Analytic Dreamz: Notorious Mass Effect - "ZOOCHOSIS CAN'T LIVE UP TO HIGH EXPECTATIONS"

Episode Date: October 16, 2024

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/AnalyticNotorious Mass Effect: Deep Dive into Zoochosis - Horror Meets Critters ‍Hey there, listeners! Analytic Dreamz back with a segment exploring the recently released horror game, Zoochosis!This one's for all you thrill-seekers and animal enthusiasts. Buckle up as we dissect the game's concept, delve into its horrifying mutated animal designs, and analyze the player experience.What is Zoochosis?Imagine a rookie zookeeper's first night shift turning into a full-blown nightmare. That's the premise of Zoochosis, a horror game inspired by Five Nights at Freddy's, Resident Evil, and surprisingly, Planet Zoo. A mysterious virus infects the animals, transforming them into grotesque creatures.Will you survive the night? Here's what you need to know:Gameplay: Bodycam perspective puts you right in the action. Face mutated giraffes, hippos, gorillas, and more! The choice is yours: Fight or try to cure the animals!Visuals: Brace yourself for some seriously twisted creature designs. It's a grotesque blend of dark humor and pure horror!Reception: Early reviews are mixed. While some praise the atmosphere and animal designs, others criticize the story, voice acting, and technical issues.Price & Availability: Currently available on Steam for $22.49 with a limited-time discount!Is it Worth Your Credits?That's for you to decide, listeners! Here's a breakdown of what players are saying:Positives: Unique concept, creepy sound design, interesting monster designs.Negatives: Short length, repetitive gameplay, some technical issues like bugs and frame-rate drops.The Verdict?Zoochosis offers a unique horror experience with a blend of strategy and animal care. However, technical issues and a weak story might hold it back.Join the Conversation!Head over to the comments and let us know what you think! Have you played Zoochosis? Would you recommend it to fellow listeners?Stay tuned for more in-depth segments on all things gaming, music, and pop culture, right here on Notorious Mass Effect!Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Now, if you've been following the podcast, you already know that Zucosis sparked my interest way back when it initially revealed its trailer as far as the premise of the game. So if you look up Zucosis, analytic dreams, it should pop up as far as my coverage of the revealed trailer. Now, why did it spark my interest? Well, for the simple fact that the setting. in the plot seem to be unique as far as the way that the horror genre usually strays from. Because of course we have Jurassic Park, but Zucoses in its entirety is very different. You know, it's more of a Five Nights and Freides, a Resident Evil, and a Planet Zoo all mixed together. And the premise is basically you're a zookeeper.

And it focuses on animals who have mutated due to the virus. And the most important thing to keep in mind is that this game is only currently available on PC via Steam, right? As far as consoles, I haven't heard of any plans of putting of this game coming out on those platforms. But in general, I would think that at some point it would come to those platforms because I was looking at, Xbox I was looking at PlayStation as far as the top games on the platform and then I realized this game was only set to come out on PC for the whole time so I looked at the steam charts and as far as the horror element I don't see Zucoses anywhere on these lists and so that led me to believe that this game is more niche. I feel like the sales aren't really talked about for this specific game for the simple fact that it's more of a niche genre and And the people who are into the horror type genre just know that technically it may not be as compelling as the top selling AAA titles. But as far as having its niche in the horror and simulation, I think that you would enjoy this game for the simple fact of the premise.

Now, of course, this is more of a review roundup in coverage of the sales. but with the only being out on PC and with this being a niche game there's not too much we can get into when it comes to sales i mean it's nothing as far as the litmus scale that we can look at besides the steam charts and i don't see it on there at all which is not a bad thing like i said it's just more of a niche game so just because something sells a lot doesn't mean it has high quality just because something doesn't sell means it has low quality the two is um doesn't correlate as far, I mean, sometimes it correlates, but for the most part, you know, something of quality doesn't mean it's going to automatically sell and something that's subpart doesn't mean that's

going to have no cells, right? I mean, it's only up had tremendous sales out the gate. And that game is literally you just going up. So with that being said, getting into the zucoses, I've already said it's a horror game. And a lot of the animals in this game, as far as the giraffes, the hippos, the gorillas, the zebras, etc. is the main animals, but players can potentially cure them as far as, you know, them mutating due to the virus and revert them to the original form

based on end-game decisions. Now, that's another topic I want to get into because apparently this game has 23 endings. So as far as an RPG connoisseur, when I hear multiple endings, I'm always skeptical because it's like, are you changing the color of the sky? Are you changing like one line in the ending?

Or is the actual complete different, completely different endings as far as all 23 being considered? That is where I come to the response of the people who've played the game as the basis, the sentiments around the ending is that there's not really much of a payoff. The lack of closure with the multiple endings seems to be. interesting for the simple fact that if you have 23 endings, you would think one of them would give you a satisfying conclusion. Obviously, you know, those people who play the game who say, oh, I love my ending. And there's just majority wise, people are coming out to say that they felt like their decisions really didn't matter in the grand scheme of things, which is not something you want to hear when majority of the game, as far as when they're selling it to you, is your

in-game decisions and how it impacts the overall story. And of course, the narrative issues, is a lot of things that people have criticized. Like the whole optimization when it comes to CGI sequences, not meeting the expectations of the current player base. And also, they felt like it felt out of place for the game's unique style as far as the visual element. But just because majority of players are not as satisfied with the ending, doesn't mean that you personally won't find one of the 20, three endings, uh, satisfying or adequate, right? So getting back into the overview of the game,

you know, a lot of game publishers reviewed this game and IGN, GameSpot, PC, Eurogamer. Let's just say they didn't have the highest of praises for a Zucosis with IGN giving it a five at a 10 basically mentioning that while the concept is intriguing, the execution falls short due to repetitive of gameplay and lacklustic graphics. GameSpot gave it a 4 out of 10, criticizing the game's poor optimization and uninspired level design, which is something that I thought

wouldn't have been a critique for the simple fact that the premise, the reveal trailer, seems like they was going all out as far as ultimately showcasing a unique visual style when it comes to the horror genre. I mean, how many games, I know there's one titled Planet Zoo, but how many games are out here

and the zoo that's based on horror besides a Jurassic Park, right? And with that being said, I think that they had a great opportunity to put just a stamp on the foundation of horror games, sort of like a Five Nights and Freddy's, how that setting was so unique and compelling to the point where it has his own franchise and even just had his own movie not too long ago. I believe there was a Five Nice and Freddy's movie. I don't see when it came out. So that movie came out October 27th. No, no, no, no, it didn't. It came out, why can I find it? It came out 2023 and, hmm, I don't know why I can't find the actual release date. So Five Nights at Freddy, the actual movie.

I think the movie did well also. Like, that's why I'm surprised I can't even find when the movie came out. nights at freddies i think it's getting a sequel at least date okay it was october 27th all right so last year i was just i had a fact check i didn't want to be you know can't be spreading misinformation anyways uh october 27th twenty 23 is when the five nice of freddie movie came out and essentially it did well enough for its fan base to where they was going to come out with a sequel now with that sequel ever see the light of day we'll have to wait and see you But as far as a genre being innovated upon, as far as a setting being the most pivotal factor in the horror element, as far as being in basically a Chuckie Cheese setting and having the animatronics come at you in horrific ways, that is as a premise.

And of course, the backstory, because I've gotten into Five Nice or Freddy's. I remember watching, I forget his name. I don't know why I'm forgetting his name right now. But anyways, I was watching this guy play Five Nights and Freddy's and I don't even like horror games. So you know a horror game has to be good if I'm just going against my wheel as far as my, you know, scary level being tested as far as Five Nights and Freddy's. So the setting can do wonders for a video game when it comes to the horror element because

that's the main thing in my opinion. So when Zucos is completely nails that and it has more of a dark sense when it comes to the highlight of the game when it's. come based on the strategy because of you having to heal or avoid healing certain animals but then if you do they succumb to the virus and now you got to run from them right it's just such a balance that i think was very interesting as far as the way they set the premise so anyways like i said this game is on pc via steam and it launched with a discount of 10% bringing the price down to 22 dollars it was originally $25. So it's not going to break the bank, obviously, but the overwhelming reviews from multiple

publications, I mean, Medicare, it is sitting at a 4.3 slash 10. Seemingly, all the major publications are criticizing the cliche story and the failure to live up to its intriguing concept due of turning zoo animals into nightmarish creatures. So basically, people are all coming together and the general consensus is the plot and the overall concept is amazing but the execution is below subpart so even though this is a 24 22 dollar game and while it may appear to appeal to horror and simulation fans the overwhelming negative reception and gameplay issues as far as optimization will lead me to personally say to you that you should probably either wait if you're not sure about purchasing this game and trying it out until they fix some of the

optimization issues right so overall it's just another one of those interesting and fantastic concepts falling victim to poor execution so that being said click my link to my bio let me know one of my social media is what do you think about zucoses that's out now on PC via steam and will you be giving it a try and if you have given it a try what do you think they could have done better to make this an appealing game to the masses