Developer: BKOM Games
Publisher: Nacon
Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PC, Stadia
Tested on: PS5
Zorro The Chronicles – Review
Zorro the Chronicles is a humorous action stealth game where you step into the shoes of Zorro, the famous masked vigilante, or as his sister Ines. The game is inspired by the eponymous animated series, Zorro the Chronicles. As Zorro and Ines, you’ll free the people, restore justice, and mock Sergeant Garcia by marking your opponents with your trademark ‘Z’.
Story
As the game is inspired by the animated series, you’ll play as a teenage Don Diego, a.k.a Zorro, who faces the greatest challenge of his life as he fights for justice against numerous tyrants. You’ll definitely recognize some key characters if you’ve also seen the series, however, we can’t really say that the game follows the same story as the series. Aside from the information you get at the start of each mission, there’s not much of a story to find. The game progresses from mission to mission with only some short cutscenes sketching out the situation before and after each mission (and these mostly show an angry Sergeant Garcia).
Graphics
Zorro the Chronicles is visualized in the same cartoon style as the animated series. Aside from the cartoon style, all the finishing moves are executed in a very unique and funny way. In terms of quality, the game doesn’t have the best HD graphics, but it definitely looks good and suits the game perfectly. Throughout each area, you’ll find blank wanted posters on walls. If you interact with them, Zorro will place a new wanted poster with one of his enemies, and he will draw some funny things over it in red. As the game is intended for kids, you’ll see no blood throughout the game, and each enemy you defeat isn’t killed, just merely stunned by Zorro’s awesomeness. We did play this game on a PlayStation 5, but we didn’t notice any differences between this version and the PlayStation 4 version.
Sound
Mostly all of the interactions in Zorro The Chronicles are done without words, only with expressions and grunts. For example, when Sergeant Garcia is angry because Zorro has thwarted his plans yet again, he’ll get really angry and you’ll hear him roar Zorro’s name, which may be one of the only words you’ll hear in this game. There are no conversations throughout the game, yet you won’t really miss them as everything is portrayed perfectly with nothing more than expressions and actions.
Gameplay
Zorro The Chronicles is an action stealth game for kids and newcomers to the genre. The game is fairly easy to get through, even on the ‘Hard’ difficulty. For instance, when you blow your cover while sneaking, you’ll be attacked by everyone in the vicinity, but the game is still very easy, even with a large crowd of enemies surrounding you. When you recognize that this game is directed at kids, it’s understandable that the game is very lenient, even if you are seen by a big group of enemies. The game is based on the eponymous animated series and those who’ve seen the series will recognize every key character from the series.
In Zorro The Chronicles, You can play as Diego, The original Zorro, or as Ines, Diego’s sister. When starting a new level, you get to choose who you want to play as. When you play as Diego, You’ll have one extra energy lightning bolt, which is used to perform Super KOs and Muti KOs while Ines will offer you an extra life heart so you can tank more incoming damage.
Zorro’s movements are fairly simple: he is able to run, dodge rolls, and use his lasso to get to higher places. Sadly, Zorro can’t jump, and another important notice: Zorro can’t swim. Whenever you walk into a river, you’ll instantly die and it’s game over. As for the game’s combat, it’s a mix of button mashing the attack button, old-school Assassin’s Creed countering, and a bit of dodging and defeating enemies with funny finishing moves. You can also use the environment to easily defeat your opponents, such as throwing them in fountains, kicking them against trees, and much more. While dealing damage to enemies, your energy lightning bolts will fill up, and whenever one is full, you can perform a Super KO, which starts a cinematic finishing move in a funny child-friendly fashion. Later on, you will learn Multi KO moves that will finish multiple enemies with one flashy move.
As you fight your way through enemies and destroy crates and barrels, coins are dropped which you can spend on new skills. These skills vary from increasing your health and energy to new moves that you can use in battle. There are four skill tiers, and these will be unlocked when all the previous skills have been unlocked. Some new skills will stun your opponents, while others will add some extra energy resource to actions like countering.
The enemy AI is braindead in this game, as enemies will roam the area on a fixed path, and only seeing you will divert them from their path. They won’t take notice of any stunned allies lying on the ground and will walk right past them. When they’ve spotted you, you can simply use your lasso to get to higher ground, and after a short while, you will have disappeared from their minds and they will leave. Yes, this may make it an easy game for kids, but for realism, this is quite disappointing.
Conclusion
Zorro The Chronicles is a funny action stealth game specifically intended for kids and those not so familiar with the genre. Even on the hard difficulty, the game is pretty easy and all the game mechanics are easily learned by everyone. The game has lent the easily performed countering from the older Assassin’s Creed games that will let you play with your opponents in a fun way. The game looks really colorful and with it being based on the animated series of Zorro the Chronicles, the game’s target audience will surely enjoy the game. Zorro The Chronicles is a great game for kids and those new to video games, but anyone who is a bit more experienced will surely pick many other games before this one.
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