Town of Zoz
Review
Charming, Cozy, Combative
by Camrin Santchi
reviewed on PC
Inheritance
Cozy games are incredibly popular with both big time gamers and more casual players alike, from the 'small town vibes' of Persona 4 when you aren't dungeon crawling, to the farming sims like Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley where you take up a sometimes dilapidated farm and bring it to glory.
It is within this little niche that Town of Zoz exists, a new game where the player character Ito is brought back to their hometown to tend to the family farm, and continue their training as a 'shaman chef adventurer', helping out the townsfolk with their troubles, farming crops, cooking meals, and going on adventures that pit you against foes.
Gorgeous Style
Town of Zoz is a very stylistic, and animated game, with an artstyle and direction inspired by Latin America, and it is incredibly charming. From the lush forests to the winding and crowded streets, Town of Zoz is practically oozing with life and charm. Colours pop, animation is very smooth in cutscenes and combat, and even the cooking mini-game has some delectable looking foodstuffs.
Walk Before You Can Run
The opening of Town of Zoz is rather slow, with Ito having to return home from training in the woods and then slowly being taught parts of the gameplay loop, such as how the farming section works or how the cooking mini-game operates. It's a drip feed of content, and Town of Zoz tries to balance introducing a bunch of features so that it doesn't overwhelm players, but that comes with the off-set of an extended tutorial. Said tutorial isn't egregious in length by any means, but once players get a handle on how to dodge roll in combat, water crops, or otherwise engage with Town of Zoz they may wish to move faster than the game introduces things.
One other minor issue with Town of Zoz is with the combat. Players control Ito, but also their familiar spirit, Zee, with their own separate health pool, abilities they can acquire via haunted video game cartridges, they have multiple ways of interacting with the world, like 'locking on' to enemies so Ito can unleash a powerful, magic enhanced strike, or creating Area of Effect strikes that can hit multiple enemies, or even possessing a jar to fight passively alongside Ito, but they can be tricky to get used to, especially since some of Ito's movements feel a bit slower than they should initially. Just like the length of the tutorial, this isn't awful by any means, but it's certainly something to keep in mind when entering the game.
Core Mechanics are Key
Once players are through the opening segment of Town of Zoz, the gameplay loop introduces itself and it all ties together in a very enjoyable way. Players will tend to their crops, make food out of their harvests, and either use those foods to complete quests or improve bonds with the villagers, or eat it themselves to provide enhancements like extra health or damage when they venture away from town to fight monsters, solve puzzles, or otherwise interact with the world. Every part of the loop feeds back into it, providing great satisfaction, especially since in many games cooking can be relegated to a side-quest, inherently optional, or provides limited benefits - but it is front and centre here.
Mellow, Mysteries, and Meringue
Strange things seem afoot below the surface in Town of Zoz, peculiarties surrounding Ito, their family, and the town itself that will need to be uncovered in order to truly become a shaman chef and provide aid to all those who need or ask of it. These deeper mysteries and secrets add a subtle flavour note of intrigue to the enticing, homemade recipe that makes up Town of Zoz, encouraging players to keep going, keep engaging with the world and its gameplay loop, in a wonderful way. Even with a slow simmer to begin, and some prepwork that takes some adaptation, Town of Zoz is sure to have players cleaning their plates and asking for seconds.
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8.5
fun score
Pros
Beautifully Charming Art style, Entertaining Gameplay Loop
Cons
Slow Start, Occasional Jank in Combat
