Information given.
I think that Zeno Clash is worth playing, especially for the ridiculously low prices for which it can be purchased during sales.
The combat is interesting and varied up until you are required to apply the same mêlée combat techniques to the majority of enemy types. There are more than 10 different fighting moves, without regard for any of the hand-held weapons, but with time you will find certain combinations to be most effective.
During a one-on-one fight you can easily achieve a nice, powerful rhythm - however, when there are many enemies it can be difficult to single one out to focus your efforts.
For less gung-ho players this may result in the tiresome process of wearing multiple enemies down one jab at a time. Drop a grenade amongst foes to speed things up.
From this you may infer that too much of one thing can become dull, so luckily this tedium is broken up by special enemies that require more than fisticuffs.
For example, heavy-set enemies can be overcome by using evasion or timed attacks to bring them to a state of vulnerability. Large, mentally-unstable enemies' weaknesses must be exploited to bring them down to your level so that you may cure their neurosis with, you guessed it, more punching.
This does something to alleviate the familiarity of the dodge-punch-block-kick reptition of fighting, though these types of enemies are, too, used repeatedly.
Sore knuckles and noses is not the only draw card for Zeno Clash, and if you aren't going to play for the combat then please play this game for the fantastic artistic design - for the music, visual art and script.
I found the surreal landscapes and the outlandish flora and fauna to be both beautiful and unsettling. The ramshackle settlements and deformed, (often literally) animalistic citizens had me yearning to see what grotesqueries would arise next and I found this incredibly engaging for the duration of the game. The voices are many and varied, highly emotive and serve to easily differentiate the actors and how they feel towards the protagonist - as well as showing their individual strengths and weaknesses of character.
If you appreciate well-executed gameplay and beautiful art direction then I believe that you will enjoy Zeno Clash as much as I did.
If you have played it already then I urge you to buy it for a friend who has missed out.
Please only play Bad Rats if it is given to you as a joke gift, and not after paying for it yourself.
I suggest that you only play this game if you wish to see an example of an average physics-based puzzler (think The Incredible Machine) but with pathetic, random physics that completely deny a player the ability to have any fun whatsoever.
Countless times the ball will be launched along the Z-axis - towards or away from the player - instead of only along the X/Y axis. This will destroy your attempt to finish the level and you will need to use another "attempt". You may then find that your second attempt - with no changes whatsoever - will be successful.
Batter rats, who appear to be terrible at baseball, will swing at the ball as it flies past their flank The ball will then roll towards the player and out of the playable area.
Add to this the achievements that, while inconsequential, are based on winning during your first attempt - and you will soon see that it is inexcusable.
It had the potential to be a tolerable diversionary game, but it is irredeemable due to bad physics.
