Sometimes, we just need a game that we can download in a couple of minutes and enjoy.  Well, I came across a game that was released not too long ago, and I am hooked!

Zineth logo w/ background color

It’s called Zineth, and it’s free to download for both Mac and PC here: http://arcanekids.com/
 This is a student made game created over a course of a few months to celebrate speed, movement, and twitter.  Now, there isn’t a lot of facts on this game so far, so I’ll just give a basic rundown, and my opinion on it.

Surprisingly, for a game made by a bunch of students in a few months, it’s really good, and I mean really good.  I instantly got hooked and started drawing fanart of it (in which I’ll post when I get to finishing it).

The game play is really smooth and fun.  Exhilarating even.  I guess you could say that this is a parkour-like game.  You have the choice of doing the tutorial, in which it will tell you how to play, and when you’re finished, it’ll send you to the real game.  You play as this little dude adorned in a cowboy hat, some goggles and some cowboy clothes.  Let’s not forget his robot thing that pretty much lets him do all of this jumping and running stuff.  The world is this vast desert land, and it simply put me in awe.  In the distance, you can see two structures, a city and a canyon like place with buildings.  It’s really hard to describe the setting, so you have to check it out yourself…or just the video I’m going to post at the bottom of this, haha.

There is a plot to this story though, as vague as it may seem.  Well, maybe not vague, but kind of just…thrown out there.  You are given some missions to complete from your “Zine” boss.  I guess you could consider the zine boss as some sort of magazine brand owner or something.  Your first mission is going around and collecting pieces of paper, and then delivering them to people called ‘trainers’ around the desert area.  Then he sends you a message saying something similar to: “Hey, go to the moon.  No time to explain, just go.”  So now you have to get to the moon.  Well how are you suppose to do that?  That’s up to you to find out.

Other than the missions, the game is pretty much a free, open world.  However, don’t go over the invisible boundary line of the world, or the golden hawk will get you.  No really, this golden hawk just appears over your head and picks you up if you stay out in the off-limits zone, and then brings you to his nest.  However, this hawk is really important to the game later on, so going out-of-bounds is actually vital.

This game also has some pretty cool features and games.  You have a phone in the game, which has your options, Zine collection, messages, this mini-game that you play with the “trainers”, and twitter.
Yes,  twitter.
If you have a twitter account, you can connect your account to Zineth, so you can check your twitter right from the game.  I did it, so I can see what Andrew Hussie, the creator of Homestuck, is up to.
Oh, and this game is compatible with an Xbox USB controller.  It’s actually preferred  but that doesn’t mean that you can’t use the keyboard as an alternative.  Just an FYI.

The world is designed so you can do some pretty neat tricks, and some tricks that you thought you could never do in the first place.

Background image on Arcane Kids’ site.

With speeds that can reach up to 400 MPH just by running through the desert land, and jumps that make you feel like you’re flying, it’ll give you a thrill.  The soundtrack is truly amazing in my opinion.  It sounds really relaxed, but at the same time electronic.  It’s a wonderful piece of art.

However, every game has its flaws.  That’s unfortunate, since this game is pretty much perfect in my opinion, but I have some ideas that the Arcane Kids should add.  This game, I think, is capable of updating, so hopefully new content will be added.  I would like to see some multiplayer setting, so that I can play with friends.  The game feels barren and lonely without it.  I might be wrong though, since I saw some pictures of multiplayer gameplay on Tumblr once.  However, I don’t see any multiplayer button.
Maybe some new areas can be added for more exploration.  Well, whatever the Arcane Kids do, I bet I’ll be okay with it.

So, let’s patch this up.  I give this game a 9.5/10.  9.5 because it’s perfect, but things can be added to improve the game considerably.
I was surprised that this game was made in celebration of speed, movement, and twitter.  Kind of an odd selection.  I always thought that the message of the game was that “to find freedom, you have to work for it” or something like that in a philosophical sense.

So just…try this game out.  It’s awesome and free.  You can’t go wrong with that.  You won’t regret it (hopefully).