Clash: Artifacts of Chaos

шедевральный симулятор ходьбы без карты с отличными драками

Вселенная "Zeno Clash" это что-то с чем-то, Обожаю их стиль. А Здесь будет кошка, люди, которые будут пролистывать страницу, могут погладить ее. 　　　 　　／＞　　フ 　　　 　　| 　_　 _ l 　 　　 　／` ミ＿xノ 　　 　 /　　　 　 | 　　　 /　 ヽ　　 ﾉ 　 　 │　　|　|　| 　／￣|　　 |　|　| 　| (￣ヽ＿_ヽ_)__) 　＼二つ

Very conditional recommend depending on your tolerance for labyrinths. Got this on sale, so I'm pleased with it because I mostly bought it for ACE Team's brand of weird, but it has one major flaw: The level design is atrocious, unless you're [i]really[/i] into corridor mazes. Most areas are just a mess of crisscrossing paths and involve a fair amount of backtracking (made worse by the admittedly cool nightform mechanic where you revisit areas at night). You open a lot of shortcuts, and none of them are satisfying, they just make the backtracking slightly less miserable. The map is not very helpful either and while you'll never really get lost, you'll be going the wrong way [i]a lot[/i]. It's just constant zig-zagging that makes exploration feel more like you're moving through a queue at the airport than exploring an alien world. I still think it's worth it for the amazing art direction: the setting and story are compelling, the music is fantastic and the combat is quite fun for the most part - it can feel kind of unresponsive at times and there's some feedback issues (like with parries), but overall it's engaging and satisfying (it has really good impacts)... Even so I'm not sure I'll finish the game because I reached a new area, saw all the paths and died a little inside.

Context: I bought this game on sale for ~$4. I collected all of the achievements across 1 playthrough for a total of 18 hours. If the character designs in the trailers and images weren't enough to tell you, Clash: AOC is a one-of-a-kind game. For what is technically the third entry in the Zeno Clash franchise, Clash serves both as prequel and jumping on point for newcomers. Players step into the role of Pseudo, a grouchy old martial artist who finds himself playing bodyguard for a small bird-like child dubbed "The Boy". The Boy has magic powers that have drawn the attention of the local warlord, who's more than eager to kidnap the child and kill anyone who happens to be nearby. While I could go on about the greater political landscape of the world of Zenozoik, that's not the story that matters here. Clash, at it's heart, is a story of a reluctant father and his gifted child. Everything about the dynamic between Pseudo and the Boy should feel cliche. The world-weary grump taking care of the wide-eyed, optimistic youth is a story that's been told thousands of times before across every medium there is, but Clash manages to make the expected feel special. The bond these characters ultimately forge is paced flawlessly, neither taking so long as to be tedious nor so quickly as to feel unearned. Top-notch voice acting further transforms the game's narrative into what I would consider excellent. Seriously, for a game this small to have such awesome voice work is incredible. I'm as jaded as they come, but damn if Clash didn't have me feeling things... From a gameplay standpoint Clash is labeled as a Souls-like, which is like saying Jimmy Kimmel is a comedian. Kind of, but not really. Clash sits right at the halfway point between Dark Souls and God Hand. As the game's tutorial is quick to tell you, Pseudo is generally smaller and weaker than everyone else, forcing him to rely on his speed and adaptability to achieve victory. That's right, if Clash is a Souls-like, than Pseudo builds DEX. Over the course of the adventure players will unlock a number of martial arts styles both simple and strange, from the jabs and straights of the Boxer stance, to the bizarre undulations that make up the Corwid stance. All fighting styles come with their own light attacks and combos, as well as a number of unlockable special attacks that include, but are certainly not limited to, finishing blows, projectile attacks, and even a teleport. Defensive options are few but functional; Pseudo has a short, invulnerable dodge and a parry. All of these abilities can be pretty freely chained into one another, but only on one condition: attack animations can only be cancelled at the moment they connect with an enemy. Overcommit to a powerful strike and miss? Get ready for a beating then, because your enemies won't wait for you to regain your footing. Admittedly this was a bit of a learning curve for me as I'm so used to games that allow for on-the-fly animation cancelling, which tends to make tactical mistakes inconsequential. With time however I adjusted to the game's rhythm and realized just how well balanced the game's flow really is. Cancelling into a dodge counter mid-combo, before cancelling again into a parry and then cancelling yet again into a knockout blow against an enemy three times your size feels fantastic. Therein lies the Zen of Clash's combat. Offense is defense, and defense is offense. Adding an extra element of spice to combat is The One Law. All denizens of Zenozoik are beholden to The One Law, and as such it can be invoked by (or sometimes even against!) the player prior to the start of battle. The One Law takes the form of a strategic dice game wherein the loser suffers the winner's choice of penalty before they proceed to pummel one another. Penalties, as should be expected, are bizarre and hilarious. Legally forcing a bounty hunter to fight me while being attacked by a swarm of bees is never not entertaining, but be warned, as anything you can do to them can be turned back on you if the die don't roll your way. Invoking The One Law is optional, and that's definitely for the best. It's an enjoyable minigame, and the combat penalties certainly made some difficult fights more manageable, but having the choice to skip straight to the punching was appreciated for the sheer number of weaklings that were looking to throw hands. Now let's get to the reason you're even looking at this game: the aesthetics. Visually speaking, Clash is striking in the best way possible. The world of Zenozoik is brought to life with vibrant colors and deep cell-shading. Thick, dark outlines make characters pop against the backgrounds, making each scene look like an animated comic book. The game even has a black-and-white option, which adds a Kurosawa-esque flair to the more dramatic showdowns. Character design serves both form and function. Pseudo is the closest thing to a humanoid in the game, signaling him as the protagonist. All the remaining creatures both big and small have distinct silhouettes that not only make them standout in a crowd, but also provide clues to their strengths and weaknesses (You would rather not get punched by the large elephant-duck man. Trust). A lot of thought went into the design of the world, and it shows. While a first run through might make the map seem huge, a cleverly hidden circular layout, punctuated with unlockable shortcuts, makes it possible to circumnavigate the world in about five minutes, once you get the lay of the land. Of course, that kind of know how only comes with experience, and the game's overly obscure map makes getting that experience a hassle. Once, when lost while climbing the Zonectic Mountains, I consulted my map, which did little more than confirm that I was indeed on a mountain. Most games aspire to having an environment you can get lost in, but Clash takes it a bit too literally. Landscapes by and large don't have any indicators to tell you where to go, not to say I'm advocating for obnoxious yellow paint all over the place, but one tree in a forest looks an awful lot like another and another and another. It's a good thing the game is relatively short, because if you take a break from it for too long you can expect to be hopelessly lost when you come back. Nitpicks aside, not enough credit can be given to the art direction for creating a world that truly feels alien. Exploring Zenozoik, meeting it's kooky residents, and peeling away it's mysteries was a one of a kind experience. All told, Clash: Artifacts of Chaos is a surprisingly solid title. What could have easily been a case of strange style over substance instead delivers a thoughtful story about relationships, responsibility, and the role of free will amid the dichotomy of order and chaos. And also punching. Lots of punching. It seems to go on sale fairly often, but even at it's asking price it's certainly worth your time.

One of the best art styles I've ever seen, Bosses are challenging in a perfect way, story is easy to follow, fighting can be simple or complicated depending on how you want to play, easy to get lost in circles but not hard to get back on track.

This is a really fun fighting game buried under a confusing mess of its design. Its lack of quest markers isn't a issue its things you need to do to enter other important areas of the map that the game doesn't give any indication what to do how to do it or that its even possible unless you look up someone else playing it. Its ritual mechanic is a lot of fun and its combat is fun as well, but this confusing design holds it back from a recommending it to anyone. If you make the mistake of exploring every area like i did, on both day and night cycles and all of the night only areas (thorns areas) there will be dozens of hours in between cutscenes that its story will be hazy and you will forget things to the point where it hurts your enjoyment later on.

Just finished the game. I'm not crying, theres something in my eye! Nooooooooooo. Highly recommend if you like wacky beatemups.

CAOC is very niche and artsy. I'm not really sure if I have played anything like this before. The world is vibrant and full of personality. At times it can feel cluttered and tight though. Somehow, the environments feel like they have much more depth than they actually do. Combat is relatively fun. The first person shift adds some flare. Certain moves don't obey the lock on system consistently though. That may have been a difficulty feature. I really cannot tell. I think there is just something slightly off about the combat. Maybe it's just a unique system. Certain things like the voice acting, music, character design, and the dice mini game really add refreshing nuances. This game has a PS1 vibe. Ya know, the type where players are just in this world, no bells and whistles, just free to roam in an almost meditative state. I'm having fun with this one. It feels like playing a Saturday morning cartoon from the 90s/ early 2000s.

Не знаком с первыми двумя частями Zeno Clash, поэтому оцениваю ее непредвзято. Буду краток - если вы, как и я, любитель игр с хорошо продуманной и зрелищной боевой системой, сбалансированной сложностью, красивым визуалом и интересным сюжетом, то игра вам понравится. Почитав негативные обзоры, вижу, люди в основном ругают боевку и сложность в виде отсутствия ориентира местности, куда именно идти, что делать. Про ориентиры соглашусь, это было сделано разрабами сознательно, чтобы игрок передвигался "вслепую". По сути, это единственный спорный момент для меня в игре, но даже он имеет определенную логику, учитывая стилистику игры. Стычки с противниками даются нелегко, особенно когда их трое или четверо одновременно. Некоторые места придется переигрывать не раз и не два. Однако когда начинаешь изучать боевой стиль противника, находить к нему подход, подгадывать тайминг, реакцию, доносить до него свою комбинацию ударов и чисто технично разбирать его, то любого босса проходишь с первого раза. Поэтому, боевка здесь не сложная, и уж точно не кривая, а скорее просто игроки стали соевыми и тупыми, и просто привыкли к аркадности и закликиванию любых противников. В общем, по-здравому хардкорная и олдскульная. Сюжет философский и драматичный. Особенно зайдет любителям боевых искусств. 9/10

Incredible game! Can't believe I only paid $3 for this, feels like I stole it.