Zeno Clash 2

Zeno Clash 2 is not as good as its predecessor, but it does offer more of its unique storytelling, surreal visuals and excellent first-person brawling!
This time around the scope is bigger. There are more enemy variety, a bigger traversable world, secrets to find and a non-linear progression through the story.
Though I can appreciate the elevated scenery and a "bigger" story, I do think that the linearity and focus of the first was better.
Either way, I strongly recommend playing the first Zeno Clash before this one.

Zeno Clash 2 — Review
Zeno Clash 2 is one of those games that feels impossible to compare to anything else. It’s weird, beautiful, awkward, and fascinating all at once — a surreal first-person brawler that doubles as an art piece about family, rebellion, and strange creatures that look like they walked straight out of a fever dream.
Developed by the Chilean studio ACE Team, this sequel continues the story of Ghat and his bizarre family from the first Zeno Clash. If you thought the first game was strange, this one cranks it up to eleven — but also tries to be bigger, longer, and more open.
Story and Setting
The story picks up right after the original. Ghat returns to confront Father-Mother — a mysterious being who raised dozens of children in the strange, tribal world of Zenozoik. The narrative dives deep into questions of loyalty, family bonds, and personal freedom.
It’s not told in a conventional way. The dialogue can be cryptic, the characters act strangely, and the world follows its own dreamlike logic. You’ll meet creatures with bone masks, bird heads, and half-human bodies — all of it rendered in a style that’s both grotesque and oddly beautiful.
It feels less like watching a normal fantasy story and more like exploring someone’s surreal imagination — a kind of living painting where you’re not sure what’s real or metaphorical.
Gameplay
Zeno Clash 2 keeps the same core idea as the first game: first-person melee combat. You punch, dodge, counter, and use light weapons — all from a close, intense perspective. The developers expanded the combat system this time, giving you better timing, blocking mechanics, and some light RPG-style progression.
When it works, it’s incredibly satisfying — you can feel every punch connect. Fights have a raw, physical weight to them that’s rare in first-person games.
However, the combat also shows its limits. The movement can feel clunky, the hit detection isn’t always perfect, and battles sometimes turn chaotic rather than tactical. Still, there’s a real sense of impact and creativity behind every encounter.
This sequel also adds semi-open exploration — you can wander parts of Zenozoik freely, take on side quests, and talk to NPCs. It’s a cool idea, though not fully polished. The open areas feel a bit empty at times, but they do make the world feel bigger and more alive than in the first game.
Presentation
This is where Zeno Clash 2 truly shines. The art direction is absolutely stunning in its strangeness. Every creature, landscape, and building looks like it was sculpted by hand in a dream. It’s grotesque but oddly poetic — a world that doesn’t resemble anything else in gaming.
The Unreal Engine visuals still hold up surprisingly well. The character designs are unforgettable, and the music mixes tribal rhythms with ambient tones that perfectly match the surreal vibe.
Performance-wise, it’s solid, though not flawless — you might notice some rough edges and dated animations. But honestly, the artistic vision is so strong that it’s easy to forgive.
What I Liked
Completely unique art direction and world design
Brutal, tactile melee combat
Fascinating story with surreal and emotional undertones
Great soundtrack and atmosphere
Expanded exploration compared to the first game
What I Didn’t Like
Combat can feel clumsy and inconsistent
Open-world elements are underdeveloped
Storytelling is abstract — hard to follow if you haven’t played the first game
Some technical roughness (AI, animations, voice sync)
Final Thoughts
Zeno Clash 2 is the definition of a cult classic: flawed but unforgettable. It’s not a game that everyone will love — it’s too strange, too experimental, and sometimes too rough — but for those who appreciate weird worlds and raw creativity, it’s a gem.
It’s more ambitious than the first game, with deeper combat and a broader world, even if not all of it works perfectly. Still, it’s one of those experiences that stick with you — not because it’s polished, but because it dares to be different.
My Score: 7.5/10
Beautifully bizarre, messy, and imaginative — a world worth visiting if you crave something truly unique.

This is one of the best sequels out there. It updated the feel of the first Zeno Clash where the combat feels more satisfying. Which was smart because instead of a stage to stage approach of Zeno Clash 1, Zeno Clash 2 is more modern with an open world approach that focuses more on the combat.

More world building in this awesome freaky universe is always a plus but this open world stuff was unnecessary. I missed the mission to get the first chain weapon until right before the end of the game but if I got that when I was supposed to it would have been super OP and made any other form of fighting useless the whole time, you get nothing from killing people so I basically ignored every single fight and random enemy the entire game. Def play this if you liked the first one but I won't say it's a good time. Thankfully it was pretty short since you can skip all the fights

This sequel was created in Unreal Engine so it feels a bit different from the OG one. Coop is now possible, and the world is kinda semi-open with a bunch of loading screens in between.

I played it in coop without too many issues. (Just a few crashes from my coop buddy)
Achievement-wise, it is fine except for the coop one where you need someone to unlock it.

Overall, the game is still fun with some new mechanics here and there, but the storyline wasn't that impactful like the first one.

This game helped me understand a statement made by the youtuber Maxor "Violence is not the solution. It is a question and the answer is yes."

Zeno Clash 2 is another bizarre entry in the Zeno Clash series, it's basically a refined version of the first game with improvements made to the story and combat, a semi-open world and better gameplay with native controller support and a game that didn't crash once.
Zeno Clash 2 is a direct continuation of the first game, it's story is just as bizarre and strange but it does well to expand on the universe, whilst the first game was a simple family fued, zeno clash 2 explores the very nature of the world's existence and even explores the idea that the world we inhabit may have more than meets the eye. It won't answer any of those questions however and I do think the ending is quite unsatisfying which is a shame considering the genuinely intriguing setup. Voice acting is about on par as the previous entry but some of the awkward dialogue has been somewhat improved, it's still super awkward and funny in places but it's not as nonsensical.
Gameplay is so much better, whilst the first game is enjoyable, zeno clash 2 refined the formula, it removes the heavy emphasis on guns and focuses more on the hand to hand combat with an expanded move set which is incredibly satisfying. Guns do play a part but they can no longer be reloaded and appear much more sparsely which is a significant improvement, heavy enemies can be defeated with normal combos rather than relying on melee weapons and you can also recruit npcs to fight alongside you. Ultimately the gameplay is significantly better and genuinely really fun to play through.
The semi-open world structure is also better than the simple linear structure of the first, there are npcs with side quests, collectibles and unlockable skill points, the skill system is incredibly basic with you only unlocking improvements to stats and the type of npc you can recruit but the side quests are fun and do help expand on the world building.
This was a really fantastic game and a significant step up from the original, whilst it lacks the absolutely bizarre nonsensical dialogue, mostly, it's still a fantastic beat em up in a completely unique world. Definitely worth a play just for the world alone but thankfully there is a great game here as well, excellent visuals, great soundtrack and fantastic gameplay means this is the full package.