Zeno clash ultimate edition review

If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our policy. Jump to comments More about Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition. Christian Donlan is a features editor for Eurogamer. Feature This console transition period has been a mess, and will continue through Hitman Year 2 will include new map, roguelike mode. Spoiler-free Spelunky 2 tips for new and returning adventurers.

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Premium only Off Topic: An end-of-the-year miracle! Zeno Clash debuted on the PC last year and was memorable more for the supersized serving of weirdness it dished up rather than its gameplay. Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition comes to the Xbox with a few additions, including some combat tweaks and a two-player mode, which lets you take on the game's challenge levels with a friend. But the new offerings don't change what Zeno Clash is at its core--a simplistic first-person beat-'em-up that's a strange experience but not an altogether compelling one.

Featuring a story that is surreal and at times nonsensical, Zeno Clash puts you in the role of Ghat, a bare-knuckle brawler on the run from his tribe. Ghat is fleeing after committing a terrible sin against Father-Mother, the birdlike hermaphrodite who is parent to all.

You have to face off against a multitude of your own brothers and sisters, as well as a wide array of other creatures using mainly your fists and feet as weapons. Narrative cohesion isn't a strong point of Zeno Clash. The story--which jumps forward and backward in time as it explores the events leading up to your original assault on Father-Mother--doesn't make much sense.

It's also filled to the brim with strange dialogue and even stranger characters. This strangeness permeates the game's design as well, with your various brothers, sisters, and other creatures in this weird world all looking like they've stepped out of someone's fever dreams.

The game's appeal stretches well beyond its absurdities. Game Revolution. If you get a chance to buy it after the inevitable price drop sale in the future, you can't go wrong with Zeno Clash, but at fifteen bucks and one huge 1. At the very least, Zeno Clash provides an experience that most gamers probably haven't experienced before. It is provocative, violent, and definitely interesting, and sporadically fun.

Console Monster. For MS Points, the asking price seems too high for what it is. It's definitely more of an intriguing look rather than an instant classic. Cheat Code Central. The brawling gets old fast and the game's design isn't conducive to using guns, making for some boring, linear gameplay, The lackluster narrative doesn't help.

User Reviews. The original title weighed in as a nominee for fighting game of the year on our site so does lightning strike twice with this revamped effort? Still, the bizarre nature of the title and its mashing of fantasy and punk styling are most likely worth a revisit and it will no doubt raise an eyebrow or two for those completely new to the experience. For someone such as myself, this is a positive comment, but there will no doubt be others that will be swayed in the opposite direction.

Nonetheless, this approach creates unique environments and characters that are extremely memorable. In a nutshell, Zeno Clash details the journey of Ghat, a member of a tribe inhabiting the world of Zenozoik. The player is thrust in medias res as Ghat regains consciousness after a crippling battle with Father-Mother, a towering creature of hermaphroditic nature that serves as the universal parental figure for all members of the tribe.

Leaving Father-Mother for dead, Ghat soon has a legion of pissed off brothers and sisters on his trail. The only member of tribe willing to aid Ghat, Deadra, tags along with him as he escapes his pursuers, leading both on a fugitive journey that allows Ghat to revisit his past and reveal to the player what exactly happened in the events that led up to the death of Father-Mother.

What then pans out in Zeno Clash is an alternation of past and present that sees the pair fleeing from the tribe and battling the wilderness while Ghat reminisces about the slaying when they have time to rest.

The progression allows for players to ease into a game at a steady pace and allows players to get a feel for the contents of the game. As the story continues on, Ghat will run into a number of crazy characters, but the story fails to evolve much beyond the secret of Father-Mother. The ending is extremely anti-climatic, following a re-hashed boss battle that provides little falling action, slamming players into a brick wall after the climax.

Everything in Zeno Clash is so unique and mysterious, players will most likely be glued to the story until the end, but their interpretation of the ending will definitely vary and the constant back-and-forth nature of the delivery may lose a few players.

The story mode will take most players around five to six hours to tackle, but the Ultimate Edition pipes in some more content, even beyond that of the PC version, to extend the gameplay.

Exclusive to the Ultimate Edition , a second player can pick up an Xbox controller for split-screen or online connectivity to help clear out hoards of enemies in the tower and pit modes.