Zeno Clash is one of the most unique games to come to the PC in the last few years. Its first-person melee combat is smoother than that found in Mirror's Edge, and is teamed with a backdrop of strange characters and strange places, all imaginatively drawn by Valve's versatile Source engine. It is a game that I think everyone should at least try, but the gameplay which makes it so much fun can also be difficult to understand.
This walkthrough will over the entire game and give pointers as to how to emerge victorious. With this walkthrough, and with the combat tips covered the Zenoclash Combat Guide, you should be able to beat the game on Hard difficulty without losing an embarrassing amount of times.
Zeno Clash opens into its first fight after a brief introduction which shows Gnat attacking Mother-Father, which is followed by a tutorial that covers the basics of punching, blocking, and dodging. Considering the limited amount of skills which the first tutorial sequence provides, the first fight is difficult. You'll be pitted against three of your siblings, Gastronis, Rimat, and Onpa, who are eager to take you down for your murder of Father-Mother.
Gastronis and Onpa don't have much spice to them. Subjectively, Gastronis seems more aggressive than Onpa, but the both tend to stick to run-of-the-mill punches and blocks. It is Rimat who can do the most damage, as she is capable of performing a spinning kick attack which seems impossible to stop once the first hit lands. You can avoid this attack by simply moving away from her when she begins it, as she cannot move during the first stage of the animation.
Note that this first combat takes place in extremely tight quarters. Of all the areas in the game used to stage fights, the gates of Halstedom is among the most difficult. There are many obstacles nearby, and it is easy to be backed into a corner. While conventional gaming wisdom dictates that a player should focus on one target until it is down and then focus on the next, this fight will require you to diversify your victims. The moment you find two enemies attacking you at once, retreat, drawn one of them towards you, and then fight that opponent until the others have caught up. Eventually, you'll KO all three.