ZERO PROTOCOL

About

ZERO PROTOCOL is a single player survival shooter game with a horror theme. It was developed by purmalis and was released on September 26, 2024. It received positive reviews from players.

Focus on exploration Find passwords for doors, search for access cards for terminals, repair damaged equipment and combine items. Think with your head. Intense battles You have a gun, but that doesn't mean you're safe. The enemies here are deadly, and not all of them can be killed... The atmosphere of cold loneliness Graphics inspired by classic 3D games such as Zero Tolerance, System Shock…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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82%

Audience ScoreBased on 264 reviews

story45 positive mentions

replayability3 negative mentions

Strong atmospheric and immersive survival horror experience with convincing retro sci-fi visuals and sound design.
Engaging puzzle design that is logical, varied, and well integrated into the gameplay, enhanced by unique mechanics like the sanity system and photo snapshot feature.
Multiple endings and branching storyline encourage replayability, with thoughtful exploration and story revealed through environmental storytelling and logs.

Combat is basic and somewhat clunky, with limited weapon variety and some frustration due to enemy behaviors, especially the frequent, annoying spider enemies and sometimes unpredictable enemy spawns.
Game is relatively short, often around 3-5 hours per playthrough, which may feel insufficient for some players at full price despite being a complete and polished package.
Technical issues including occasional bugs, mouse input and stuttering problems, save system limitations, and some puzzles can be obtuse or frustrating, occasionally impeding smooth progression.

story
92 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
49%
48%
3%
The story is generally praised for its intriguing sci-fi horror setting, atmospheric world-building, and multiple endings, though it is often described as short, somewhat thin, and relying heavily on environmental storytelling and notes rather than cinematic narrative. While not groundbreaking or complex, it successfully engages players with its pacing, subtle twists, and exploratory approach, despite some criticism for exposition-heavy moments and limited plot depth. Overall, it provides a satisfying, compact narrative experience that complements the game's tension and gameplay.
- “Zero Protocol is a compact, atmospheric sci-fi horror experience that leans heavily into tension, environmental storytelling, and the unsettling loneliness of an isolated research facility.”
- “Rather than relying on cinematic cutscenes, Zero Protocol builds its story through exploration, letting the environment relay the unsettling truth piece by piece.”
- “The choices you make—some obvious, others subtle—shape the story and lead to multiple endings, rewarding exploratory players who pay attention to hidden details.”
- “The story is derivative and reliant on exposition dumps at the end.”
- “Some encounters can feel abrupt or underdeveloped, and the relatively small scope means the story concludes before fully exploring every concept it introduces.”
- “Finally, the writing isn't great, and it needs to be when all of the story is revealed by reading emails.”
gameplay
76 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
62%
4%
The gameplay offers a solid blend of survival horror and immersive sim elements, highlighted by a unique sanity and snapshot mechanic that adds depth and tension, though the system can feel underdeveloped or clunky at times. While combat is straightforward and enemy variety limited, the pacing favors deliberate exploration and puzzle-solving over constant action, creating an atmospheric but occasionally repetitive experience. Despite some simplicity and flaws in mechanics, the game is generally praised for its engaging puzzles, immersion, and nostalgic appeal within its short runtime.
- “The gameplay design focuses on deliberate pacing rather than constant action.”
- “The core gameplay of exploring a level, finding codes and keys, solving puzzles, and watching out for ambushes all came together to form a solid 3 hour experience.”
- “The snapshot tool is super awesome and while I enjoy the challenge of spatial and puzzle memory, it allows for more complex puzzles and more tense gameplay during inputting codes or other tasks.”
- “Overall, the gameplay felt super repetitive and often the "puzzles" were just awkwardly hidden objects in random locations, or worse, objects that only spawned in after some unknown trigger was hit.”
- “All of it makes for tedious gameplay, consisting of joyless combat and key-hunting busywork.”
- “In summary, this game starts off great, has some neat elements but overall gameplay and interaction is just too unrefined for a pixel perfect action it sometimes requires and by about third I just wanted it to end since I bought it.”
atmosphere
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
30%
5%
The game excels at creating a tense, immersive atmosphere characterized by dimly lit, claustrophobic environments and a retro sci-fi horror aesthetic reminiscent of classics like Resident Evil and System Shock. Its sound design, environmental storytelling, and subtle dread-building consistently engage players, making the isolated research facility feel oppressively lonely and unnerving. While short and focused, the atmosphere is widely praised as the game's strongest element, effectively driving the horror experience without relying on cheap jump-scares.
- “Zero Protocol is a compact, atmospheric sci-fi horror experience that leans heavily into tension, environmental storytelling, and the unsettling loneliness of an isolated research facility.”
- “The facility’s utilitarian design, combined with flickering lights and the ambient hum of failing machinery, helps establish an atmosphere where you always feel watched, even when nothing is moving.”
- “Overall, Zero Protocol is a focused and atmospheric horror adventure that excels at building dread through subtlety rather than spectacle.”
- “But a survival horror game trades on its atmosphere, and a legion of killer leaping spiders appearing from nowhere all the time is, if nothing else, a fantastic way to kill the tension.”
- “The abandoned research complex with tight, dark corridors and blood everywhere successfully provide a gloomy atmosphere, but the enemies look rather unrefined.”
- “There are cheap deaths due to simple design oversights - too many times I enter a room and interact with a PC only to be attacked from behind while doing so. Either the game should pause when interacting or rethink the trigger points. The use of static for atmosphere and pixel style sometimes makes it hard to distinguish shadows from scripted effects until it's too late.”
graphics
53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
60%
6%
The graphics are characterized by a deliberate retro, pixelated, PS1-era aesthetic that effectively supports the game's horror atmosphere and nostalgic appeal. While some find the visuals charming and fitting, others note the dated, simplistic, and occasionally stiff presentation, with limited graphical options and performance issues. Overall, the style divides opinion but is largely appreciated for enhancing the game's mood and distinctive identity.
- “The retro aesthetic is also top-notch.”
- “Do not be fooled by the graphics, the attention to detail is excellent, if you walk in blood you make footprints, you can see yourself in mirrors etc.”
- “A terrific little horror shooter with non-linear storytelling, clearly inspired by the original System Shock going by its lo-fi graphical style, which is pulled off superbly.”
- “Weak graphics, weak story-telling and somewhat weak action.”
- “Its pared-down visuals, stiff animations and deliberate pacing can feel dated, especially for players used to more fluid modern horror titles.”
- “There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks.”
replayability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
45%
33%
The game offers strong replayability through multiple easily accessible endings and hidden secrets, encouraging players to revisit and explore different choices. Its relatively short length of around three hours per run makes replaying feasible and rewarding. Overall, the meaningful content and nonlinear structure provide good value and incentive for multiple playthroughs.
- “This nonlinear approach adds replay value and encourages you to reconsider earlier decisions to see how different outcomes unfold.”
- “Also the game has secrets hidden everywhere; I managed to complete one ending, but there are more to find, so there is some replay value as well.”
- “The game is pretty short, at around 3 hours a run, but offers enough replayability for a second playthrough.”
- “The story is involving, although I didn't experience all of it as there are some areas or rooms that I couldn't access, and I didn't get all of the achievements, which hints at some unexplored territory and some replay value.”
- “There appear to be multiple endings, or at least things you can completely miss if you don't catch the right info, so there's decent replayability here.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The game's music is generally praised for its energetic and memorable soundtrack, including a standout end credits song, though some players wish for more consistent background tracks, such as elevator music or less silence during gameplay. Classical music on one floor was noted as a clever tribute, albeit unintentionally.
- “Charming old school graphics and banger soundtrack.”
- “The end credits song goes hard.”
- “The only thing that elevated a reference to a clever tribute was classical music playing on the loop on one of the floors because of a technical failure.”
- “Too much senseless running around without any kind of background music.”
- “Another tiny nitpick I'd have is that I wish the game had an elevator music track.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The game's optimization is currently problematic, with noticeable mouse input stuttering and inconsistent performance, especially on AMD GPUs. Additionally, it lacks essential features like extensive graphical settings and key rebinding, impacting overall gameplay experience.
- “As of now, the game is unenjoyable with mouse due to mouse input stuttering.”
- “There are a lot of missing features you would expect from a game, like more graphical options and key rebinding, and the performance is kind of iffy.”
- “Stuttering issues with AMD GPU.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game becomes tedious over time due to increasing difficulty and repetitive combat, resulting in joyless gameplay and monotonous key-hunting tasks.
- “It can get quite tedious as the game goes on and the level of difficulty starts spiking from this awkward combat.”
- “All of it makes for tedious gameplay, consisting of joyless combat and key-hunting busywork.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is minimal and not particularly engaging, with users hoping for at least some funny moments, even in its flaws.