Zen: A Gay Sequel

I have to say that I was dying with anticipation for this sequel to YAGS, and I was not disappointed. There is definitely more to the gameplay in this game, there’s a schedule, and mini games (which were easy enough) that you could also play later for fun which was nice. It was also fun to play from Carlos’ perspective. I enjoyed getting to know the few new characters and that the polyamory portrayed in this game was a lot better done than with the previous game. Jake and Nate are just too cute for words really. And then there’s Dan -because of course there is- and I disliked him possibly even more in this game, his treatment of Malik is awful and some of the choices to get on his route just made me so upset. I honestly could have done without Dan being dateable in this game too, like why torture the player base like this? But that isn’t my worst complaint for this game and since I don’t want to go on a semi-rant about Dan (anymore so at least). Let’s talk about Adam. I loved Carlos and Adam’s friendship in YAGS, it was such a sweet thing to see them interact and how platonically close they are. In ZAGS however I was basically devastated by Carlos’ desire towards Adam, it really seemed to ruin just how sweet their friendship was in YAGS. Overall though I did enjoy ZAGS quite a bit, possibly more than YAGS but that might just be due to it being a bit more polished and having extra mechanics. And despite all the negatives I’ve mentioned I still love ZAGS quite a lot, and maybe the fact that there are negatives and positives when it comes to the characters actually adds to the realism of the game. Nobody is perfect and ZAGS isn’t a perfect game but it is fantastic nonetheless. Be warned there is h*mophbia, alc*holism, peer pressure, and possibly some other triggering themes, scenes, and dialogue.

Can't recommend this one. The writing is way below the first game. It's super repetitive. Each guy has one problem that gets overdone to death with each meeting, and the story randomly has you break up with him at the end if you didn't play through the game exactly as the developer intended. Gameplay is too convoluted - you need a guide that doesn't exist to find out how to get on each romantic route. Of all the guys in the first game who could have returned in the sequel, we have Dan again, which lowers my overall score an entire # out of 10.

Frankly the first thing made me frustrated is The whole Yearning stayed unfinished . The only characters I remotely liked are Adam and James a bit . But it is impossible to have any romance interaction with adam other than some glimpse and teases and well james was supposedly " BUSY " . Then in here instead of starting with Chrish we start with Carlos ? Why ? He came peace with his sexuality in yearning that he is Bi , and his parents likely give him bad time if he let em know . So he does what he wants once he moves out . There was perfect to have romance option with adam and chrish but no the whole story went about Carlos trying to hit on almost all the worst looking characters and not being able to make his mind . I tried to have him with Adam but it seems it is impossible here as well . Then what is the point of playing this ? If I can;t have it with character I want ? This is game a gay romance game should not it try to please players who interested in male x male genre ? I paid all full money for some vague BS . Ya no wounder this does not have many customer at all . And for the record I have more than 1.7 hour offline gameplay and first time story finished in it .

I was open to seeing what the game was about as other reviews were positive. It is an exceedingly slow game with lots of content that doesn't move the story along - totally unnecessary! Why is food selections, board game play, conversations about what to do given so much in the game. Eventually I just got tired of it. My suggestion is to stay away.

I love this game! I downloaded the 1st game ( its free no reason not to) and it sat on my PC for awhile. I finally got around to trying it and it was great. It had such great story lines and lovable characters. I immediately looked to see if there was more, and behold 2 days later the sequel was listed on Steam. I love this one even more :). I've played 3 of the routes over and over again because I enjoy the characters so much, especially Malik. There is more then one type of relationship and each routes characters are vastly different then each other so you not getting just copies of the same type of romance. The sequel gives you more control of your schedule and how and who you spend your time during the week with. Its a nice low stress great story line game.

it is not working and they will not fix it.

bobcgames has already spoilered us with how massive YAGS is, and ZAGS doesn't disappoint in that department either. The addition of the scheduler gameplay really fits how Carlos is trying to gain more control of his life than when we saw him in YAGS and it adds a lot of replay value to the narrative- a college student rediscovering himself and coming to terms with his sexuality in the early 2000s. As someone who remembers those days with some fondness, it's a delight to relive those days in ZAGS. If you're on the fence about whether a sometimes slow and dramatic but ultimately optimistic slice-of-life game is up your alley, please do try YAGS and the demo first. It's a lot of content (the majority of which I played on itch.io before grabbing the Steam version) and a tad bit different from some of the more traditional "Boys' Love" games common in visual novels, but it's definitely worth the price tag.

I see that most people got this games from io.itch so there's not much on steam so I decided to write a review here. Gameplay Personally, I love the scheduler mechanic very much, some people who like the original style of VN might not want this distraction of planning, but for me who's surrounded by the tokimeki memorial, It should make us feel like a have a lot more control over the character. Minigames are simple but variate enough for a VN, not too difficult or too easy. The only weakness is the learning curve needed in order to achieve your desired ending. most of the requirement are hidden and hint is very subtle and can be skipped over if you are not careful. Overtime it would be come to sloggy and frustrating to have the same convo over and over and... still single. Story As a sequel to YAGS, it still well-written, and also on a better perspective of Carlos, a recently discovered his sexual orientation, which arise a lot of problem about toxic masculine and coming out comfort, which is still a reality and we should look at as closeted gay man or to help our closeted LGBTQ+ as a friend and bruhthur. We can feel the guilt of both coming out when you're not ready and not coming out at the same time, and feel more for the main char. Music & Sound Very standard and pretty much the same with YAGS, the background music fits the asmosphere, though I wish some significant character, especially your love interests, have their own theme. Not much to say about sound as they're not that significant, as expected from a standard renpy VN. Character art Some character design, especially Mark. Tom are pretty questionable, maybe that's the unique art style but they seem not in sync with other character, as if they're from different art style. However, given that this is an indie game, that is already a great effort. So Mr. Stroll, I would appreciate you keep your character more consistent to each other, but maybe I'm wrong, it's just how you depict the character's character through their unique art, right? I look forward to more LGBTQ+ VN from you, Bob Overall score: 3.5 over 5

O jogo é maravilhoso. Eu já conhecia o jogo anterior, o qual joguei pelo Android, e vale a pena investir na continuação. A única coisa que eu esperaria é que na versão paga nós tivéssemos uma diversidade maior de possibilidades de romances. Alguns dos personagens mais interessantes do jogo, infelizmente, não são parceiros possíveis de se ter um relacionamento.

Although I would have been in college in the 80s, this game brings back nostalgic feelings from when I was that age and how difficult it was to come out. The game is a lot of fun, especially if you played the first game.