Zeno Clash II

It's a slightly frustrating, fascinating trip back to a world like you've never seen, and I think the $20 asking price is well worth that alone.

Thanks to the increased budget and the new Ghast's powers, ACE Team has developed ​​a good sequel, visually fascinating and with a co-op component that could make the difference.

For the price, players can get a relatively fun beat ‘em up. The combo system is surprisingly deep and the co-op is fun to play. Sure, the story is overly strange and the overall plot is a little out there, but beating the absolute crap out of humanoid beasts and birds never really gets old. There is some fun to be had in Zeno Clash 2 as long as you keep an open mind when it comes to certain mechanics and the outlandish story.

There are many things to see in this land, but wandering around can feel empty.

This is a world so crazy, so original and eerily psychedelic, you will often wonder what you’re actually looking at. [June 2013]

Zeno Clash II, like the original, is an interesting game. It falls slightly flat in the gameplay, but it's largely balanced by the world being so damn interesting to experience and wander around in.

Zeno Clash II is a fine beat ‘em up with a unique graphic style.

An expansion of Zeno Clash’s fantastical world and inhabitants, at the cost of some of the original game’s brutal tactility in combat.

Zeno Clash II is a beautiful, mature adventure that isn't quite as polished as it is unique.

Zeno Clash II's free roaming mechanics are full of flaws, but the game has a good graphic style and its combat system is worth the fee.

Confusing, disoriented, and with less focus on the crisp Faust ballet.

Not quite so original the second time around, Zeno Clash 2 hits hard with ideas, swings and misses on execution. [July 2013, p.78]

The world of Zeno Clash II is one big acid-trip. It's one of the most bizarre games in which your fists are the two primary weapons. Behind the absurd look there's an interesting story, but Zeno Clash II drops the ball on certain key gameplay mechanics.

What worked in 2009's original first-person brawler works here as well, but inadequate maps, strange combat balancing, and several other quirks make it hard to call the sequel a substantial improvement beyond its new areas and creatures.

Mental visuals and fun melee combat, but too weird for its own good. [Aug 2013, p.74]

Zeno Clash 2 is frustrating in its failure to capitalize on its own potential. It crafts a wonderful, weird, engaging world but wastes most of your time in it.

The plot, setting and characters are wonderfully strange but the rest of the game feels more than a little unpolished. [June 2013, p.86]

This game can be charming (its surreal setting is wonderful), but not charming enough to turn a blind eye to boring gameplay and numerous other shortcomings, like faulty collision detection (yes, in a game that’s all about collision detection). [CD-Action 07/2013, p.62]

A visually breathtaking boxing trip to neverland. However, the original game's concept has not fundamentally changed, and even with few of its innovations the game does not appear confident enough.

Zeno Clash II has that unique quality about its world and combat that the first game possessed but it’s polish that is sorely lacking from the overall package.

Zeno Clash 2 is a new iteration of a game that does nothing to look coherent and structured.

Zeno Clash II isn't amazing, but for twenty bucks, it gets the job done - if only barely.

That said, if you’ve already played through the first game and liked it, Zeno Clash 2 is worth the $20 merely to find out what wackiness happens next in Ghat’s completely kooky and often awkward adventure.

Just like its predecessor, Zeno Clash II is a mediocre first-person brawler memorable mainly for its psychedelic storytelling and art.

Zeno Clash II might be bigger than its predecessor, but it fails to be truly better.

It has lost its originality bonus but in terms of gameplay it’s better than the predecessor. Nonetheless it is still miles away from games like Mirror’s Edge, Dark Messiah of Might & Magic or Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath.

ACE has mostly succeeded in creating an interesting setting – but the joy of exploration is quickly tempered by the game’s reliance on fighting mechanics that are too simple, and too rough to be engaging.

Zeno Clash 2 is not an unambitious game, and nor for that matter is it a bad one. The melee mechanic at its core is well-tuned, lots of fun once you've got the hang of it, and could carry a different game. But the new structure makes you wonder why it's there at all. Why the fetch quests and moth-collecting? Why the silly wrist-mounted puzzles?

Zeno Clash II is really a twin brother to the first one: same peculiar art direction, same slightly below average production values, same gameplay ideas. Its unique world remains its strongest asset, by far, but its bugs and gameplay shortcomings will quickly get on the nerves of those who aren't mesmerized by its universe.

It's a charming game, but you'll spend less time fighting the grotesque foes that make up Zenozoik, and more time wrestling with poor game design--if only punching that in the face would solve its problems, too.

A surrealistic action game is extended, with freedom of movement. However, it has lost its ability to hide the flaws. Zeno Clash II knows how to entertain, but at the same time it's terribly stupid. [Issue#231]