If you’re of a certain generation (read: OLD), then you are well familiar with the retro stick fighter games that populated the early internet. This genre emphasized the pure aesthetics of fighting – no in-depth story, no dense narratives – just adrenaline. Well, that is what Ghost Machine Games is hoping to recapture with their in-progress title, ZHEN: Shattered Legacy.
Gamer Social Club received an early sneak peak at the demo for this title from the amazing folks over at Soft Source Publishing. In their communications, Soft Source noted that ZHEN: Shattered Legacy sits in the same vein of gameplay as Well Dweller and pays homage to the classic Kung Fu genre.
I’m rambling – let’s dive into what we were presented in the demo and my impressions!
The World & The Story
The World
ZHEN: Shattered Legacy takes place in the lands of…Zhen. Shocking, I know. This world drives some heavy emphasis from the architecture designs of East Asia. It’s also a world that has been ravaged by the cycles of war across the land.
In the brief snippet we get in the early-access demo, we get a tiny glimpse of what is a larger world. A world that will, understandably, be inundated with enemies to strike down.
The Story
So, we’re not really presented with the story immediately in ZHEN: Shattered Legacy. Soft Source, however, was kind enough to include some details on the background on the game. We are sent to the lands of Zhen as a robot warrior-monk to return order to the lands. Oh yeah, everyone is a robot in this game too.
At the end of the demo, in a showdown with a monolith of a being known as The Scholar, we are told that we must challenge the Masters of Kung Fu to ultimately find and defeat the Grand Master.
The Scholar, however, is not a being without mercy, as they tell us exactly who we must seek out. They are:
- The Noble Spear
- The Blade Master
- The Oracle Staff
Once we have found, and presumably defeated these three formidable does, we will be read to challenge the Grand Master.
The Gameplay
ZHEN: Shattered Legacy is a twin-stick control beat ’em up. One stick will control your direction of movement. The other, the actual attacks themselves. It took a moment to get used to, but it clicked fast and was very smooth.
Throughout the level, there are artifacts to locate and currency to collect. Why? Well, for completion purposes, but to also upgrade your attacks. Your attacks can be upgraded/purchased as the various shrines that will be dotted throughout the world.
At the start of the game, you’ll only be equipped with a bo staff. However, within the demo, you’ll unlock the ability to use a spear as well, which changes up the combat style a little bit in terms of how you’ll approach certain enemies and attack patterns.
And that…pretty much summarizes the gameplay! It was a short demo, I’ll be honest, but it was enjoyable and gave a good taste of what the game has to offer.
The Good
Fluid & Intuitive Combat
ZHEN: Shattered Legacy, at its core, has very simple mechanics. One stick moves, and one stick hits. But the flow state that I entered while testing it out was very satisfying and will itch that combat flow scritch that I used to get when playing the Arkham series titles.
As the game progresses, I hope to see the incorporation of even more weaponry that will vary up the combat mechanics and how to approach fights.
Boom Bap Beats for Days
While I have a very eclectic taste in music, there is something that really hooks me when it comes to boom bap hip-hop. To the unfamiliar, “boom bap” (according to Wikipedia) is…
“…a subgenre of hip-hop and music production style that was prominent in East Coast hip-hop during the golden age of hip-hop from the late 1980s to the early 1990s.”
Some good examples of this genre are the Wu-Tang Clan, MF Doom (RIP), and A Tribe Called Quest. You could definitely also equate it a little bit to the more modern lo-fi hip hop trend (which I am also a huge fan of).
But I digress – this soundtrack is just *chef’s kiss* for the genre of gameplay and the world that exists within ZHEN: Shattered Legacy.
Muted, yet Detailed, Art Design
I just need to mention this briefly. The game is colorful, but not gaudy over-the-top, in terms of its palette. And it just really brings that old school aesthetic home even more.
The Bad
The Odd Glitch
It goes without saying that since this is an early-access demo, there’s bugs. And knock on wood, I actually only encountered one. Which, if I’m being honest, isn’t too shabby for a demo!
But back to the glitch. I found myself contending with two rough customers underground in a dank dungeon space. Sadly, I lost all my health, which should have triggered an end/restart point. But it didn’t.
I have no health here. Yet I popped up again, and the enemies were down. And I…couldn’t move. Only thing I could do was return to the main menu, which reset all my progress. OK, it wasn’t that much progress but still.
The Overall
ZHEN: Shattered Legacy, while having a very short demo, was legitimately an enjoyable few minutes. My hope is that we see more news around the updates for this title, as well as a more concrete launch timeline.
The demo for ZHEN: Shattered Legacy is available now on Steam.
Gamer Social Club was provided an early-access copy of this demo for the purposes of this preview. This initial preview was played on PC (Steam).
