Fist-fighting with style
What’s it about?Zeno Clash is a story-driven first person fantasy action brawler that blends ranged combat with melee fighting as you battle across surreal and colourful environments against an array of weird and wonderful creatures.
Set in a world without laws, Zeno Clash follows the plight of a warrior named Ghat, who kills his hermaphrodite Father-Mother and then attempts to flee from his furious siblings. The narrative switches between various stages of the incident as Ghat relays the story back to his friend. Fist-fighting is the name of the game as Zeno Clash blends a mix of standard fighting techniques, such as punches, grabs, blocks, counter-attacks and finishing moves, with some first person shooter elements and weapon-based gameplay, where you can use the likes of dual-pistols and grenade launchers to elimate your foes. Zeno Clash is a bizarre tale that boasts some extraordinary odd-ball characters, a unique art-style and brutal combat.
What do we like?
The art-style in Zeno Clash is stunning and pushes Valve's Source engine to the limits. The cast of kooky characters have real personality thanks to some outstanding design and animation, while the sharp, incredibly detailed and surreal 3D locations act as brilliant back-drops to the action and help to give the game its unique charm. The first person view-point makes you feel deeply involved in its game-world and also ensures that close-quarter fighting feels suitably intense. Despite the familiarity of the combat system, Zeno Clash is extremely playable and the combat system has real weight to it, with subtle touches such as camera shakes and tilts adding to the potency of some violently satisfying punch-ups. Zeno Clash feels like a unique experience with twists and turns that keep you on your toes and a range of quirky characters that never fail to entertain
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