Zortch, developed and self-published by Mutantleg, is a game that really seemed to fall under the radar when it comes to throwback FPS games, and that’s an absolute shame. From its intentionally limited graphics and hardware requirements to its surprisingly impressive level design and enemy encounters, it managed to feel like an authentic piece of FPS history ripped straight out of the early 2000s and placed smack dab in the middle of 2023. I had a blast with it, obviously, as did the modest fanbase it’s slowly developed over the past two years.
Color me shocked, though, when I discovered that not only was Zortch 2 in active development, but a playable demo was already up and publicly available on Steam. With how good the first game was, there’s a pretty high bar of quality that Zortch 2 will have to clear without feeling like just another go-around of what was already there. Luckily, there’s just enough here in the game’s demo to convince me that it’ll ultimately be worth checking out.
The Good, the Bad, and Zortch Maxinum
Picking up fairly quickly after the events of the first game, Zortch 2 returns to the world of Zortch Maxinum, the gun-toting engineer who inadvertently saved the galaxy from the malevolent Brainsuckers after falling for a fake holiday resort scam. After successfully making her escape, however, things very quickly take another sour turn. A sudden crash landing places Zortch on a sprawling desert planet that has yet another potentially disastrous conflict brewing. This time around, the planet’s insectoid locals are butting heads with a mysterious cult powered by advanced cybernetics, with the threat of something even more dangerous lurking just beyond the horizon. Can Zortch put a stop to this war, save the galaxy once more, and ultimately get out of dodge? Yes, but the journey won’t be easy.
Zortch originally ran in a custom-made engine tailored for weaker computers, and the same can be said for Zortch 2, albeit with some extra bells and whistles here and there. You can now communicate with certain friendly characters whenever you’re able to, you now have a portable map that shows an overhead view of the current level, and you can even enter a third-person view a la Serious Sam whenever the urge strikes. It’s all interesting stuff — I never had too much trouble getting around in the original Zortch, but giving you a map in the form of a physical thing you can equip is always something that’s appreciated.
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If you’ve played the original Zortch extensively, you may also notice a prominent change in the game’s visuals. The charming, low-res style is still there, but per the official devlog by Mutantleg on itch.io, you’ll see that they’ve implemented some “new modelling tech” for bringing the game’s numerous friends and foes to life. Without getting into the gritty details, you’ll notice some extra detail in the numerous characters you’ll find, due to them being simplified from a more complex model instead of the opposite process from the first game.
Zortch 2 also makes some notable changes to what was already a pretty stable gameplay loop. You can even see some of them in the demo’s screenshots. Obviously, it’s too early to decisively describe all the changes made here, but here are some of the biggest broad strokes I could find:
- You can sprint while shooting now, instead of having these abilities be separated. It’s a natural-feeling change for sure, though it may have some interesting impacts on how certain enemy encounters play out, and how the shift towards running and gunning will meld with the previous game’s more guerilla-style combat. That’s not even accounting for the usable vehicles teased throughout the demo’s promotional materials.
- Weapon and enemy balancing have seemingly changed across the board. Weapons like the shotgun are fairly weaker than their counterparts in Zortch, whereas a good chunk of enemies you can find seem to be a good deal tougher than what came before. Balance changes tend to be incredibly volatile, though, so these changes may not hold when it comes time for the full game to release.
- While not necessarily tied to the actual gameplay, Zortch 2’s soundtrack has seen a noticeable update to accompany its faster pacing. There’s a more distinct rock-flavored edge here instead of mechanical ambiance and alien undertones, which fits alongside the more difficult enemy spawns and the overall greater scope of Zortch 2‘s battles. Essentially, Quake is to Zortch what Quake II is to Zortch 2.
But how does the demo play, ultimately?
It’s good. Good enough, at least, if you were aching for more of Zortch. Seeing as how Zortch 2 originally began life as an expansion pack, the demo wastes no time in throwing everything but the kitchen sink at you right off the bat. You get a total of one level to try out, and it takes place in a slightly rusted industrial zone lined with electrical barriers and the skeletal remains of giant beasts. The level itself is fairly easy to navigate compared to its more vertically-stacked counterpart in Zortch. However, this linearity is made more treacherous through an absolute monsoon of monstrous foes being thrown your way. Floating heads mounted on helicopter blades, dual-wielding torsos that can shred your health at a moment’s notice, and a series of increasingly well-endowed cyborgs armed with miscellaneous explosive munitions for heads will chew through your ammo reserves pretty quickly.
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There are a few bugs, but that’s to be expected from something that’s fairly early in development. A spider-like enemy would occasionally enter its death animation and freeze in place before it finishes. Enemy missiles were seemingly impervious to any impacts other than those distributed by your own weapons, and I did get stuck once in some level geometry. Admittedly, that last one was pretty avoidable. But otherwise, things felt pretty good to control. Performance was as stable as it was in Zortch, despite the broader scope, though some of the sound mixing could see another pass-through or two. The shotgun, in particular, seemed to be much quieter than it ought to be compared to other weapons you can find.
The final stretch was certainly a nail-biter. You’re tasked with crossing a desert valley lined with just about everything you’ve encountered, along with these hulking, imposing mechs that spray missiles at you as if they were confetti. They were so tanky and plentiful that I managed to somehow expend nearly all my ammunition in just trying to bring them down, though I certainly could’ve done some more secret hunting to replenish my reserves. I was overwhelmed after a certain point, and I found just bee-lining to the exit to be much more of an appealing proposition. It’ll be nice to see if other levels in the full game recreate this kind of tense, hit-and-run approach towards its combat.
Should You Play Zortch 2?
After all that, did you really think I was going to say that Zortch 2 isn’t worth checking out? I’m biased, of course — I adore Zortch, and I can only hope that Zortch 2 delivers more of the same goodness I unexpectedly found in the first game. That said, there’s an ambition here that can be felt across just about everything. The visuals, the music, the gameplay itself, it all feels like it’s trying to take what originally worked and place it into a brand-new context that builds upon what was already left behind. It’s exciting. The only other time I’ve felt the same kind of hype-laden butterflies in my gut was when Ion Fury: Aftershock was brought to my attention.
I’m rooting for Zortch 2. The first game was such a low-key delight for me that I can’t help but hope this follow-up will draw more attention to it. As for the demo itself, while far from perfect, I think there’s a strong base here for what might be one of my next favorite shooters of all time. Is that hyperbolic? Maybe. But I rarely get to be hyperbolic.
Zortch 2 is currently in active development with no concrete release date announced as of writing. You can check it out for yourself on both Steam and itch.io.
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