Zheros have come to save the day!

The evil Dr. Vendetta is trying to take over the universe.  The only thing that stands in his way is you, one of the two members of the Zheros Squad.  Do you have what it takes?

"You become a champion by fighting one more round. When things are tough, you fight one more round." - James J. Corbett

Given that the first two sentences above are about the extent of the story for the game Zheros, there is a lot resting on the shoulders of the other aspects of the game.  Namely it’s all sitting squarely on the gameplay and style.  Let’s just say things get complicated.

You have your choice of playing as Mike, who is muscle bound but dim-witted, or Captain Dorian, who is agile and smart.  While they seem different, I found that they both play fairly the same.  So it really comes down to, do you want to play as a guy or a gal?

When playing Zheros solo things get bogged down pretty quickly. In those first few levels, enemies come in small waves, this is fine since you are still learning the combo system.  Eventually, though this becomes predictable and slow.  A wave of enemies, pause in action, rinse, repeat.  As things progress there are more enemies, bigger and worse enemies, but the same pattern.  A quick tip; learn those combos.  As waves become bigger pulling off longer hit combos will result in bigger scores at the end of each level.  You have a gun and shield also, but I found I didn’t use them often.  Depending on how well you did equates to how many resource points (RP) you get to upgrade your hero with.

“I'm a believer in getting punched in the face. I know it sounds clichéd, but to me, fighting is a metaphor for life.” - Frank Grillo

One big plus is Zheros, like the old beat’em up brawlers of the past, has an on-the-couch co-op.  Here is where Zheros shows its strength.  The action picks up just at the right level for two players to battle back the forces of evil and win the day.  Oddly, while it does pick up in action, the payoff at the end of levels is not balanced.  It rewards with RP, but the better player gets more points, which sets up one player becoming dominant through most of the game.

Overall

I feel like Rimlight Studios’ heart was in the right place for Zheros.  They wanted to capture the feel and fun of a retro brawler like Streets of Rage, Double Dragon, or Final Fight, and to that extent they did.  Adding a combo system, like we see some modern brawlers, does give the game’s combat a nice zing.  It's the gulf between solo and co-op that drags down Zheros.

The graphics are Pixar quality, but the setting becomes blandly repetitive, with a "cut-paste" feeling. Even with that sameness, it seemed as if there was a lot more action (visually speaking) going on in the background rather than the foreground.  That bland look may also makes players end up repeating levels, when something is missed or you can’t backtrack.  For example, there are points where levels will branch, if you go too far down one branch you won’t be able to explore and gather hidden bonuses down the other branch.  To me, this makes the game feel more artificially extended than it really should be.

Zheros runs a weird line down the middle.  Solo, this game isn’t paced well and is at best a “taking a quick brain break from the other, more involved, games I’m playing.”  On the couch co-op though, is fun and would be great to play with family and friends.  As such Zheros earns the middle 3 out of 5

Zheros is available on Steam, PlayStation 4. and Xbox One.  For more information see the official Zheros website.

The Last Journey, is the longest.

Space is a huge place.  Getting from one place to another takes time.  If you have lots of time developer Sleepless Clinic has a game for you, The Last Journey.

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." - Lao Tzu

In the future, things didn’t go well for planet Earth.  Nuclear destruction has devastated all life, but a few spaceships managed to launch before the final blow.  Among those few is your ship.  Although it is unmanned, it carries the DNA samples of mankind to start over on a new planet.  Your mission is to find that planet.

"Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home." - Matsuo Basho

The Last Journey is an exploration game that emphasizes the vastness of space.  How does it do that you ask?  Well by scattering planets, asteroids, and the other ships from Earth across a large grid map.  As you fly your ship around the grids on the map, those you have flown through will be become shaded.  Grids that have something to find in them will be more lightly shaded.  You will be switching back and forth between the map and your ship view often.  Why?  Well, frankly, there isn't much else to do.  Distances between planets and the other ships are huge.  What you’re doing most often is avoiding asteroids.  Running into asteroids damages your shields and eventually destroys your ship.  You will find other ships and planets.  Mostly they allow you restock your fuel, shields, and oxygen.  Ships will have parts of the story for you to uncover and sometimes upgrades for your ship.

The controls are super simple.  Right clicking on the mouse turns your engines on and off, and you have only one speed.  Left clicking on the mouse points your ship in the direction of where you clicked on the screen.  That is it.

Overall

I really don't know what to think of The Last Journey.  I went in thinking it was going to be an epic adventure of exploring the galaxy.  Even though you do explore, the adventure is sorely lacking.  In fact, I would have to say, unless your idea of fun is watching paint dry, The Last Journey will disappoint you.  When I say it "emphasizes the vastness of space" I mean it.  Flying along there is nothing else to do but watch your ship and avoid asteroids.  If you do get close to a ship or a planet a snippet of music starts playing and a small guiding arrow appears pointing you in the direction to find them.  In almost an hour and a half, I found four ships, one planet and little else.  The rest of the time was spent with the drone of the ship's engines as I watched it fly across the stars.

Now to be fair, the game is free, so the only thing The Last Journey has cost me is time.  Also the story and voice acting is above average, but there is little else to keep my interest.  The game doesn’t even have achievements or Steam Cards for you to unlock.  The only thing to keep me going is to see the ending.  That’s only because I’m curious to see if there is an end.  I’m not even sure how to score The Last Journey.  I have not run into any bugs or glitches, it plays exactly how it’s advertised.  This issue is that I find, if I don’t sit down with a cup of coffee and possibly an energy drink nearby, I’m going to nod off playing this game.

This is a game for those that want their exploration of space to be a long drawn out affair with little else to do.  For those people, I'd give The Last Journey a 4 out of 5.  For everyone else that expects some action or adventure with your exploration, I'm hard pressed to even give it a 3 and that would be strictly on story and voice acting alone.  Beyond that, if you have trouble sleeping, this game help you find the land of nod.

The Last Journey is currently available on Steam for free.  It is playable on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Below is my first hour and twenty-two minutes with the game.