Zeno Clash
From ACE Team Wiki
Zeno Clash is ACE Team's debut game. It is based off ACE Team's mod Zenozoik which was cancelled due to its large scope.
Contents |
Plot
The story takes place in a fictional fantasy world called Zenozoik, and begins in a town called Halstedom. The game commences with Ghat regaining consciousness after setting off an explosion which kills Father-Mother, an ostensibly hermaphroditic creature, which has raised a large and influential family. Ghat is one of Father-Mother's children, who turned on him after discovering it's secret. Ghat runs away from the town, chased by his brothers and sisters seeking to kill him, and is banished from his family. He is accompanied by a female companion named Deadra who has saved Ghat from apathy.
During their travels away from Halstedom, Ghat explains to Deadra through partially interactive flashbacks the events that led up to his attempt on Father-Mother's life. One of the first things that is mentioned is that he lived for a time with the Corwid of the Free, the insane residents of the forests of Zenozoik. While he has turned away from his past life as a Corwid, his brothers and sisters still consider him as one. Ghat still harbors a sense of admiration for the single-mindedness of Corwids. Regardless, when he encounters them a fight ensues.
Later on, Deadra and Ghat reach a large desert area. When Ghat returns from hunting rabbit-like creatures, he discovers a blind mercenary known only as the Hunter, who points a rifle at Deadra's head while she sleeps. The Hunter reveals that he was sent after them by Ghat's family, and was instructed to kill both him and Deadra. Ghat pleads for her life, and the Hunter agrees to let her live if Ghat will come to a secluded area with him to fight. Ghat manages to defeat the Hunter and then leaves with Deadra. Ghat and Deadra eventually reach the end of the world. It is there that they meet Golem, an ancient being placed there by an unknown group of people to wait there until he was needed. Golem has a complete knowledge of Ghat and Father-Mother's conflict, which he says he will end, along with all other conflicts.
Upon Ghat's return to the city, he is confronted by his angry brothers and sisters once more. After this confrontation, a heavily wounded Father-Mother reveals himself, showing that he is still alive. He declares another fight with Ghat to end the strife once and for all. A ferocious battle ensues, in which Ghat defeats Father-Mother once more. With Father-Mother at his mercy, he decides neither to kill him, nor reveal his secret. However, Golem discloses the secret anyway—that Father-Mother is actually a male creature that steals babies from their families. It is revealed that Ghat, upon inadvertently learning this, was chased out of town by Father-Mother in an attempt to protect his secret. The game ends after Golem makes several cryptic statements about their world and family.
