Zeno Clash II Review

Having played the original Zeno Clash to the end and thoroughly enjoying it, I was very eager to try out Zeno Clash II, wondering if it could live up to the expectations I had for it after the first game.

For those of you who don’t know, Zeno Clash was a game made with the Source Engine, featuring a rather unique fighting style, mixing melee combat and shooting together into a nicely formed game, similar to the the combat system seen in Mirror's Edge.

The weapons consist of simple dual pistols to a more powerful explosives launcher, but they can be inconvenient. You don’t really want to be shooting explosives in a tightly packed room. This is what makes your fists essential to use effectively, otherwise you’re not going to be getting very far.

There are also some new secondary weapons. These include the Skull Bombs from the first game, and three new ones. The Chain, The Sun-Moon Gauntlet and the Golem Hand. Skull Bombs are grenades, nothing much more to say. The Chain is basically used as a whip. The Sun-Moon Gauntlet is an interesting one, which requires precise timing and positioning to be used effectively. You have to aim it at the sun or moon and then a short beam of light streaks across the ground, stopping just in front of you. This is why it is so difficult to use but what makes it so fun to use is the satisfaction of watching enemies drop dead as soon as it touches them.

The story is pretty well written; after the events of the first game I honestly didn’t know how they could have created a sequel without the old cliché move of a repeat of what happened in the first game; same script but different characters. But they didn’t, which was a successful move on the  part of the game which gave it a good beginning.

On the subject of beginnings, the game itself starts off well, with Ghat - the protagonist - getting into a bar fight with one of his brothers which results in almost everyone getting up to try and take Ghat on. This provides a good tutorial for players new to the game to get to grips with the fighting technique rather than the weird dream sequences like they had in the first game, although if you want to there is an optional dream tutorial which offers a lot more advanced fighting and defensive techniques.

The problem with the tutorial in Zeno Clash was that it taught you some fairly complex attacks. This is all fine, but it was part of the story. You had to complete the tutorial levels that popped up randomly after missions. Thankfully in Zeno Clash II the tutorial is mandatory, but teaches some pretty deadly but complicated moves and a lot of interesting backstory that happens between Zeno Clash and Zeno Clash II.

The characters are designed well, suiting the game, as well as some old faces appearing, such as Rimat (one of Zeno Clash’s main antagonists) appearing as a friend, as well as many more well-known characters showing up. Almost all of the characters attitudes from Zeno Clash are completely opposite in Zeno Clash II, which is something which makes me love playing the game just a bit more, as you watch old enemies go forward and help you in battle.

One feature that is brand new to Zeno Clash II is the ‘Ally System’. When first faced with combat, you have the choice to bring out some allies. You can only hold a set amount of followers at a time, and this increases as you progress through the game. however you can only call allies when they are full health, so you might call them out so they can swarm on this one guy. Later on, however, a boss might appear while your followers are still healing up, making you face it alone, forcing you to make choices on when you bring out your allies and when you should face a battle alone.

Another feature which is new is a cooperative mode. Play as either Ghat or Rimat  and take on those fights with a friend. When playing single-player, Rimat appears only for cutscenes and combat, disappearing during regular gameplay. When that fight finishes she literally just disappears into a poof of smoke. So now you can sit back and laugh as you watch your friend takes on that massive elephant by themselves, and then moan with despair as they grab a rifle and shoot you in the face with it, which means you have to do that whole fight again as both of you must survive... or you know, you could get some better friends.

Music should also be praised. Fitting, medium paced music for the normal fights, with slightly more fast paced music for boss fights. The ambient noises such as birds cawing, random gunshots, people calling and the sound of hammers hitting anvils which plays when simply exploring town also adds to the simple enjoyment of Zeno Clash II.

Overall Zeno Clash II is a successful follow up to the original game. Well made characters, New features such as co-op and the Allies. An enjoyable game that shouldn’t be missed off lightly.