”
graphics
132 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
54%
7%
The graphics of Zeno Clash 2 are widely praised for their unique and surreal art style, which draws inspiration from Chilean culture and psychedelic aesthetics, creating a visually striking experience. While many reviewers note improvements over the first game, some criticize the graphics for feeling dated or glitchy, with mixed opinions on the overall execution. Despite these criticisms, the game's bizarre and colorful visuals remain a highlight, captivating players who appreciate its unconventional design.
- “The art style and world designs are, of course, as good as they have ever been, with loads of awesome and crazy characters, beautifully bizarre maps and areas, and set pieces that'll have you staring in disbelief.”
- “Zeno Clash 2 has an extremely weird world, represented by a psychedelic art style, that leads me to believe that you can only enjoy or create this game while in a drug-induced state of mind.”
- “The graphics are fantastic, although perhaps too much so - I had to turn down my resolution by a lot before it started to work without any lag.”
- “My only complaints are the graphics and level design have suffered quite a lot.”
- “The game itself does not quite live up to the visuals, which makes sense as it would basically have to be the best game ever made to do that.”
- “Not so good gameplay and the graphics are horrendous.”
music
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
40%
5%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its immersive and atmospheric qualities, often describing it as haunting, tribal, and fitting for the game's unique world. However, some players found the music to be repetitive or distracting, particularly during exploration, which detracted from the overall experience. Overall, while the soundtrack is generally considered a highlight, its execution and integration into gameplay have drawn some criticism.
- “The music is quite interesting as well, alien just like the world, with hints of tribal sounds and orchestral melodies that accompany the breathtaking landscapes.”
- “The soundtrack is top notch; with different tunes for each area, including day and night tracks, and combat music.”
- “The music is fantastic, accompanying the game's atmosphere perfectly when needed.”
- “The controls are okay, the music and voice acting are bad.”
- “I get the general gist of 'order vs chaos', but the way the characters deliver their dialogues is just weird and sometimes a bit jarring. The audio mixing is all over the place; the music is incredibly loud and you can barely listen to the characters speaking. Even with the music lowered, the dialogue mixing is still uneven.”
- “The music is simplistic and lifeless compared to the first, with quite a few bad remixes of tracks from the first game.”
atmosphere
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
57%
9%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its haunting soundtrack, immersive worldbuilding, and unique art style, creating a surreal and engaging experience. Reviewers highlight the strong character designs and deep storytelling that enhance the overall ambiance, although some note that certain gameplay elements can detract from this immersive quality. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered its standout feature, drawing players into a creatively rich and thought-provoking environment.
- “The worldbuilding is still great and so is the atmosphere and music.”
- “I was fascinated by the dreamy and surreal atmosphere of the game.”
- “The atmosphere of the game is very bizarre and outlandish, but also quite strong.”
- “The atmosphere, the characters, and the art from the first game still existed; however, the clunky fighting system and the 'allied system' worked against it.”
- “Okay, the combat system was clunky in the first part as well; however, the allied system somewhat drew me out of the game, as it kills the convincing atmosphere.”
- “Normally adding open-world elements to a game is a good thing, but in this case, they don't reinforce the atmosphere and end up being unnecessary baggage that the game would have been better off without.”
stability
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and performance issues that significantly detract from the overall experience. Players have encountered unplayable conditions, especially in co-op mode, and many noted that the graphical and hitbox problems are particularly problematic for a fighting game. While some find the quirks amusing, the overwhelming consensus is that the game requires substantial improvements to its stability.
- “The game is unplayable in co-op mode, due to the countless glitches that make the game actually unplayable.”
- “I hardly scratched the surface and buggy, glitchy graphics meant I had to restart the game twice.”
- “Of course, developers tried hard, they made a wonderful world, beautiful and big, but at the same time the amount of bugs and glitches is too damn high.”
character development
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
50%
19%
Character development in the game is marked by strikingly unique and often bizarre character designs that enhance the overall atmosphere and worldbuilding. While the narrative and character interactions can be engaging, some players note issues with voice acting and linear storytelling, which may detract from the experience. Overall, the imaginative visuals and creative character concepts are praised, though gameplay mechanics and depth of character development may leave some players wanting more.
- “This is the most enthralling aspect of Zeno Clash as it allows for the creative character design, imaginative environments, and thought-provoking dialogue to be a major focus.”
- “Once again, the character design, dream-like environments, and captivating story make it a truly beautiful and enthralling experience.”
- “The environments and character design are truly breathtaking.”
- “Voice acting is bad; it sounds like they got random people off the street who are bored to be alive. Character design is just bad; the player character looks like a scraggly old rag, and NPCs look like an unimaginative combination of creatures from other games. Controls are pretty bad, cannot jump, and the heavy attacks feel really slow and delayed. You can just spam run and quick attack; it's not very engaging at all.”
- “The addition of the companion system is neat, but I find its reliance on a stat of its own (when you already have so many primary stats to invest in) means you're going to miss a lot of the story unless you intentionally hamper your own character development.”
- “The character designs range from hilarious to downright creepy.”
humor
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its absurdity and charm, featuring a mix of bizarre character designs, funny enemies, and comical situations that keep players entertained. Many reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke laughter through its quirky visuals and engaging gameplay, making it a standout aspect that enhances the overall experience. Overall, the humor is described as both hilarious and integral to the game's appeal, particularly in cooperative play.
- “The character designs range from hilarious to downright creepy.”
- “I think I rarely laughed that much, and especially in co-op, this game is so funny and entertaining for hours.”
- “This game is hilarious and pretty fun.”
optimization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
28%
43%
The optimization of the game is generally criticized, with users noting that while it runs adequately on modern machines, it suffers from significant performance issues such as heavy frame drops and lag, even on high-end gaming PCs. Despite some commendable graphical elements like shadows and lighting, the overall experience is marred by inconsistent performance and various technical shortcomings.
- “Performance: 6 - though it uses some great shadows and lighting, the game suffers from heavy frame drops in some areas.”
- “+ no performance problems”
- “Yeah, I know it's an old game from the era when having a 2-core Intel CPU with proper performance boost was a thing, like 2007 or so, but still.”
- “The shit I waste my money on; even if you have a high-end gaming PC, this game is so poorly optimized it lags like crazy.”
- “From the weird lighting, the performance problems, the balance and difficulty issues, the non-intuitive, over-complicated, and unreliable system... a lot of things in ZC2 just don't work out.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, with long and drawn-out combat sequences that detract from the overall experience. While some note that facing larger enemies is less tedious than before, the overall gameplay often feels like a chore, leading to concerns about poor game design that forces players to endure monotonous tasks for rewards.
- “However, the combat gets pretty tedious very quickly, and the poor script and voice acting are hard to swallow.”
- “I would only recommend it just to experience the weirdness of it; otherwise, it's quite tedious and frustrating.”
- “The fighting is so long and drawn out that it becomes tedious and boring.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a strong emotional investment in the game, highlighting its deep and heartfelt story that resonates with those familiar with the first installment. The unique and bizarre elements enhance the experience, making it a memorable journey that rivals even triple-A titles. Overall, the emotional connection and sense of empowerment contribute significantly to the game's appeal.
- “There's more story and things make more sense (without making too much sense, of course, it is Zeno Clash), but I found myself really emotionally invested.”
- “It was fun, and because I have a strong emotional connection with the first game, it was a blast to play.”
- “The story is deep and heartfelt.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate the engaging story and level-up system that encourages multiple playthroughs, others feel that the lack of additional content and a relatively short playtime limit its replay value. Cooperative play is noted as a positive factor for enhancing replayability, but some users express disappointment in the overall depth for repeated experiences.
- “Replayability 10/10: the story for the game is very easily replayable with its level-up system of playing with attributes such as strength, endurance, and leadership.”
- “I finished the game in roughly 10 hours, but there's some extra content I left unfinished, and the co-op definitely increases the replayability. I suggest playing the first game if you haven't, and if you have, play ZCII on hard.”
- “Great game with great combat mechanics; the co-op mode and extra content really enhance the replay value.”
- “Seemed like it was too short, though, and there isn't much replayability.”
- “Great game with great combat mechanics; too bad it has little outside content and little replay value.”
- “I finished the game in roughly 10 hours, but there's some extra stuff I left unfinished, and the co-op definitely increases the replayability.”

59%Critics’ scoreBased on 10 critic reviews

Buy Zeno Clash 2

8h Median play time

10h Average play time

7-15h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 5 analyzed playthroughs

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