Zenozoik isn’t messing about
Clash: Artifacts Of Chaosis nails, mate.
I’m not trying brag; I’m being vulnerable with you.
It’s at once both a grand time and an annoying one.
The surreal lands of Zenozoik, it turns out, aren’t all sunshine and turkey men.
There are a lot of turkey men, though.
It’s one of those stories which starts off and you’re like, “eh?
“, as there’s no real context to anything.
Early confusion aside, I’m a fan of how the story unfolds.
Although, again, I think the relative chill of the world fits Clash’s dreamy, off-kilter universe.
Zenozoik is, just,phwoar.
It looks the part, alright.
The devs describe it as “punk-fantasy” style and it certainly seems that way.
Everything looks like it’s been etched too, with crosshatch shading lending characters and scenes a wonderful texture.
Exploration in Zenozoik fluctuates in fun-factor as much as its environments, though.
One of the game’s most interesting twists is its use of nighttime.
What’s nightmarish literally is the enemies are more frequent and more challenging, too.
Clash is all about fights.
Honestly, though, I find the fights super tricky.
Don’t get me wrong.
Where’s the opening for a counterattack eh?!
If you might’t be arsed with any of this, you might just ignore it all, too.
Whatever takes your fancy.
Again, the ritual is neat in practice!
But when I win I rarely feel its impact.
Maybe I’ve just not unlocked any of the good ones yet.
So yeah, Clash is an odd one.
I think it presents a very interesting world with a bundle of clever ideas.
The tension in duels is palpable and exploration can be rewarding.
But then there’s a lot of caveats here, too.
I still think the game’s worth giving a shot, though.
Zenozoik has an allure and quirkiness that’s rather magnetic.
