ACE Team is not a stranger when it comes to creating unique worlds and unique gameplay elements. Zeno Clash, a first-person boxing game in the incredibly unique Zenozoik universe is one of the most niche games that ever graced the market. It took the team more than ten years to revisit the world of Zenozoik but in Clash: Artifacts of Chaos, it’s finally time to return to some of the most unique gaming environments ever created. Although there’s a nod to the first-person boxing mechanics, Clash is a third-person soulslike most of the time but that doesn’t mean it isn’t unique.
Enter the Zenozoik universe
Although Clash: Artifacts of Chaos takes place in the same Zenozoik universe as the two Zeno Clash games, it’s still a standalone adventure with a couple of nods to the original games for the die-hard fans. The world of Zenozoik is a special place, it’s a place where primitive inhabitants live in small crafty houses while they club each other to death in ritual fights. There aren’t many laws but the law of combat is sacred. I love how the world of Zenozoik feels like a restart for its inhabitants, there’s a certain post-apocalyptic vibe that looms over the world which created its weird inhabitants who are hybrids of humans and animals. If you’re looking for beautiful creatures in this game, you’ll be disappointed. The characters you meet and our hero Pseudo aren’t the best-looking characters out there but it certainly helps to set the tone for this strange yet captivating adventure. Clash doesn’t hold your hand but drops you into the Zenozoik universe without further explanation. The more you conquer your enemies, the more you’ll learn about the world surrounding you. They say that too much power makes you ugly, perhaps that’s the reason why it’s so hard to find a beautiful creature in this world…
During the adventure, you’ll play as Pseudo, an outcast who can’t stand injustice. Early on in the game, he meets a fluffy little creature called ‘the boy’. The boy has strange healing powers, something the Gemini, the local dangerous chief, wants to use to their own advantage. What started as an innocent meeting spiraled into a rabbit hole of darkness and corruption. It’s your job as Pseudo to keep the boy as safe as possible. Quickly you’ll learn that in order to protect the little creature, you’ll have to fight a lot of stronger creatures.
The soulslike experience
Combat in Clash is a strange combination of soulslike elements with a twist. Where you’ll lose your gold and experience in regular soulslike games, you’ll lose your body in Clash, which you can take quite literally. When you die in combat, you’ll activate your second body, a body that consists of wood and can only operate in the darkness of the night. When you find your original body during the night, you can wake it up again to carry on with your adventure. It reminded me of the good old World of Warcraft mechanics but it goes a little further than just that. When you’re controlling your second body, you’ll still need to defeat the enemies surrounding your first body. You can’t wake up when enemies are still nearby. To make it even more interesting, you’ll face different enemies during the night and can even discover new items when you go exploring. Since your second body is made of wood, certain obstacles can’t harm you, opening up new paths which you couldn’t access as Pseudo. Opening up new ways to advance with your second body so your first body can advance is a crucial gameplay mechanic that you’ll use on multiple occasions. Exploring the semi-open world is a lot more fun thanks to this even though it’s not always simple to find your way.
Besides exploration and switching between your two bodies, combat is the most important gameplay mechanic in this game. There’s only one law in Zenozoik and that’s the right to fight everyone as long as you perform the ritual before the fight. The ritual is an interesting little mini-game where you compete in a thrilling game of dice. By decreasing the value of the dice of your opponent you can win the ritual if by the end of it, you have the highest value. Sounds easy and it’s certainly easy to understand but the more you advance, the more special moves you can perform in the ritual, really adding an extra layer of strategy. Whoever wins the ritual can use an artifact in combat, which always gives you a huge advantage. Some artifacts poison your opponent or enable you to deliver the first blow. Depending on the artifact, a match can easily be decided even before it began. The dice mini-game is fun but it does take some time to perform it each and every time. If that’s not your cup of tea, you can let the boy play it for you, which quickens the process.
Combat
The combat itself is also pretty unique at first but doesn’t really change that much throughout the adventure. You fight with your fists and you can level your skills along the way, giving you more moves and advantages over your enemies. Right from the start, the game makes it very clear that Pseudo is a lot weaker than his opponents. In order to win, you’ll need to be quick. By combining your moves, you’ll be able to take down your opponents but there’s certainly some strategy involved. Combining your regular attack with a dodge the moment you land your blow is a crucial mechanic. Timing your attacks and dodges almost feels like a ritual dance, bringing the combat close to a strange kind of rhythm game. When you’re in the flow, you can activate your first-person special attack which will take you back to the Zeno Clash days. I love the variation in combat and the gorgeous hand-drawn style really helps in giving you something different and special. Later on, you’ll be introduced to new mechanics and even some weapons but it never really changes the challenge of combat. When you understand the flow, you’ll be able to take down your enemies if they don’t come at you in groups.
That’s perhaps the biggest flaw of Clash. All gameplay mechanics are fun but lack depth or guidance. Exploring the gorgeously created world is certainly fun but due to the high level of details, it’s hard to find your way around the environments at first. Sure, it’s all gorgeously created but it can get a bit frustrating if you have no clue where you need to go. On the side of combat, there are a lot of great ideas and concepts but it lacks variation to keep you entertained.
Conclusion:
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos is a gorgeously created game and looks like a playable piece of art. Playing this to explore the gorgeously created world is certainly one of the best reasons to do so. The exploration and combat are both fun but lack guidance and variation. It’s a fun game for sure but it’s far from a perfect game. If you’re looking for a more niche experience, this certainly is worth playing.
