Zia v0.5 [LIGHT SPOILERS]
Let’s be clear here, I enjoyed playing Zia. At the best times, it’s a story of friendship blossoming to love. But I also felt confused while playing Zia, because I struggled to understand what the game was actually trying to tell me. Now that might be by design to be solved in future chapters, but I did feel alienated a few times while going through multiple runs of the story. Let’s dive in.
And just in case you’re wondering, that ‘mandatory’ kissing encounter with the first male is probably 10 frames long. I get the principle of being against it, but it is really insignificant in terms of story. They could have removed him for all I care.
STORY
You are Zia, a young woman with magical powers. A family member is in trouble and you have to help him out. In doing so, you still have to live daily life being an entertainer. As silly things seem to happen around you, you encounter people who open up your heart and give way to a new kind of magic, love. Zia has to balance her own life while trying to improve the life of others. And that’s not an easy task.
First off, the moment to moment writing is A+ in this game. Interactions seem heartfelt and thought out with proper grammar. The dialog took some of the confusion away as slowly things started to reveal themselves around Zia. This is a woman trying to figure things out, but also holds a lot of knowledge about three magical realms we know very little about and by chapter five, still haven’t touched on.
I mention this because while the game opens on both romantic interests, the storyline with your family member gets interjected halfway through. It’s vaguely explained in the next chapter - you do this to save your family - but lacks the punching power to make the rescue story stick. I know few things about her family, I meet magical entities who disappear after a few minutes not to be seen for a few chapters - and in the end it feels like a game which is unsure whether it wants to be a magic-infused love story or a love-infused magic story.
This dichotomy also extends to characters. There are a few who return in succeeding chapters, but most disappear by the end of a chapter. Now because this is a game in development, it very well could be a lot of these characters return later on. Personally I would have liked more time to get to know the special characters that stick around. The interpersonal relations are what make this game stand out for me.
The delicate, sensitive way the story is told helps tell a story of connection. Whether you choose to partner up with a man or woman - Zia is bisexual - you get a sense of building a stronger bond. Again, I feel the developer could double down on that content to improve the overall quality. It’s what makes this title stand out aside from the female protagonist having magic powers and how that affects her almost blasé way of living.
Zia gave me a hard time dealing with the more sexual content, simply because it came in so unexpectedly. For a game whose power is delicacy, the scenes of domination seem almost absurd. The story writing makes it work and writes it off as silly encounters, but I can’t help feeling shoehorned into it. I do think that when the intimate content between the romantic interests happen, it is handled with far more grace and delicacy. This could of course be a style of storytelling, mix the absurd with the delicate. If so, the proper setup wasn’t there for me.
Despite my criticisms, I enjoy Zia’s story on both sides - although it feels like the game has a light preference towards the male romantic interest. Personally I think Nina is a better partner to Zia’s energy than the uncomfortable Conner is, but it remains to be seen as Conner hasn’t gotten his intimate scene yet.
Zia is a fun game, written far better than most of the throwaway dialog you meet in VN’s. If it can better communicate what kind of game it wants to be and double down on that content, it could come out very strong.
PRESENTATION
Zia looks pretty good. Not just the girl, but the game too. There’s a bit of a moody, darker style over the doll-like appearances of the characters and it works, because the game chases a bit of a cinematic look. The game experiments with wide-angle shots and shallow depth-of-field over the shoulder reflection shots, showing the developer knows how to work camera angles. There’s great detail in many of these scenes, shadows that are cast, reflections, et cetera. Each frame is designed with care.
That said, this game has an overreliance on shallow depth-of-field shots. It’s a sign of the times as it’s a trend everywhere, but in this amount I think it actually harms the game. Not just in terms of shot variation, but also practically because as a viewer, you see less. I found the text box to often overlap faces and frame crops so tight I missed out things I wanted to see. Especially in the Nina & Jack scene I felt frustrated that everything was cropped so tightly. It understand it’s a style choice, but I would still opt for more variation in between.
Honestly, I’m not particularly sold on any of the character’s looks. They look good, but they don’t really stand out anywhere. It never harms the game in any way and the intimate scene between Nina & Zia looks great due to the lighting, so there is great potential here. Mostly it’s just decent scenes - which works for most of the story.
One thing I missed was the body intimacy buildup. That first time you see someone’s partially or fully naked body could be presented like unwrapping a gift to mimic the desire two people share. It might have been a deliberate choice here, but I would have loved the delicacy of Zia slowly revealing herself to us and the characters, even though some might have seen her naked body before. It adds to the storytelling.
To add on that - up until 0.5 I had rarely seen the game become sensual in a physically delicate sense. Nina & Zia feed off that energy and it would be great to incorporate that into other scenes to show their intimate bond. Conner seems like he could benefit from that as well. The close-ups in the female steamy scene are the highlight of this game. Shots like the hands joining together, the pelvic kisses and shoulder biting really add to sense of indulgence. For me, it seems like that level of erotic detail fits this game best.
Entering the mind magic works, as do the flashbacks to teenage memories. The game could probably benefit from title cards that actually portray where we are going, which is a stark contrast from the abrupt scene crossovers done in chapter one. They are great when done well and scenes are strikingly similar, but it does have to fit conceptually for it not to feel jarring.
Overall, the game looks good. It’s enjoyable and at times, very visceral. I might seem critical of the looks, but that also coincides with the fact I can’t grasp what this game is trying to be. I hope from here on out, it knows and it will show.
GAMEPLAY
Not much to say here, besides the fact there are branched choices for dating men or women. Doing something sexual or skipping it. It’s actually basic, but it works for the VN story.
OVERALL
I’d recommend Zia to anyone who likes delicacy and intimacy in their games. It’s not perfect yet, but it’s far better than people make it out to be. I’m going to need more backstory in order to fully understand what’s happening, but I have faith in the developers ability to tell that story. And if you’re scared or turned off by either male or female intimacy, you probably shouldn’t play this game.
Let’s be clear here, I enjoyed playing Zia. At the best times, it’s a story of friendship blossoming to love. But I also felt confused while playing Zia, because I struggled to understand what the game was actually trying to tell me. Now that might be by design to be solved in future chapters, but I did feel alienated a few times while going through multiple runs of the story. Let’s dive in.
And just in case you’re wondering, that ‘mandatory’ kissing encounter with the first male is probably 10 frames long. I get the principle of being against it, but it is really insignificant in terms of story. They could have removed him for all I care.
STORY
You are Zia, a young woman with magical powers. A family member is in trouble and you have to help him out. In doing so, you still have to live daily life being an entertainer. As silly things seem to happen around you, you encounter people who open up your heart and give way to a new kind of magic, love. Zia has to balance her own life while trying to improve the life of others. And that’s not an easy task.
First off, the moment to moment writing is A+ in this game. Interactions seem heartfelt and thought out with proper grammar. The dialog took some of the confusion away as slowly things started to reveal themselves around Zia. This is a woman trying to figure things out, but also holds a lot of knowledge about three magical realms we know very little about and by chapter five, still haven’t touched on.
I mention this because while the game opens on both romantic interests, the storyline with your family member gets interjected halfway through. It’s vaguely explained in the next chapter - you do this to save your family - but lacks the punching power to make the rescue story stick. I know few things about her family, I meet magical entities who disappear after a few minutes not to be seen for a few chapters - and in the end it feels like a game which is unsure whether it wants to be a magic-infused love story or a love-infused magic story.
This dichotomy also extends to characters. There are a few who return in succeeding chapters, but most disappear by the end of a chapter. Now because this is a game in development, it very well could be a lot of these characters return later on. Personally I would have liked more time to get to know the special characters that stick around. The interpersonal relations are what make this game stand out for me.
The delicate, sensitive way the story is told helps tell a story of connection. Whether you choose to partner up with a man or woman - Zia is bisexual - you get a sense of building a stronger bond. Again, I feel the developer could double down on that content to improve the overall quality. It’s what makes this title stand out aside from the female protagonist having magic powers and how that affects her almost blasé way of living.
Zia gave me a hard time dealing with the more sexual content, simply because it came in so unexpectedly. For a game whose power is delicacy, the scenes of domination seem almost absurd. The story writing makes it work and writes it off as silly encounters, but I can’t help feeling shoehorned into it. I do think that when the intimate content between the romantic interests happen, it is handled with far more grace and delicacy. This could of course be a style of storytelling, mix the absurd with the delicate. If so, the proper setup wasn’t there for me.
Despite my criticisms, I enjoy Zia’s story on both sides - although it feels like the game has a light preference towards the male romantic interest. Personally I think Nina is a better partner to Zia’s energy than the uncomfortable Conner is, but it remains to be seen as Conner hasn’t gotten his intimate scene yet.
Zia is a fun game, written far better than most of the throwaway dialog you meet in VN’s. If it can better communicate what kind of game it wants to be and double down on that content, it could come out very strong.
PRESENTATION
Zia looks pretty good. Not just the girl, but the game too. There’s a bit of a moody, darker style over the doll-like appearances of the characters and it works, because the game chases a bit of a cinematic look. The game experiments with wide-angle shots and shallow depth-of-field over the shoulder reflection shots, showing the developer knows how to work camera angles. There’s great detail in many of these scenes, shadows that are cast, reflections, et cetera. Each frame is designed with care.
That said, this game has an overreliance on shallow depth-of-field shots. It’s a sign of the times as it’s a trend everywhere, but in this amount I think it actually harms the game. Not just in terms of shot variation, but also practically because as a viewer, you see less. I found the text box to often overlap faces and frame crops so tight I missed out things I wanted to see. Especially in the Nina & Jack scene I felt frustrated that everything was cropped so tightly. It understand it’s a style choice, but I would still opt for more variation in between.
Honestly, I’m not particularly sold on any of the character’s looks. They look good, but they don’t really stand out anywhere. It never harms the game in any way and the intimate scene between Nina & Zia looks great due to the lighting, so there is great potential here. Mostly it’s just decent scenes - which works for most of the story.
One thing I missed was the body intimacy buildup. That first time you see someone’s partially or fully naked body could be presented like unwrapping a gift to mimic the desire two people share. It might have been a deliberate choice here, but I would have loved the delicacy of Zia slowly revealing herself to us and the characters, even though some might have seen her naked body before. It adds to the storytelling.
To add on that - up until 0.5 I had rarely seen the game become sensual in a physically delicate sense. Nina & Zia feed off that energy and it would be great to incorporate that into other scenes to show their intimate bond. Conner seems like he could benefit from that as well. The close-ups in the female steamy scene are the highlight of this game. Shots like the hands joining together, the pelvic kisses and shoulder biting really add to sense of indulgence. For me, it seems like that level of erotic detail fits this game best.
Entering the mind magic works, as do the flashbacks to teenage memories. The game could probably benefit from title cards that actually portray where we are going, which is a stark contrast from the abrupt scene crossovers done in chapter one. They are great when done well and scenes are strikingly similar, but it does have to fit conceptually for it not to feel jarring.
Overall, the game looks good. It’s enjoyable and at times, very visceral. I might seem critical of the looks, but that also coincides with the fact I can’t grasp what this game is trying to be. I hope from here on out, it knows and it will show.
GAMEPLAY
Not much to say here, besides the fact there are branched choices for dating men or women. Doing something sexual or skipping it. It’s actually basic, but it works for the VN story.
OVERALL
I’d recommend Zia to anyone who likes delicacy and intimacy in their games. It’s not perfect yet, but it’s far better than people make it out to be. I’m going to need more backstory in order to fully understand what’s happening, but I have faith in the developers ability to tell that story. And if you’re scared or turned off by either male or female intimacy, you probably shouldn’t play this game.
