Developer: Ace Team
Publisher: Nacon
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: PS5
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos – Review
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos is the third installment of the Zeno Clash series, which has not seen a new entry in nearly a decade. The series was quite beloved by many fans, but we have to be honest when stating we have not tried a game in this series yet. Thanks to the interesting art style we had Clash: Artifacts of Chaos on our radar for quite some time, and we were quite stoked to finally try out the game when it was released. For the most part, we found it to be a fun experience, but the game could have perhaps needed some extra time in the oven.
Story
Truth be told, when you first start Clash: Artifacts of Chaos, you will barely understand what is going on. You’ll be playing as Pseudo, a weird wooden-like being. After choosing your fighting stance, you’ll be thrust into a very odd-looking and colorful world to basically find your own way. It doesn’t take long before you see how brutal this world truly is when you see an old man getting murdered after being challenged to fight. You defeat the murderer and eventually end up taking care of the old man’s supposed grandchild. This is basically all you’re getting during the first part of the game, and it will probably not make that much sense to you. The characters really need to grow on you, and we did miss a somewhat more coherent introduction to the game. As you progress, some puzzle pieces will start to fall into place, motivating you to press forward.
Graphics
Clash has a very interesting art style. The game is a mishmash of different colors with rough character models thrown into the world. While this may sound a bit unappealing, the art direction is actually surprisingly good. We loved seeing the many different odd-looking enemies, and even Pseudo eventually grew on us. The assets themselves are a bit limited, however, as a lot of standard assets are copied all over the place. We also found that even though the visuals are appealing, we did notice that some enemies had a few wooden animations and others didn’t blend in perfectly with their surroundings.
Sound
The sound design of the game is also quite good. The background OST is very cinematic, and it does set the overall atmosphere. The sound effects also give proper feedback when battling your opponents, but some effects start to sound a bit generic after a while. This is also the case for the dice mini-game you’ll have to play occasionally, as well as other more basic sound effects. The voice acting in the game was of mixed quality.
Gameplay
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos is an action-adventure game with some Soulslike elements thrown in the mix. The game is pretty straightforward as you just explore the world, beat up your enemies, wade through a few combat-oriented mini-games, and hopefully get stronger while doing so. The overall gameplay loop is enjoyable, but the game does try a bit too hard to be a jack-of-all-trades. Due to the game trying to be a lot of things at once, the game does feel a bit too rough around the edges at times, and many of the game’s mechanics feel too clunky to be really enjoyable.
The aforementioned dice mini-game feels like a fun inclusion, but it’s far too basic to actually be entertaining. This mini-game serves as a preparation for a slightly tougher battle, and the one who wins will have an edge during the battle to come. When losing this mini-game, which isn’t always too balanced, you’ll end up with a huge disadvantage during some battles. The combat is entertaining for the most part, but the different stances for your character often also feel a bit barebones. You’ll probably just stick with the one you like best for the duration of the game. Combat itself, while amusing, does suffer from the same unpolished feeling as the rest of the game, as some hits don’t properly connect due to poorly programmed hitboxes, you’ll even get damage from enemies just walking, and so on. This does take away a lot of the overall fun to be had when you end up getting killed by an enemy just standing up after being knocked down.
While the game does have a certain sense of character progression, this system is, once again, very rudimentary. You’ll notice a small increase in strength, but we did find that the game should have had a few more extra options at the start allowing for a bit more customization.
Conclusion
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos is a fairly enjoyable entry in the Zeno Clash universe, but it’s also a game that feels very rough around the edges. The overall art direction is quite good, but it’s clear some enemy models received a lot more love than others, and we even noticed quite a few enemies that simply didn’t blend in with their environments. The combat has its memorable moments, but the controls and poorly programmed hitboxes do detract from the overall experience. If you’re a fan of the Zeno Clash series and you’re dying for some more content, then we’re sure this one will still entertain you. If you’re looking for a polished action-adventure experience with a very interesting art style, then we suggest waiting for a few more updates or a hefty discount.
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos - Review,
No Comments