Zeno Clash 2

A slightly improved sequel
Both Zeno Clash are budget games from a very small studio
Combat
It remains a very basic brawler. This time with a few tweaks, to almost everything the original offered.
Nothing wrong with simplicity. The fighting system is fairly functional.
But like the original, its biggest strengths rely on...well everything that isn't combat.
Still, combat got some minimal changes. More weapons, new abilities. The option for co op.
They eased up a bit on combat encounters. sprinkled in more exploration to areas, a non linear quest progression, some puzzles, secrets and collectibles.
Problems with Combat
AI still don't do much to differentiate fighting styles. It is possible that they have more of tendency to wait for their turn to attack, when in groups. Which make them look a bit brain dead.
Lock on insist on turning on by itself.
I Have no idea why the gauntlet is even available for combat. It's a painful and unreliable move
The ability is necessary to solve puzzles, its entire schtic is that it requires natural light to even work, cant be aimed directly at the target, and likely will miss everything that's not inanimate.
In a combat scenario it means that you need to turn your back to an enemy, look up, and hope to god, the line of attack crosses the enemies path.
Story; Setting; Characters
Its intriguing and creative. That's mostly why i played these games
it's a punk fantasy where almost everyone seems to be an anthropomorphic creature (and you can actually learn why and...ITS GROSS).
It is larger and denser than what came before. If the Original set the stage, this one ran with it, developed lore, explored characters and zenozoik world, and gave it, the golem and its zenos a purpouse.
Everything is presented in different stages of evolution and understanding. There is no set of rules, morals or intelligence identical to each zeno. And now, you get to know why Golem seeks to civilize the world, forcing human like traits in a regressing society .
Ghat is a little more interesting here. albeit fairly one dimensional. likely stuck on the same loop of logic. But i find it funny, that he suddenly turns a 180º because golem is introducing morals and laws, that he cant begin to comprehend. So he is always slightly irritated by everything.
Negatives
Rimat on the other hand, Damn...i wish they had chosen another character. Her entire existence is to be protective of her leader. She is incapable of discussing anything that doesn't involve fathermother.
Pacing issues. Early quests that require visiting brothers that have moved back to their real parents have been, mostly wasted opportunities. It adds very little to the game, at most i would classify it as filler quests in an already short game
Level design had some improvements, but its still fairly dated. My biggest issue is that a lot of these areas don't feel like livable places. Which they should be, as different groups and families live there.
ENDING
To me, it might as well be a definitive ending to the story
it is sad to see the main story end, in such a short game. And they did leave it open to interpretation, of what could happen next. I just think this ending fits.
In reality nothing changed in centuries and nothing ever will. They will go back to being perfectly unaware.

There is no other game out there like this, game is literally a piece of abstract/surreal art!

Duration: 6.9 hours (nice)
Score: 6/10

Few games are as unapologetically *weird* as the Zeno Clash series. Boasting striking art, unhinged character designs, and esoteric worldbuilding, they're no less strange in the gameplay department, with unique mechanics that range from compelling to sloppy. A sort of first-person boxing adventure, Zeno Clash II picks up after the events of the first game: a strange, sentient Golem has imprisoned the Father-Mother who kidnapped protagonist Ghak and his siblings from their homes, planning to instill his 'civilized law' to break them of their supposedly barbaric ways of solving everything through street fighting. It only gets weirder from here, with Ghak and his adopted sister Rimat trying to find the Golem's weakness and make their peace with finding out that they were stolen from their homes as infants.


+Incredibly unique worldbuilding and art
+High-impact and satisfying, if sometimes janky, first-person boxing combat is very unique
+Lean and well-paced; very little padding and often introducing new mechanics and areas

-The story is pretty bare bones and the strangeness doesn't necessarily lend itself to depth
-Fights against more than one enemy become messy really quickly, with poor lock-on and running in circles to avoid being surrounded
-Enemies don't grant XP or loot, so non-mandatory fights feel a bit pointless to not just run past since you gain nothing from them


All in all, it's a very uneven package but I still can recommend it as one of those uniquely messy games that actually bursts with creativity and new ideas. They might not all pan out, but you can't knock the game for how boldly and consistently it tries something new.

Great game, great sequel to Zeno Clash.
Combat is much better than first game. You can play coop.
Adds much more lore to the world of Zenozoik and characters.
I need more of Zenozoik. This is my utopia.

Played right after the first game, and compared to the first, the sequel is worse in terms of mechanics. The upgrade system is based on totems and not on figts which doesn't motivate the player to go into optional fights. The fight system got sluggish; sometimes there were bugs where the character stood and didn't respond to any inputs. In terms of the universe of Zenozoik, the game is great, but as I said the gameplay is worse and the game is too long and becomes very boring. The first half should've been reduced twice. I hope that Clash Artifacts of Chaos is much better.

Good 6.5/10 game. Has one of the most unique art styles and concepts in a game.

This review does not contain any spoilers.
Zeno Clash 2 an amazing sequel, taking everything from its predecessor to the next level.
This is a perfect example of a sequel done right. It improves upon every single aspect of the first game, and despite being on a different engine, the artstyle remained true to the original. Unlike its predecessor, it features more open levels, but does so in a way that they don't feel pointless or empty or too large, they're just right. The other new features such as collectibles give you a reason to explore every nook and cranny in said environments, and the day/night cycle really adds to the world not just feeling alive but looking varied at different times of day. The worldbuilding is still great and so is the atmosphere and music.
You can recruit people to join you which is a welcome (optional) feature, but I wish there was some way to heal party members after a fight, as they become unavailable to summon for fights if they're injured. The checkpoints are generous and if you die in an encounter, you don't have to backtrack and any previously unavailable party member can be summoned to aid you in battle.
The story has one beat that feels a little bit "the writer needed this to happen". Other than that, it explores interesting themes that are unusual in video games; what it means to be family and whether it's right to force a people to become more civilised, among others.
The co-op is an interesting idea and I'm looking forward to trying it with a friend, after which I will update this review.