
USSR, 1986. A girl goes missing in the closed city of Vorkuta-5, yet not a soul seems to be concerned. Uncover the mystery behind her disappearance and transmit your signal to the universe.
Revenue comes from in-game items and microtransactions, which our price-based model doesn't estimate. The player count below is how many people own it, not what they spent.
About
USSR, 1986. When Ira Grachevskaya goes missing in the closed city of Vorkuta-5, not a soul seems to be concerned – except for the quiet outcast Asya Shubina, that is. Uncover the mystery behind Ira’s disappearance, transmit your radio signal to the universe and learn why a bird flies past the window.
Meet the cast.

A problem child and a truant, Ira doesn't have the best reputation. Her standoffish demeanor makes her difficult to talk to, especially for someone as meek as you. There is a rumour she's been meeting with an older man.

Marina's carefree personality makes her quite popular among her classmates. Adults don't seem to like her very much, probably due to poor grades. Despite the girl's outgoing nature, her worldview is rather cynical.

A boy with an unpleasant sense of humour. Likes picking on people weaker than him, namely you. His family has been a little out of it the past few weeks.

You. Not worth writing about.
Z.A.T.O. is a linear visual novel with roughly 7-8 hours of playtime. There are no choices. The ending is predetermined. Sit back and enjoy your time in a town that doesn't exist.
DISCLAIMER: the game contains strong language, loud noises and flickering images.
Genres
Stats
Languages: English
Engagement
Reviews
Themes across 1942 recent reviews and how positive each mention is. A keyword signal, not full sentiment analysis.
Reviews
Huh. I just finished the game a moment ago. Should I have thought things through? Considered the subtle cues and how they tied into events not directly explained, using that framework to make sure I judged this game fairly? Probably. But I'm worried I'll lose the feelings of intrigue, sorrow, longing, and a fourth emotion that probably sounds pretentious. Which this game is not, mostly. I love slow deliberate starts. I like exploring the psychology of the characters, and feeling alongside them based on experiences I myself can relate to, rather than am told about. And I liked every character, yes all of them. Which this game, despite its short length compared to a "proper" visual novel, does well. Each stood out in different ways and complemented each other. (Though i wish the NPCs got proper names to differentiate, hearing classmate 1 be both a guy and a girl at different points was jarring.) Story progressed in a natural way, though I have mixed feelings about the ending, which kept a regular pace and allowed breathing room. Each moment was potent and purposeful, to the point that I wanted more. As the story came to the conclusion I expected around the midway point, I wanted more story. Desperate emotions against the inevitable. Which is admittedly a nitpick at best, and a complement to the story tightness at better. The artstyle fit the story very well. Emotions, even at the point where they were hollow due to plot reasons, were portrayed very viscerally, with Omori or Coffin of Andy and Leyley being easy comparisons. CGs were timed well, though the characters sometimes not having sprites was a bit jarring. Also Vadim's Pacman ear. But looking at the artbook and how much care Ferry had for every detail, these are also a nitpick at best. Soundtrack was timed well as story beats expected. It's all royalty free music except the intro and credits, so I can't say more than "done well". Lastly, I appreciate how unapologetic the setting is to its russian background. I had to look up tidbits related to location, historic event and even clothing and dessert. And I wouldn't have it any other way. With how translations of many games can tend to change aspects to make sense to the audience, I'm glad this story can't be separated from its Russian background. Also its free. Try for an hour if I haven't sold you, and return if you get bored.
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Hours played at review time, across 1.9K reviews with recorded playtime.
positive critical· bar length = how often the theme comes up
A short visual novel with a beautiful style and a lovely plot. Confusing at times but it all makes sense in the end, mostly, probably.
peak
有着像雪花消融般的美感。以及氛围渲染和情绪相关的演出做得太厉害了啊,电波之处也是。真厉害。
where do i even start... i like how the game gets in depth with the characters, and how it showed their views of the world in their own sense, i dont know how to be really good with words but overall this game is great, it made me feel quite emotional on the end, asya was quite the relatable character.
The way I've been infinitely thinking about this game after finishing it is infinitely cute!
This may be one of the best stories i have read. The artwork is really good and the dialogue is well written. It's themes and messages on those things are truly wonderfull. I enjoyed every single minute of this game, especially the music. the intromusic and opening animation might be one of the best I've seen, it really got me hooked to play this game. I definitely think you should give this game a try, it is free after all. Thank you for reading. .-.- - . -... .-.- .-.. ..-- -... .-.. ..-- .-.- - . -... .-.- .-.. ..-- -... .-.. ..-- .-.- - . -... .-.- .-.. ..-- -... .-.. ..--
агранулоцитоз
在我花了一晚上时间通关了ZATO后,我觉得我就像是在敲杯子的伊拉一样,丧失了思维能力,处在一种完全震惊的状态中。 先不说游戏内超高质量的美术,基本每张CG和演出都让我惊掉下巴,而且这种苏联美学也很有感觉,就我而言,很有那种前苏联时期的特有神秘感 从剧情而言,整款游戏的核心,就是它的人文感,我觉得就是阿莎雅一直坚信的爱。我觉得我已经丧失了对世界的感受能力,变得像玛丽娜一样用生活麻痹自己,或者说像瓦基姆一样变成了混蛋,但阿莎雅这个角色真的很有趣,人性本就是复杂的,多变的,敏感的。我很喜欢阿莎雅,这样的角色天生给人一种信任感,更不用提她的爱,对世界,对宇宙的爱。我觉得在当今世界,这是越来越难见到的了。玩完这款游戏的感觉就像是读终末之诗一样,于是宇宙说,我爱你,你就是爱本身,你就是宇宙。 我爱你,我觉得这就是这款游戏的核心
[strike]通关后差不多1个星期,感觉有些东西跟窗外的雨滴一同沉淀了下来,就随便写点东西。[/strike] 有剧透情节 [spoiler] 用游戏名中的两个点"Z.A.T.O." 和 “LOVE”作为切入点。 Z.A.T.O.指的是苏联的保密行政区,在游戏中是背景也是一个重要的意象--“封闭系统”。 IRA ASYA和IRA的感情,跟IRA对世界的感情我想是同构的。因感情拉近的距离,两个齿轮互相靠近,却因彼此的错位而对关系的双方造成最深的伤害,一个无法用“不在意”去轻描淡写的伤害。但IRA和ASYA依然鼓起勇气选择了一个在封闭系统中最不封闭的选择--去爱。尽管未来是直到关系的任一方消失殆尽,徒剩一段已不存在的关系。 MARINA MARINA巨大的善意让她愿意帮助身边需要帮助的人,但是当能够支撑她赋予她实行善意的“初心”忽然间不合情理的消失后,她只剩下了一个封闭系统。在这个任何外界的事物都无法干扰的封闭系统中存在两样东西,证明“初心”曾经存在过的痕迹--“巨大的空洞” 和 凝望着这个空洞的绝望的双眸。她残存的善意让她用巨大的虚影来填充空洞--模仿“初心”还存在时的表象,想要唤回消失的“初心”。她的虚影是成功的,她真真切切帮助了ASYA,但是随着IRA的消失,她的双眸也越发的绝望。 VADIM 自绝于与世界关系,以扭曲、戏谑、玩世不恭的姿态处世,妄图重新构建一个自己以俯视的姿态将一切踩在脚下、消费一切的关系,而其实质是出于自我防御。他看得懂儿时的朋友MARINA,或许也能明白IRA和ASYA,但他的自我防卫让他无法做出任何帮助她们的实际行动。而当自己的家人即将消失,他退却到最后也无法割舍的关系也即将消失时,他也重新意识到自己依旧束手无措。他的封闭系统是不稳定的,意识到这一点的他或许也在重新的审视自己,迈出正直的一小步--坦诚的告诉ASYA MARINA的住址。[strike] 是不是把VADIM看的太好了?[/strike] ASYA 让我大脑发生数次震颤的[strike] 可怖[/strike]可爱女子,读不懂。她对世界的爱是相当的深层次,时而低姿态的卑微,时而高姿态的挑逗,时而扭曲的近似疯狂,时而温暖的仿若朝阳。她会因世界的无情而向天怒吼,她也会因对世界的爱而发出最强烈的广播。她对世界的爱是指向无限的,因此在她这个单方面传递爱的完美封闭系统中,她可以不断增幅她爱的强度而不受衰减,即使世界不会对她予以任何回应。[strike] 但它绝对不傻。[/strike] 我就像后记的探测员,无法知晓这份爱从何而来、因何而起,但有一件事我知道的清清楚楚,那就是我测量到了这个广播到底有多强。 [/spoiler]
Active players
Estimated daily and monthly active players (DAU/MAU) modeled from peak concurrency.
Players by region
Where this game's players are, estimated from review languages.
Players also reviewed
The games this title's players most often review too — audience affinity.
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