Zet Zillionsis the latest game from Raw Fury and developers Ota Imon, previously known forWolfstride.Here we see them head into roguelike deckbuilding territory by casting you as the Commander of a small planet-ship known as Baby Violence, where a group of misfits led by a woman named Foam Gun try to search for a new home for humanity. With only junk and a whole planet of synthetic humans known as Trash to work with, however, they have to battle their way through the galaxy by using all of this junk and various humanoids as weapons. You’ll eventually find yourself firing upon giant baby aliens, colonizing pig-shaped planets by literally shooting humanoids at them out of a cannon until several figures are orbiting it, and eventually dealing with a reality-warping void beast who won’t let you leave, all while sacrificing your cards to the Pineapple God at times to get the currency needed for new cards. Which of course, is more pineapples.
After an animated intro introducing us to the Starborne Vanguard, a group that says they’re fighting for democracy and humanity while traveling through space to destroy a ton of insect enemies (did not expecttwo different gamesevoking theStarship Troopersfilm on the gaming bingo card for this year), we get into the gameplay proper.
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AlreadyZet ZIllionsfinds a way to stand out from similar games in the genre. In most games of this nature, you travel along a path with branches in between battles, choosing which one to take based on what it offers, be it more battles, story moments, new gear and buffs, optional challenges and more. But you rarely get to go back to head a different side of the path. You choose it, you’re locked into it. Here, though, you have all of the current galaxy at your disposal. There’s a force behind you that can lock off certain sections and prevents you from heading directly behind, but as long as two points connect, you may travel in any direction you want, able to virtually cover the entire map if you choose. Naturally, this means a greater risk of failure, but it results in a greater emphasis on exploration, befitting a spacefaring adventure.
Another welcome hook inZet Zillionsis something that allows for more creative designs, that being the ability to fuse cards together. Merge certain cards with different Junk or Trash cards, and a new card takes their place in your hands, with one or both heading for the discard pile. It starts off simple, mixing together basic Trash and Junk create Meatballs dealing higher damage, but then as you advance, you’re creating nukes and working with cards specifically built around fusion. That vampire that doesn’t do much but create semi-useless corpses? Feed it some Trash via fusion and it becomes a damage-dealing Nilbog card that weakens enemies. Some even offer up choices, such as asking if you want to fuse a unicorn to have it deal armor-piercing damage or armor-piercing population. Some cards even boost up the more they’re fused. It’s a simple-yet-unique mechanic that adds a good chunk of strategy, making for something that feels fresh.
Population Bombs
So now there’s a chance that you were confused by the term “armor-piercing population” in the previous paragraph. Needless to say, it’s a bit understandable, but yes, population is a major mechanic inZet Zillions.There are basically three major card effects: Armor, damage and population. You fire the humanoid Trash at your enemies, and in doing so, fill up a meter to stagger them, disabling them for a turn. Your next step will likely be to use any cards provided that deal further damage based on population, preferably those that can also get rid of the orbit of Trash you’ve created to try and start the process again. It’s a twisted, unique take on stun mechanics that definitely fits in with the game’s cartoonish vibes. As expected, the goal is to try and create a deck that works for you, balancing whatever aspects work, especially in conjunction with the typical set of passive buffs.
That said, there are moments where population isn’t just used for stunning opponents. As mentioned earlier, you can also colonize planets as well, through missions set into motion at the beginning of each chapter. Each one of the three major crewmates will offer up their current goals with different rewards, be it new cards, enhancements to existing cards, buffs and more and you choose one to tackle for the moment. One more interested in science typically wants you to colonize planets on the map, the scavenger that deals in sales wants you to earn pineapples, while the violence-focused Foam Gun basically just wants you to wreck enemies. They’re great additions that further encourage you to head all over the map, especially since you can get multiple missions in a single chapter, showing off the personalities of our crew a little bit more.
Cards For Days
There’s quite a bit more in play as well inZet Zillions,from cards with effects that build up or get triggered upon fusion or drawing, cards that start out weak but gain experience through various means until they transform into something more powerful, Minions to start out with that provide additional boosts with optional loadouts, different decks and more to unlock…suffice to say, alotof effort was put into here when in came to creating a deep, fun card game, as if Ota Imon were tasked with coming up with about half a dozen new mechanics for someMagic: The Gatheringexpansions. It’s a lot to take in, but the interface makes it all easy to work with, and experimentation is definitely rewarded.
Honestly, there aren’t even that many flaws when it comes toZet Zillions.Well, flaws that aren’t already part of the genre, anyway. As usual per roguelikes and deckbuilders, luck is still a major thing to consider, and you run the risk of getting bad rewards or an unlucky draw. But aside from that, the only other notable flaw to mention is a part of the visuals. For reference, the review build ofZet Zillionshad a few choppy elements and glitches, with updates that fixed them later on. Still, it made this writer question if the review version was still too early, especially when it came to one area: the visuals in the card gamplay.
Review: Wolfstride
Wolfstride doesn’t always land with a huge mechanical blow, but it can still deliver a decent hit overall.
Not the visuals in general, mind you, with the signature style fromWolfstrideback again, bringing characters like Foam Gun to life in a sort of punk-ish,FLCL-inspired glory complete with spiffy voice work. The character designs in battle are also wild as well, helping to craft a unique world, one with a rather intriguing story to uncover as well. Little animations and details like Foam Gun laughing after each victory are the cherry on top. No, the issue is with, of all things, the actual art for the cards themselves. They seem to have rather varying degrees of quality at times, ranging from slick, detailed images to sketchier stuff. And while it can be understood if this was a stylistic choice (especially to show the growth of under-powered cards), it doesn’t seem to work as well here…after all, when you’re questioning if one card’s artwork is even finished yet, it’s not exactly the greatest sign.
Still, in the end,Zet Zillionsis a wildly enjoyable deckbuilder that succeeds thanks to its originality, wide variety of mechanics that allow for a lot of strategy, and its wild style and sense of humor, all of which make it worth checking out.
Closing Comments:
Zet ZIllionsis a game that isn’t afraid to head to crazy places, be it sentient planets sucking on pacifiers or more legit terrors from other dimensions. And not only does this make for some great characters, visuals and a wild world to explore, but this extends to the card battles and their spread of unique mechanics, making for a ton of fun as you work with them to create the best deck possible. It’s a sheer blast of creativity that’s worth checking out and makes the game stand out among all of the other roguelike deckbuilders. Truly weird and wonderful stuff.
Zet Zillions
Version Reviewed: PC
Setting out to gather info on the mysterious Thanatos, Zet Zillions has you playing as the commander of Baby Violence, a huge planet-ship filled with synthetic Trash beings who get flung at enemies in order to help defeat other planet-sized enemies in card-based combat. Yes, really.
