Clash: Artifacts of Chaos

Many fans of surrealist studio Ace Team became fans in the first place because of Ace's one-of-a-kind first person puncher Zeno Clash, and we were all excited to see whatever it was that Ace Team chose to succeed the unforgettable Zeno Clash 2 with. Set in the same universe and following a new cast, we have Clash: Artifacts of Chaos. With a new character comes a fresh perspective. Taking inspiration from the then-reinvented identity of God of War (2018), Clash's camera has shifted into the third person, and combat has been adapted accordingly. Though descent into disorder is still an omnipresent possibility in fights, gone is the bar brawl appeal of ZC1&2, replaced by an organic fighting system with cancel mechanics, combo offsets, and realtime moveset switching. Considering both the changes to the camera and combat, Clash is missing the visceral appeal of ZC1&2. What it lacks as a slam-dancing spectacle, however, Clash more than makes up for with with its newfound dynamism and expressive customization. Combat animations are nothing short of beautiful and, despite everything I said, still weighty as hell. The ability to combine movesets throughout and between attack strings turns combat into a violent ballet where the focus is on finding or creating your opening, cracking the enemy wide open, and slipping back out before anyone else knows what happened. With mastery this becomes a constantly shifting assault that can attack from any angle, fluid and heavy like mercury. Clash also counts among its ancestors perhaps the most esteemed over the shoulder pratfalling brawler of all time, God Hand. Attacks can have dodge properties built in, like sliding attacks which dodge high attacks while delivering their own low, further encouraging the player to sneak their way into an enemy's tempo and steal the stage. Interconnected areas may occasionally be too intertwined, and I'm not one for the newfound resource collection, but it is in sum a stellar experience.