Zen Bound 2

Developer: Secret Exit Ltd
Steam Release: Nov 2010
Hours Played: 1.1
Similar To: None
Rating: 2/5 Parsnips 



GAMEPLAY
Set to a subtle Japanese art style and an ambient almost imperceptible soundtrack, Zen Bound 2 is a unique game with a simple premise: wrap a piece of rope around a series of ornamental objects covering as much of its surface as possible. On starting a game you are greeted with your wooden ornament which has nails driven into it and a stretched, taut rope attached. By pressing the right and left mouse buttons you rotate the ornament so the rope hugs it. As the rope comes into contact with the object's surface, a small area of paint absorbs into the wood and your percentage rises. You may unwind the rope to re-apply it to a different area if you wish. Wrap the rope around a different area and of course the paint will be reapplied and the percentage will go up as before. The idea is to cover the ornament's surface a target percentage and to be awarded up to three flowers.
 

BALANCE & PACE
In addition to the percentage score you are also kept informed of how much rope length you have used and how much you have left. The physics works well with the rope usually wrapping itself around the object in a satisfying manner. Various nails sticking out of the object helps get a secure grip on the object and the rope creaks nicely as the paint is splayed onto the surface. The game's intention of bringing a zen-like calm to the player is largely successful but contrary to this spirit intended there can be a few moments of frustration. Delicate moves can fail as the rope pings itself away from where you wanted it to grip and where you have to start that gentle manouevre all over again. All told though it's a relaxing affair when going for 70-85% but can be quite maddening if you're going for the 99% coverage.

PRESENTATION & DESIGN
There are zero instructions on explaining the way around this game as you're supposed to work it all out for yourself but for those who wish to forego this pleasure, here it is in a nutshell: the main menu lists ten trees with intriguing names like Tree of Vitality or Tree of Nostalgia. Each displays the maximum amount of flowers you can collect for that tree and how many you have actually collected. Clicking on one of these then takes you to a level-select screen showing the trunk of that tree with Chinese lanterns and labels dangling on it. Each lantern has a number written on it and each label has a shadow image of the object you'll be working on for that level. Each label has three buds attached to it which blossom into flowers as you progress.

 

PROGRESS SYSTEM
Clicking on a label first shows you your best score. This shows the percentage of the object you have managed to cover with the rope along with the length of rope you used. You then enter the game by clicking Start and away you go. The number on the Chinese lanterns indicate how many buds needed to have flowered before proceeding up the tree beyond it. One flower blossoms if you cover 70%, two blossom for the medium target of 85% and three flowers go into bloom if you can complete the toughest condition which is to cover 99% of the surface. As you can tell, it's all about covering as much surface area of each object as possible and collecting flowers to fill out the ten trees. It's an unusual system but there again, Zen Bound 2 is not really one of your usual games.

CONCLUSION

It's difficult to give a rating to something that's essentially a kind of simulation of a hand-held puzzle game. As far as I know, with the possible exception of the mobile game Shadowmatic, this is probably the finest example of such a thing that you can find on the internet and to my mind the only game of its kind that you can find on Steam. On the other hand, as an offering that's akin to a "typical" gaming experience like being sucked into an action rpg or a top-down shooter or absorbed by a mesmerizing platformer, then I'm afraid it doesn't really come close.