ZENOMATRIX Demo
A downloadable game for Windows
Horror games, among other things, are all about the lack of information, they're about keeping the player in the dark, both thematically and literally, but also mechanically, while puzzles, by design, are required to communicate all the information the player could possibly need, in order for them to be solvable, which is why, even though puzzles feature heavily in horror games, they are always separate from the horror, and are used as either a filler, or distraction.
But, what if the WILLING acquisition and relinquishment of information, was both the main puzzle mechanic, AND the main horror element?
What if the monster was both a threat to be overcome, but also a puzzle to be solved?
Navigate a surreal realm inspired by early 90's CGI ("Silicon Dreams") experiments in first-person as you engage in conundrums against creatures that only move to attack when not directly observed.
The full game will include story, more worlds & mechanics as well as an easy-to-use puzzle editor for making and sharing custom levels.
Download
Install instructions
Simply extract and run the executable.
Required redistributables:
Comments
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I played the demo on steam about 10 minutes ago, and want to give my review. The visuals in this are nothing short of stunning. It nails the aesthetic its going for so beautifully and I love it.
Unfortunately I have a lot of issues with the actual game design.
ZENOMATRIX is listed as a horror-puzzle game. I feel like this is not a horror game, and barely counts as a puzzle game. The horror in ZENOMATRIX comes from the weeping-angel style enemies. While not outwardly scary visually, the trope is always a little terrifying. The distorted, speech-like noises they make are unsettling. The game is designed around the idea of the enemies moving when you don’t look at that, and usually I would commend it for that. Unfortunately, I don’t think the game does it well. I will admit, I didn’t play every level, but I saw a constant; every puzzle was based solely around using your enemy-stopping resources and leading enemies around so you can do what you need to without dying. This can get very repetitive, and personally I don’t think it counts as a puzzle. It can also be very reliant on coordination and reaction time.
What this ends up with is a game with beautiful visuals and mediocre gameplay that (in my opinion) is completely mislabeling itself. The element of horror almost exclusively comes from the weeping-angel mechanic and wears off very quickly. The puzzles are very similar to one-another, are very simple, and rely on reaction time or large amounts of enemies for difficulty.
Also, the steam page says “the first ever game to seamlessly combine puzzle-solving and horror,” to which I would like to say that I cannot consider the challenges in this game puzzles, and horror games with puzzle elements handle puzzle-solving better than this.
If others find this game fun, good for them. I do think that for what the demo is and what the full game appears to be, $5 USD is a good price. Unfortunately for me, I am a horror fan with the soul of a critic or connoisseur of some kind.
I would like to state again that the visuals of ZENOMATRIX are gorgeous. You’ve nailed the aesthetic you were going for so incredibly well and I love it.
I wish you all the best in your future endeavors, please take none of this personally, I just need to say what I think lest I explode.
Hi there,
Thank you so much for the demo, I'm glad you love the visuals, it was a mid-development detour that took a lot of work to get to where it is now.
As for the gameplay, I just want to say that puzzle variety really does pick up in the full game, the doors introduced in the last two puzzles, becomes a key mechanic that's used for obstacles, offense, defense, and even "stealth", coupled with the other mechanics, this does keep things fresh for the entirety of the game.
With that said, as this is a game design experiment that aims to combine puzzles and horror, by using the source of horror (information & control) and resources you have to manage in order to solve puzzles, as a result, it had to compromise part of both, the horror becomes predictable because puzzles have to predictable, the puzzles sometimes can be finicky because you're dealing with monsters that are trying to kill you. Hell, I'm honestly happy the gameloop worked out as well as it did, there was no guarantee it did.
In fact, the game does slightly lean more in the direction of puzzles, so I do understand why a horror fan might not vibe with it as much
That, coupled with my inexperience with puzzle design, did mean the puzzle difficulty and quality was a bit inconsistent, it especially takes a dip near the end, before the introduction of the final mechanic that flips the whole game on it's head.
Any criticism to the puzzle design itself is absolutely valid, but if your main issue with the demo was the variety, then I assure you that's not an thing in the full game.
I'm also gonna outright disagree with the notion that this is barely a puzzle game,I hope you played level 6, that one is one of my all time favorites, and a great showcase for what the game is going for, even if it's on the simpler side. (Level 11 also fits that category)
With all that said, the reception for the game has been more than positive, but there has also been a couple refunds and at least one negative review, so I completely understand that the game won't click for everyone.
Thanks again for giving the demo a shot, I REALLY do appreciate it, I'm also again glad you enjoyed the visuals, they were a blast to work on.
P.S. I'm sorry for the wall of text, I also can't help it when it comes to saying to saying what's on my mind lol.