Zenohell

About

Zenohell is a single player arcade shooter game. It was developed by JackDarx and was released on October 14, 2015. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Zenohell is a 90s inspired shoot-em'up (shmup) that is all about simple gameplay, just dodge, shoot, score, with vibrant pixel visuals and a kicking 28 track soundtrack, with lots of content to boot.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

64%

Audience ScoreBased on 53 reviews

music12 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

Fast-paced, exhilarating gameplay that is challenging and addictive for fans of 90s style shmups.
Precise and responsive controls with modern conveniences like a focus button and multiple ship choices offering gameplay variety.
Impressive soundtrack that enhances the game experience with a mix of techno and retro styles.

Extremely fast game speed and confusing, visually noisy backgrounds cause difficulty in seeing and dodging bullets, leading to frustration and eyestrain.
Graphics and presentation are generally considered poor, with low resolution, repetitive and unimpressive visuals that blend poorly with bullet patterns.
Enemy and bullet patterns can feel unfair, repetitive, and sometimes impossible to dodge without memorization, reducing fun and balance.

music
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
35%
13%
The game's soundtrack is widely praised for its energetic, techno-inspired music that enhances the fast-paced gameplay, with memorable shifts in style adding variety. While some note it leans toward modern electronic rather than classic 16-bit sounds, the music overall is considered a standout feature that complements the visuals and gameplay, with options to customize music packs further enriching the experience.
- “It's just incredible - techno type music that melds you to the game and then on the final stage it suddenly changes to a Toaplan type OST which sounds incredible, before going more modern again.”
- “The music sounds fantastic and really fits in with the fast-paced and chaotic gameplay.”
- “Soundtrack really adds to the overall feel of the game.”
- “The retro-styled chip-tunes music is only catchy in a few places.”
- “The musician abuses left to right channel changing and distracts more than adds to the game, but when single channeled, sounds appropriate to fast-paced shooting games.”
- “Though there is an option to change the music pack, I haven't tried it yet, so its quality remains uncertain.”
gameplay
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
72%
14%
The gameplay is fast-paced, simple, and reminiscent of classic 90s shoot 'em ups, emphasizing dodging, shooting, and scoring with mostly solid mechanics and controls. While it offers gameplay variety through different ships and engaging elements, some find it overly fast, unforgiving, and potentially repetitive, with an underdeveloped design for memorization and enemy bullet recognition.
- “Superior to most shovelware shmups on Steam, with mostly solid mechanics and controls.”
- “The game mechanics imply that destroying certain enemies causes their bullets to disappear, saving you from death. This also forces you to destroy enemies as soon as they appear on screen.”
- “The gameplay is fast-paced and simple, similar to classic shoot 'em ups where you avoid enemy projectiles while trying to gain the highest score.”
- “The gameplay is too fast—while speed is necessary in a shmup, here it's impossible to dodge, making the experience rely solely on memorization. This is exacerbated by enemy bullets being unrecognizable.”
- “The gameplay is pretty boring; at the end of the day, it's a bland shooter with little variety.”
- “The game mechanics force you to destroy enemies as soon as they enter the screen because destroying enemies causes their bullets to disappear, resulting in a lack of strategic options.”
graphics
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
56%
22%
The graphics of the game are generally described as primitive, low-resolution, and reminiscent of retro or 90s-style visuals, often compared to MS Paint quality or classic shoot 'em ups. While some players find the visuals overly busy or lacking polish, others appreciate the nostalgic aesthetic and feel it fits the fast-paced gameplay, though bullet visibility and blending with backgrounds can be problematic. Overall, the graphics are considered functional but unimpressive, with many noting the style is a mixed bag of retro charm and underwhelming execution.
- “The graphics are spot-on, looking exactly like something that would have come out for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive or the Turbo Grafix 16/PC Engine.”
- “Visuals resemble that of classic shoot 'em ups.”
- “The game's graphics are very intriguing and add to the game's style and the game's 18-track soundtrack.”
- “The bullet visibility could be improved in some areas for 2 reasons: sometimes it does not blend well with the background and sometimes because the graphics are so awful that your eyes will have trouble focusing on them, and even in the first plays you will have trouble understanding what they are.”
- “High system requirements, particularly when one considers how truly simple, even primitive, the graphics are.”
- “The graphical quality is mediocre - it's supposed to look 'retro', but it really just looks like it was all done in MS Paint.”
story
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The story in this game is minimal and lacks depth, serving mostly as a brief backdrop with some side quests. While the plot is negligible, it is not a primary focus of the gameplay.
- “Some side quests to complete.”
- “This game has a brief background story but it lacks detail.”
- “The plot in this game is negligible.”
- “'Save us!' Of course, plot isn't the main draw for this game.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in this game involves significant repetition to earn currency for unlockables, which can lead to loss of interest for some players. However, its simpler approach avoids overly complex or frustrating systems, appealing to those who prefer straightforward progression.
- “Finally, there are unlockables that require a lot of grinding to earn currency, and you probably lose interest in the game.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
No specific user feedback is provided for the aspect "replayability," so a summary cannot be generated.
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the humor in the game funny and straightforward, contributing to an enjoyable experience that can also become more challenging.