Zardy's Cave

To start things off: I'm not recomending this game because of it's price tag. I wouldn't say it's worth $8 in it's curent state. Mostly because of it's currently short length. Both story and challenge mode are less than an hour each (excluding the dolls and 1-C) and the game isn't currently very replayable. But it's not a bad game and I do see a potential for it to be a great game in the future. The game is attempting to cater to two audiences at the same time: casual players, and ZM players (like me). The story mode is more for the casual folk, being on the easy side of things all things considered, while the challenge mode is more for ZM players, being more difficult for more challenge seeking players. And that seems like a fair way of doing it. Everyone gets what they want, right? Well... not at the moment. Most of the chapter 1 challenges are just too easy for ZM players. The only one that I really did have fun with was 1-5, [i]which is the last challenge[/i] (not including 1-C). Sawnky (one of the devs) has said that the more difficult challenges most likely not be in the game before a few chapters in, which granted does make sense. But I do hope that at least in chapter 2 all the challenges are at least somewhat on par with 1-5 in terms of difficulty, as it doesn't feel that great to wait 2,5 years for the sequel only to be put on the back-burner. For specific gameplay mechanics. The player control and movement feels pretty good. It's basically the same as in ZM, but improved and expanded. The game does also keep the focus on the more momentum based gameplay from ZM. Which is perhaps most aparent in the tunnel mazes, which are really fun. Jumping, sliding and avoiding Jacks feels really good. Tho I do feel this mechanic was handled to great in story mode. There you just got to get from one end to the other with Jack spawning at the enterance when you're inside. You aren't really forced to deal with Jack when it's done that way. So it is in challenge mode it actually shines. There you have to kill weed flowers to be able to progress, which keeps you in the maze and forces you to actually deal with Jack, which is where the fun lies. The only thing I wish was different are the roots. They're just a bit to thick for Jack to be able to get you from any of the sides. If they where just a bit thiner then you wouldn't be 100% safe from Jack by just standing still under one. The corn maze parts aren't to fantastic at the moment. It's a returning mechanic from ZM, where it was ofc very central. The whole game was built upon the fact that you could cut throught the maze walls to get to other paths, and you knew where you could go by jumping and seing the other paths. But in ZC the corn is over double the height of what is was in ZM, so you can't just jump to see where you can go anymore, which is a big problem. When going into the corn you just can't be sure if you're going to survive or not. Swanky has said that they are working on finding a way of compensating for the higher corn, and I do hope they fix that problem (and the lag), because it is a really good mechanic that would be fun to see more of in the future. The worst parts of the chapter were definitely the platforming sections, with [spoiler]1-C[/spoiler] being the absolute lowpoint. It's just a too janky to feel any good. The player movement doesn't feel like it was made with it to much in mind and the platforms themselves are just too slippery and easy to fall off of. The game is not well optimized. The corn especially, even small fields like the one [spoiler]in 1-1[/spoiler] lag significantly. I'm pretty sure that's because of the fact that [i]every single cornstalk is it's own seperate gameobject[/i]. It seems like a pretty easy fix tbh. Just have all the corn in a maze cell be [i]one[/i] object. The shaders for them would probably have to be rewriten, but that's a small price to pay for a framerate higher than 10 at the worst. The [spoiler]memory[/spoiler] section was also really laggy. I'm guessing it was because of the fog, but that's just a guess. To cap things off for now, I want to say the-regressor did a phenomenal job with the moddels and I'm exited to see what he'll cook up for future chapters. I do still have some small notes of improvement tho, mostly to do with [spoiler]the memory[/spoiler]. The [spoiler]human heads[/spoiler] do look a bit out of place. I think that's due to their texture. They look almost plasticky compared to the clothes they're wearing. And the lighter plank texture in [spoiler]the memory[/spoiler] also stand out (in a bad way). It is used inoffensively in other parts of the game tho, so I think it just doesn't work in brighter enviourments.

This game made me homosexual 10/10 100% would recommend if you like hot scarecrows

This game is scary and great! The atmosphere is spooky and the voice acting is fantastic. You may be wondering why I won't recommend the game? Well for starters, the games performance is dreadful. Each individual corn plant in corn mazes are their OWN SEPARATE OBJECT unlike its predecessor. There are random frame drops everywhere and my max frame rate is 30 FPS! In Zardy's Maze it was 60. The graphics and game play are great, the collectibles are fun, and the challenges can be a lot better. I want to love this game, but I can't. The lack of passion in this project is very apparent since (at the time of this review) there has been no updates in one and a half years even when it DESPERATELY needs it. What can be changed to improve the game? Optimize the game (Performance), QOL Changes (An objective reminder in the top of the screen that tells you what to do), and make the challenges a little better (checkpoints). I love this game with all my heart and I loved the prequel too, but It can definitely be better. I'd say to wait until the next chapter releases to see if any improvements have been made. If not, I worry for the sake of this game.

As someone who has been playing horror games since I was 7 years old, and watched horror movies since I was 9, I have been desensitized to it. There hasn't been a game I have been really afraid of since FNaF 2. This game though. THIS GAME. Full on panic attack fr. Had me absolutely shaking in my pants. Definitely horrifying, but so much fun. Being lost and frustrated in a cave while also worried you might die if you round the wrong corner is a super scary concept to me, as someone who is claustrophobic with generalized anxiety. I am so excited for new chapters. Banger music too. Also the cutscene with Jack was cute. Good game, 8/10 would play again.

I heard scott the woz's magnificent voice and I knew it was peak then and there.

i think drought wants the player romantically

i got tangled up in pumpin jack's vines and we got close and my heart skipped a beat but then i flashed him and i fell (in love) but then he died and now my love can never be rekindled 0/10 want more jack dating sim

hot scarecrows 👍👍😁

I've played up until the end of Story Mode. I've beaten 2 Challenges, and I have all Corn Dolls. So far, the Story Mode seems like its setting up a very interesting plot with the Scarecrows, especially Zardy and Drought. There's a lot of well hidden lore lines that are really interesting, and I love hidden background details about how the world above knows of Zardy and his influence. The difficulty can be insane at times, but that's just how Zardy rolls. Learn from your mistakes as much as you can, and if you lost due to luck, too bad so sad. You should expect that going in. A good thing about the Story Mode is that no layouts change after you die, which means you can keep all of your knowledge and use it for your next attempt. This is a good way to encourage casual players into continuing. I've beaten the first two Challenges as they were very easy, but the 3rd one is tough. Not because of it's actual difficulty, but due to the lack of checkpoints and the fact that it's very long with multiple troubling steps where you can die. These are optional though, so its fine. I got all the Corn Dolls just to 100% the campaign, but so you guys know, the final Challenge won't unlock until you do that AND beat every previous one. This is a great incentive to get the 10 Corn Dolls available in each chapter, as if it wasn't there, your only motivator would be if you were a completionist and did it just because. Anyway, I would LOVE to be positive and say I'll keep trying to beat Challenge 1-3, but truthfully, I don't think I'm hardcore enough to even have the will for it lmao. I think a lot of people might say the Challenges are too easy due to an extreme amount of expertise from practising in Zardy's Maze. I don't think the ones I've played are anywhere close to that level, but they seem like they get your blood pumping and make you frustrated enough. Besides, they're supposed to get even more difficult as we get more Chapters, so I think it'll be fine. Zardy's Maze, which is free, is a fine way to test whether you would like this one. Although, even the Story Mode of that one is much harder to beat, so keep that in mind. The Flashlight is not a mechanic that's introduced yet either, even though it seems that way in one scene, but it's simply a ruse. Also, don't expect the three Scarecrows in this game so far to work the exact same as they did before. One specifically is VERY different. And before people complain about the price of one Chapter, along with the fact that future ones will be paid DLC, I'd like to remind that the announcement of this game was 2 years ago. These are people who clearly put in effort and time into the project (especially when compared to what the first game was.) They have the right to charge for any of their work that they release to potentially make things easier. Besides, taking criticisms of every Chapter from the public before releasing a new one is a great way to make sure the next part is as good as possible! Okay, so... just as an edit to this part, I now believe a lot of the complaints for the price are because of how high it is [b]compared to the Chapter's actual length.[/b] Personally, I don't mind this, and I would love to dismiss all criticism, but I suppose this one IS actually valid. I will mention that playtime will vary based on how skilled you are, especially if you struggle with any of the Challenges. I guess my one recommendation for improvement is to make future Chapters longer in the campaign's side of things. You can easily beat that part in under 2 hours even with average struggles. Still though, this is definitely a game I would recommend. Hope Ch2 comes soon (just don't rush it pretty pls!)

ive replayed chapter 1 about 20 times now. i do agree with other reviews saying that its a bit lackluster in its current state but im willing to give it the benefit of the doubt because.. its the first chapter!! i want to slap drought on his bald head. the voice acting and cutscenes make me squeal like a little girl