Zold:Out Review
Zold:Out is a game that combines elements of tactical RPG and deck building along with a gacha hero & weapon system. The game is set in a steampunk world, where a young merchant and a weaponsmith embark on an adventure to sell weapons and save the world from a mysterious threat. The game features a semi-turn-based combat system, where the player can use multiple weapons in one turn to attack enemies on a non-grid battlefield. The player can also recruit different characters, forge new weapons, and customize their deck of cards. The game has a main story mode, as well as other modes such as rogue-like dungeon, challenge mode, and duel mode. The game is available on Steam, AppStore, and Google Play. Is the Zold:Out really worth playing?
Combat
The combat system of Zold:Out is based on the use of action points and weapon cards. Each character has 12 action points that can be spent to perform actions in battle, such as moving, attacking, or using skills. The number of action points remaining will affect the duration of subsequent rounds, so the player has to decide whether to use them all at once or save some for later. The player can also use weapon cards to equip different weapons to their characters, each with their own abilities and effects. The weapon cards can be obtained from forging, recruiting, or buying, and can be customized to create different decks. The player can use multiple weapons in one turn to attack enemies on a non-grid battlefield, where positioning and movement are important factors. The combat system of Zold:Out is designed to be semi-turn-based, meaning that the player can pause the game at any time and plan their strategy.
Energy / Stamina System
Stamina is a common resource in gacha games that limits how much a player can play in a given time. It regenerates over time, often only up to a cap. It can typically be regenerated at a rate of 12 per hour or gained instantly through some form of micro transaction or premium currency spending. Max stamina in this game is pretty low and in my honest opinion poorly done. Currently at level 13, I have a cap of 100 stamina where each story takes 20 stamina, so in 5 story modes i am out.
RPG Elements
Zold:out is a game that has various RPG elements, such as character development, story progression, and exploration. Here are some of the RPG elements associated with Zold:out:
- Character development: The game allows the player to recruit different characters, each with their own unique weapon cards and abilities. The player can also forge new weapons, upgrade existing ones, and customize their deck of cards. The player can also level up their characters and unlock new skills and perks. The game has four weapon classes: sword, gun, bow, and staff, each with their own advantages and disadvantages.
- Story progression: The game has a main story mode, where the player follows the adventure of a merchant and a weaponsmith in a steampunk world. The game has nine chapters, each with different locations, enemies, and quests. The game also has multiple endings, depending on the player’s choices and actions throughout the game.
- Exploration: The game has a non-grid battlefield, where the player can move their characters freely and interact with the environment. The game also has other modes, such as rogue-like dungeon, challenge mode, and duel mode, where the player can explore different maps, encounter random events, and fight against various enemies.
PVP
There are two types of PVP modes in Zold:Out: Shop Duel and Mirror Dungeon.
- Shop Duel: This mode is similar to the ranking mode, where players can challenge other players’ shops and try to defeat their defense team. The defense team is composed of the player’s own characters and weapon cards, as well as the order and placement of the cards. The player can also set up traps and obstacles to hinder the attackers. The player can earn rewards and points by winning duels, and climb up the ladder to get higher ranks and prizes.
- Mirror Dungeon: This mode is similar to the rogue-like dungeon mode, where players can explore different maps and encounter random events and enemies. However, the enemies are not AI-controlled, but are other players’ characters and weapon cards. The player can also find other players’ shops and challenge them for loot and resources. The player can also encounter bosses that are based on other players’ strongest characters and weapon cards.
Cash Shop
The cash shop in Zold:out is a feature that allows players to purchase various items and resources using real money or in-game currency. The cash shop can be accessed from the main menu, and it offers different categories of items, such as:
- Starter Pack: This is a one-time purchase that gives players a bundle of items, such as gems, gold, weapon cards, and character cards. The starter pack also includes a special weapon card that can only be obtained from this pack. The starter pack costs $4.99 USD.
- Daily Pack: This is a recurring purchase that gives players a daily amount of gems, gold, and weapon cards for 30 days. The daily pack also includes a bonus of 300 gems upon purchase. The daily pack costs $9.99 USD.
- Gems: This is the premium currency of the game, which can be used to buy other items and resources, such as weapon cards, character cards, stamina, and gold. Gems can be purchased with real money, or earned from completing quests, achievements, and events. The price of gems varies depending on the amount and the region.
- Gold: This is the basic currency of the game, which can be used to forge weapons, upgrade characters, and buy items from the shop. Gold can be purchased with gems, or earned from battles, quests, and events.
- Weapon Cards: These are the cards that represent the weapons that players can equip to their characters. Weapon cards have different types, rarities, abilities, and effects. Weapon cards can be purchased with gems or gold, or obtained from forging, recruiting, or events.
- Character Cards: These are the cards that represent the characters that players can recruit to their team. Character cards have different classes, skills, perks, and stats. Character cards can be purchased with gems or gold, or obtained from recruiting or events.
- Stamina: This is the resource that players need to enter battles and dungeons. Stamina can be purchased with gems, or regenerated over time.
State of Game
The game runs very smooth on my PC via Steam and also runs smooth on my Pixel 6 Pro. That’s as good as the state of game really goes, as I believe the game has way too many loading screens, and to make it worse, summoning gacha triggers a small “download” as well. So it can be safe to assume that assets are downloaded when needed/used.
The game was released on global servers on January 26th, 2023, and is available on AppStore, Google Play, and Steam. While I started playing back in January, I did end up dropping it not long later due to the difficulty of progressing through Chapter 5-17.
As of October 23rd, 2023, the game has over 100K+ downloads on Google Play, and a rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars and over 10K+ ratings on AppStore, and a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars. The game has little to no population via steamcharts on Steam with a average base of ~20 peaking at 70 per day.
- Additional late game zones to explore.
- Fresh equipment sets and cosmetics.
I would say the game is definitely worth a try, it’s free, it’s not too bad, it gets constant updates but I wouldn’t expect it to last a long time due to a very small population base.
Artwork
The type of artwork used in Zold:Out is a steampunk-style anime art. Steampunk is a genre of science fiction that features steam-powered technology and retro-futuristic aesthetics. Anime is a style of animation that originated in Japan and is characterized by colorful graphics, expressive characters, and diverse themes.
Zold:Out combines these two elements to create a unique and immersive visual experience for the players. The game features detailed and realistic backgrounds, such as cities, factories, and dungeons, that contrast with the bright and stylized characters, weapons, and effects. The game also uses a semi-cel-shaded technique, which gives the game a comic-like appearance and enhances the depth and lighting of the scenes.
Is It Worth Playing?
While it is not the most unique game, the artwork is quite distinct in it’s own world. If you are looking for something pleasing to look at, need some strategy gameplay Zold:Out could be the one for you. If so, would recommended checking Zold:Out out and play before the game really goes under due to the dwindling player base. Otherwise, there are better & more populated games to play with similar combat systems.
