izigame.me

If you're into Martial Arts, particularly kickboxing such as K-1 and Muay Thai (the other "stances" I've encountered so far are fictional martial arts but still fun to use) and games with TPARPG mechanics, then I definitely recommend this game. It's surprisingly deep, somewhere between Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Sekiro, but definitely closer to Fallen Order.
As of writing this review I haven't finished the game yet, but considering how much I have played it (including offline time) I decided I had to give it a recommend as the amount of content on offer here for the price is, in my opinion, very good value if you like this type of game, so from here I'll just ramble about what I like a little. While it doesn't look like your typical AA game thanks to it's brilliant, cohesive and fully-realised art design, it does play like one. It's not buggy or anything like that, just not as smooth and seamless as the premier offerings of the genre, but it honestly gets the job done and never hinders the art design with janky animations. In terms of the world itself, Zenozoic reminds me of a significantly more lush and primal version of Kenshi, from the primitive make-shift weapons and still operational ancient tech to the small wooden huts built in the footprint of decaying stone ruins, you get the same sense on Zenozoic as you do on Kenshi, that this world has not survived just one civilization-ending cataclysm, but many.
The combat system isn't without it's flaws, but it's a fun and strong first attempt at an almost exclusively hand-to-hand version of the basic mechanics we've come to expect from TPARPG games. In place of the weapons you would have in Elden Ring or Nioh, you have stances, the first of which you acquire is selected from an option of three and two can be equipped at any one time which can be freely switched between with left and right on the D-pad. Each stance has a light attack which is performed by tapping the attack button that can be chained together for a basic combo, a heavy attack that must be charged by holding down the attack button, a jumping attack that can be triggered by pressing the attack button while still airborne after a jump and alternate attacks that can be performed by dodging in one of the cardinal directions followed immediately by the attack button. There are also special attacks, with their own dedicated face button, a maximum of three may be equipped at any time, each slot corresponding to the button combination needed to perform them, either by pressing the special attack button alone or in combination with moving the analogue stick up or down. Weapons also feature in the game, but work somewhat more like a brawler in that they have item HP (called "durability" in game) and replace your basic light combo while leaving the rest of the hand-to-hand moveset intact, their primary use seems to be in boss fights or when facing similarly tough enemies. TL;DR a very solid first attempt at a hand-to-hand TPARPG combat system.
The progression system is, again, going to sound very familiar to those who play TPARPGs. You defeat enemies to earn XP, which is then spent at the campsite on the training dummy to upgrade Pseudo's base stats such as health, attack power, stamina, etc. Stances and special attacks, on the other hand, are upgraded by consumable figurines scattered all throughout the world, the figurines themselves coming in a variety of sizes, meaning the first few upgrade levels are purchased with the smallest type of figurine, then the next few upgrade levels with the successive size of figurine and so on. Stances and special attacks are upgraded at shrines located throughout the map, separately from upgrading Pseudo's base stats.
That's all I have for now as I'm still working my way through my first playthrough. If anything I've mentioned in this review has piqued your interest then I sincerely implore you to try out this game. Even though it's rough, a gem is still a gem.