I am going to stop playing this now [Zoochosis - Part 3]

[@skyrillex5566]

It's so sad because the premise of this game is so interesting, but it's so rushed that you can't even understand what's happening at times...

[@groundedgaming69]

Tbh yeah the game looked scarier in trailer but the game itself is kinda lame and seems like a chore very confusing chore

[@2LEGION2]

​@@groundedgaming69this game has tons of promise it just should have went out on beta so they could patch some stuff and then also with fan ideas/input could have changed things a little. I really like the idea of the game

[@groundedgaming69]

Oh no I agree I was ready to play it till saw John play then each video got me slowly moving away from game it’s sad to see yet another good concept ruined

[@madness1931]

It feels like there's a really solid foundation here, which is perfect for early access. I wonder if Alexander's passing had anything to do with it. When he died, the games direction, and passion went along with it. So they polished what they had, and moved onto something else.

[@samwisegamgee1243]

@@madness1931 It'd be disappointing if that was their logic. The best way to honor their friend would've been to polish his final product to perfection, imo.

[@ItsMeTanukii]

"They just have migraines? But they're throwing up!" As someone who gets migraines often, and throws up from them, this comment was very funny to me

[@josiehemphill4649]

i was looking for this comment! i was gonna say throwing up from migraines are pretty common

[@smeasy18]

Lol same I just had migraines a few weeks ago and it made me throw up a few times haha! migraines suck!

[@awkwardpawsome]

​@@smeasy18 I love how your body is like "You feel like shit? I can make it worse 😏" 😭

[@smeasy18]

@@awkwardpawsome lol literally!!🤣😩😩

[@TrickLick-cz8tz]

Honesty, points for realism in this game. As someone who is currently also working a shady night shift job where I’m constantly in danger, my employer also gave me little to no instruction and left me to my own devices. To this day sometimes I have no clue what I’m doing.

[@user-os7ec4dm8x]

Sounds like a cry for help, speak to your employer about it otherwise you'll be left feeling worse by the day.

[@samwisegamgee1243]

@@user-os7ec4dm8x If the employer cared they wouldn't have left them like that tho 😅 They did the bare minimum for training because they didn't care, they just needed a body for the shift.

[@Unshingschlang]

What is your job?

[@ledumpsterfire6474]

​@@samwisegamgee1243 Not always true that they simply don't care. Sometimes the resources just aren't there to spend 40+ hours training someone, like would obviously be optimal. For fields that have exceptionally high turnover (like the medical field), which turns into a self fulfilling prophecy of ever more turnover, dedicated training winds up being wasted resources more often than not.

[@JoceBeggar]

Exactly lol Except the danger part, im in the same situation

[@pascale_the]

I cant believe the devs perfectly recreated wild moose behavior, such as getting stuck in doorways

[@kkuro7054]

I think they could have done more with "weird noises these animals actually make which people don't recognize and will find uncanny and alien".

[@yikesyourchunkyhostilityha2321]

​@kkuro7054 oh yeah! There are definitely some WILD sounds I would have never heard if it weren't for random animal curiousity. Wish they could have done more with that!

[@kkuro7054]

I think I can understand your dwindling enthusiasm for playing the game, but I gotta say, it's been pure fun to _watch_ you play it! Thanks :)

[@spookybro48]

This game had an interesting concept and a not so great execution. The gameplay and figuring out what your goal is supposed to be is very confusing! But being able to pet the animals was 10/10 and the monster designs were very cool. Thanks for giving the game a shot at least! I had fun watching the playthrough

[@H0TR0B]

I've seen a few comments across the Zoochosis videos about "you're supposed to do X, look out for Y and then do Z". Friends; It is the GAMES job to tell the player what to do. You can get away with minimal tutorials in games with simple systems, but not in a game like this! The tutorial is basically "Push cart, cut food, suck shit, shoot dart. Also, I'm evil and this is scary, bye." They need to have the daytime zookeeper giving the player a much more in depth tutorial about the diangosing and treating illness part.

[@thefailbender]

The “I’m evil and this is scary” got really old, really quickly. Not everything needs to be Outlast…

[@JohnTwolfe]

Why criticize a mediocre game when you can assert intellectual supremacy over Mr. KZbinr instead?? 🤓

[@WhoahMyGod]

I know it is the games job to inform the player, but I'm not blaming John Wolfe. I left a comment about what to do, because I wanted to be helpful and I wanted to watch something that didn't involved John Wolfe being confused all the time. Of course people are going to step in and try to fill in that gap. That's not unreasonable.

[@Queenpoisonquinn]

Agreed instead of them mutating you've gotta tranquilize a hormonal animal instead So when night time does come and they do mutate you know how to act, a daytime shift would help the player become more attached to the animals aswell

[@mira-mun2076]

To make things clearer, the least they could've added to the tutorial was how to collect blood (and in turn emphasize the usefulness of tranquilizers); it plays such a significant role after all.

[@amarkalibad2571]

Doc sent more ingredients to the parcel box at 50:20. Apparently it's where you put the meat for your wife, not that cabinet you checked in the hub. I honestly feel like this game didn't have enough play-testers. It just expects you to know what/where everything is without any further explanation.

[@thacobell4700]

I get what the devs are going for. A Mortuary Assistant gameloop where you can earn different endings. But there's no real variation in the runs. Martuary assistant had random events, and stuff that may or may not happen during a run. Zoochosis is doing the exact same thing every run, barring the animals, which all offer the same gameplay. I WANT to like this game, but th execution just isn't quite there. I'm hoping the devs don't give up on it, and are able to make something of it.

[@Whatlander]

Yes, exactly this. There's no fun in a death/restart loop when you get basically the same thing every time. I really hope they keep at it and release a major patch.

[@Argacyan]

I feel like the death of the writer impacted the game's development

[@drewgoin8849]

Wait, really?!?

[@user-os7ec4dm8x]

@@drewgoin8849 Yes theres a credit dedicated to the lead writer at the end, he passed away before the game was finished. I think he was the designer as well, so it was bound to have an impact.

[@serialexperimentsnyx]

@@Argacyan i had no idea about this, this is so tragic. im sure he wanted the product to be finished in his stead

[@seghuolog2957]

There’s really something amazing about having followed John and other KZbinrs so long that you can hear about their kids; like these guys really helped me through all kinds of crap so it’s nice to see them happy.

[@bykremi]

I know it was probably annoying for John playing the game, but the moose running around with the speed of light was really funny.

[@trinity4251]

Awwww... the baby standing story is so cute! Hope everything has been going good between the work/family life balance!

[@0Sarenity0]

It sucks cause I was SO EXCITED for this game. Zookeeper horror??? As someone who works in animal husbandry, I was STOKED for this. I think the death of the staff member led to a lot of shortcomings and the rest of the dev team just couldn't fill in the game from there.

[@barrasolen]

I love the mental image of John (we're apparently on first name terms now) running around a moose enclosure screaming at them to hold still so he can scan them. If I saw this at my local zoo, I would go there much more often than I already do.

[@diceroanoke7363]

With a title like that I know things are going to get uh, interesting.

[@chrissixtytwix]

It's okay to say it, things are gonna suck.

[@cortezproal2877]

My daughter is 5 now and the best memories I have are the ones of her learning to stand and walk and talk. Yall are doing a great job and I am extremely happy for you.

[@dianac922]

It’s crazy that migraine is still so misunderstood. As someone who’s dealt with them for the last 11 years, it can make you very nauseous, and definitely makes me vomit nearly every time… which dehydrates me and can become a vicious cycle which usually puts me in the ER/clinic at least once a year. If animals can also experience migraines, I feel for them greatly 💔

[@claudiarsl9725]

Oh but don't you know they're just headaches, take some ibuprofen and you'll be fine 😭😭😭 real talk the thought of my cat getting a migraine makes me so sad I hope that isn't the case!

[@bykremi]

I feel like the Mortuary Assistant beats this game in the sound effects and atmosphere (as well as other things). I personally did not enjoy the vomit sounds which were nonstop. It really wasn't immersive, instead it pulled me out of the environment by being way too repetitive. I was able to get through the game because of your gameplay and character, otherwise I would have given up. And your little stories about your family are very sweet. Thank you for playing it.

[@poingupoingu]

Yeah I tried to watch last episode while eating dinner. That was a mistake.

[@whoIsV]

This chore added horror games have became boring and annoying. Don't know why many indie games are following the simulation + horror element so much.

[@pheenixgryphon7857]

@whoIsV Maybe the Sims spooked em and they're trying to catch that lightening in a bottle. lol It wouldn't be so bad if more stuff just happened in these types of games. They could really benefit from randomly generated things like having an odd event or facing a monster that rarely spawns in.

[@Steve-YT383]

Appreciate the playthroughs John!! I felt the game ramps up a bit fast. Didn't give itself time to breathe.

[@RenHeng_canon]

I was wondering at which point he was gonna break since the start and stayed longer than i expected! LMAO

[@tigerlilylove10101]

If you save the girl instead of grinding her you can get better endings! Loved these videos John, good job

[@TheShadowCookie]

I love John Carpenter's The Thing to death, and subsequently, anything to do with parasitic assimilation/mutation is right up my alley. However, what makes the movie so great is the suspense, the slow and gradual buildup. Here, I love the idea how you care for the animals, and that you are supposed to be on edge because any of them could be a monster. Having to check their vitals, temperature, blood, etc. to determine whether or not they are still normal sounds really good on paper - but the pacing is so off. Animals turn too fast, the routine becomes repetitive rather quickly. Ultimately, it is just the same over and over. A more linear story would have helped so much, inducing paranoia, fooling you into thinking that certain animals might be infected, etc. And then hitting you out of nowhere and creating a tense situation like the defibrillator or blood sample scene in The Thing. Man, this had such potential and could have been an amazing horror experience. I hate it whenever someone squanders the potential of a The Thing scenario.

[@12HitCombo]

John: "I'm going to be a model zoo employee this time!" Also John: *Gets all the mooses either killed or turned into mutant abominations*

[@noot1375]

This game would be great if it just explained its own mechanics properly. I'm all for not holding the player's hand and mollycoddling, but this game has complex systems that are just not well explained.

[@kkuro7054]

Very pre-internet-era style of game design, is how it's struck me. Just with a 21st-century 'indie studio' vibe wrapped around it.

[@samwisegamgee1243]

@@kkuro7054 That still doesn't feel accurate though considering most physical old-school games came with their own manuals. The scenario you described existed for super challenging games, but this game has less than mediocre difficulty and is more convoluted by unhelpful information. Old difficult games wouldn't hold your hand at all, but they was designed this way to encourage exploration and trial-and-error your limitations. This game gives you half-baked information and punishes you for not knowing how the rest of the mechanics work.

[@kkuro7054]

@@samwisegamgee1243 Honestly I might just be too old to even get the distinction you're making in the second paragraph :)

[@samwisegamgee1243]

@@kkuro7054 Lol my previous answer already felt long enough, so I didn't explain very well. Let me try again (but feel free to skip if it looks like too much to read haha). Consider the first Castlevania game, if you've played it: - You're introduced to the mechanics, moveset, and power-up systems early on, and the rest of the game rewards you for trial-and-erroring these concepts and exploring the map. Basically, you're equipped with all the information and potential tools you need to try and have a good run. - The usual objective was "get from point A to point B" or "get to x to destroy y enemy", and even if it wasn't spelled out exactly how to do that, you were rewarded for making it to other parts of the maps or taking out optional bad guys. - The game itself is tough, and you'll die a lot and might have to start over, but at least you'll know it's just a skill issue if you fail rather than the game not providing what you need. And if you die, you could also often learn what you should/shouldn't do to advance. This was the basic design for a lot of the tough games that came out back in our day (and current ones too that have good game design). Compare that to this game: - You are given _some_ tools (because the game doesn't make it clear how to use or access others) and _partial_ information on how to best use these tools - Your objectives are _somewhat unclear_ because it pretends like the animals are your priority, but there's clearly other fishy stuff happening in the background and you're restricted from being able to fully investigate them or reasonably protect yourself until it's time for a scripted event to progress the story (or kill you). - As a continuation of objectives, it's obvious we shouldn't let animals mutate, but is it clear _why_ we should care to stop it or how it affects our overall objective? I'd say it doesn't explain that at all, and should have addressed the use for parasites much earlier. - There's _not much room_ for trial-and-error because the looping gameplay for each enclosure is largely the same, as are many of the game-ending scripted events, limiting how much you can actually "trial" different approaches and what "errors" you get. - If you die in this game, what do you actually learn? Not much, you get the same cutscene with a few deviations (with the exception of 2 or so endings), or maybe you'll learn to approach the animals in the enclosure a different way (though a lot of people have mentioned this is kind of moot because the game bugs out too much to properly experiment). - The game punishes you for dying by blocking off previously accessible parts of the map with no good explanation (largely due to the aforementioned issue of parasites not being discussed). This aspect of the game design really doesn't contribute anything whatsoever. TLDR; So even if the original intention for the game was to be reminiscent of trial-and-error games, it restricts itself and the player from what they can do and how much they can find out, which kind of nullifies the whole trial-and-error design.

[@kkuro7054]

@@samwisegamgee1243 Wow! :) What I really had in mind was 1980s (and '90s I guess) adventure and puzzle games, rather than action and arcade ones (which, while having their own peculiarities, were aimed at keeping their players' adrenaline/dopamine demands met). My recollection of the former is that they were very much like the stubborn, mulish cruelty you see in Zoochosis, honestly.

[@myosotiskills]

The storytelling in this game was the biggest disappointment. They give away all the mystery in the first 20 minutes its ridiculous!!! The scariest part of horror is the things you imagine when you DON'T know whats happening. Having Mr Evil Guy come up to you and basically say We Are Evil And Here Is A List Of Evil Things We Do is an absolute storytelling crime.

[@TheUjosh]

The story about your daughter freestanding is so cute! I diddd

[@H1GHLANDER360]

As much as I like the game's premise and the mutant animals. I really can't blame you, it had the ingredients but not enough spice to make it edible. From gameplay footage it looks too repetitive and it gets tedious, its like you're waiting for something batshit insane to happen and it just doesn't come. Not only that, the lack of resources makes it unwinnable half the time. This game could've been so much more then just a chore.

[@shroomyk]

There is actually an absurd amount of the medical ingredients in the mailbox if John had actually looked there. Where he ended up looking was just a first aid kind of cabinet, not the mailbox/parcel drop off thing.

[@Magestrix]

Yeah, the integral mechanics of the game (or where to find them) aren't explained. I believe you're only going to get assigned 4 random enclosures at a time for the sake of the endgame. Each enclosure has an infected animal. Each parasite collected could potentially be the one that could kill Mother. There's only four spaces in the cupboard for the parasite puzzle. The thing about the game is that you have to read the notes and posters in order to find out how to actually deal with the infected animals. The UV tool is to find signs of infection or injury on the animals. This helps in figuring out which animal is infected. There is a note you read in your first playthrough that says the infection will mimic illnesses. This means that an animal with no signs of illness could vomit, mimicking other ill animals that are doing the same. There are other notes telling you what other signs to watchout for when determining the infected animal. Collecting blood to cure the infected animal must be kept on you in order to craft it. So don't submit it into the diagnosis machine. That machine doesn't collect blood, only analyzes. Being a good employee won't change your ending. Don't steal, don't commit murder, and warning your wife will give you more story. I think the 23 endings are mainly related to the text you get after the end cutscene. The cutscenes are basically: you die, you and your wife die, everybody dies, and Mother and Doc die; with a text "ending," to show the consequences of your actions during the game. In terms of strat, I would carry at least 3 Lethal Injections and/or 3 Tranqs for the infected before entering the enclosure. Use "R" to Reload the selected ammo. I would also collect blood first, just in case an infected shows up. Then you have enough to make their cure (x3). After they're done, go ahead and collect the things needed to cure the sick animals. Meat only calms down the infected. They'll turn back into their normal form, but they turn back and start attacking if they're startled. If I were to change things, it would definitely be the tutorial system. It pretty much drops off after the giraffes. I would have made a requirement to collect notes as well as how to use the other tools.

[@rebeccabarnet6746]

Yes! This! I noticed in many of the notes and on the posters that there was more information like the other animals mimicking sickness. I think if it were more clear that so much of the tutorial is in the lore, it would've been an easier time for everyone. I love the concept that you have to sort of "solve the mystery" to figure out how to treat the animals. But I do think there should've been at least a little more hinting that was the case at the beginning.

[@MsKirkle]

started watching this series at work on my closing shift, now i get to enjoy part 3 on my opening shift.. god bless you john

[@kellensweets]

These spooktober videos are becoming a part of my nightly routine now. I've been waiting for this video drop for the past hour so I can settle down with a cup of horlix in bed. I love my life right now

[@liio415]

What is horlix??

[@Dr.Crusader0138]

@@liio415 Think of Ovaltine. It's a chocolate drink.

[@ShrimpCup]

@@Dr.Crusader0138yum!!

[@kingslob3422]

@@liio415 it's a chocolate drink but with loads added, you have shoot at least 8 loads in it to make it taste yummy and bleachy.

[@Emily-xk2du]

Favorite moments! The story about CK freestanding (so stinkin cute, whaaaat 😭), John continuing to baby-talk the animals, "I'll be the best employee. I'm like that Drake meme, I don't want it, I don't want to know, get away from me.", and John talking to the moose for the first time and petting its snootle ("I have the parasite too, we're kindred spirits you and I, brothers"). Ty for the playthrough, John! :D

[@AngeliqueStP]

John yelling at the meeses like recalcitrant children is sending me.🤣 Yeah, this game has a great core concept of 'A Horror Zoo'... but there's too many issues to recommend it. Even though you aren't feeling it, thanks for making it fun, John!

[@DeathRisiing]

7:35 that little story of CK and you & Kimmy being like \o/ "i di'it!" is sooo cute I enjoyed watching this game, despite its flaws. Just watching the animal care was quite nice. Love those penguins.

[@Waterbottles711]

Thanks for sharing that story about your daughter. That was so cute and funny 😂

[@joshuaross9777]

It looks like the point isn’t necessarily to feed the infected animal but to quickly cure the animal before they hurt anyone.

[@thefailbender]

Seeing this notification had me laugh out loud. 👍🏻 Edit: finally watching a few hours later, your story about CK standing and subsequent triumph brought such a huge smile to my face! How adorable!! 🥰

[@jellyskink]

Commenting for engagement: I think that the animal monster designs were REALLY cool, and the animal models in general were very well executed. I would not play this game myself, it does not look terribly fun, but I DID look up from my drawing every time you came across one of the beasties. I mean, I did intermittently aside from that, but this was a good lil podcast series with some cool animal monsters. I can totally see why you wouldn't want to continue it, though. (I did love how sweet you were to the animals, especially at the beginning)

[@Whatlander]

Limiting the enclosures for each playthrough is a very strange choice. Yes, you get a new animal, but they punish you by locking others? You should be gaining something for each playthrough, or there's little incentive, like John said. And I can see some logic in gradually upping the difficulty by taking resources and the margin of error, but it doesn't really "keep things challenging" if you weren't sure what to do the first time, and the gameplay loop would already get frustrating even in a linear experience. I was expecting them to go for multiple nights with more enclosures and conditions, not one night where you play a half-game 20 times because they never told you how the mechanics work and the endings are just "you lose, bad job."

[@whiteraven90]

Well... thanks for giving the game a good shot and showing the result anyway. Watching it was interesting. I was excited to see the moose enclosure the most, so I'm glad that one came up.

[@king_lotus_art]

I know you were not thrilled with how the game was as a whole, but I was laughing my ass off at the moose section 😂 Your commentary makes even meh games so fun to watch!

[@RottingRootsArts]

I loved the concept of this when it was first advertised, I think they had something but I wish WISH it was done better like instead of a night trial it was a week, and nothing happens the first night so you can figure out how to do everything, go through a one on one with the "old" zookeeper where he'll say something that is a little off like "Oh I see they are all acting fine today, no bugs here" then like night two you are on your own, and maybe something odd starts to happen you see something out of the corner of your eye, you get to watch a video of one of the animals going "feral" and has to be put down (teaching you how to leathal inject ect) That is kind what I thought would happen when I saw it, it would be a long haul thing where things slowly built up to the animals freaking out or something

[@locustproachin6052]

The little bit about your daughter freestanding's actually so cute😭

[@tomflock9916]

This game worked for me. I like the idea of a groundhog's day type game where you learn new bits of information each time and have to experiment to figure things out. Like it is a puzzle game at heart.

[@GloriaBoBoria]

I feel kinda bad for the devs because there was clearly a vision here that got lost in trying to add more mechanics. This game would really benefit from cutting a lot of the tedium. The diagnosing should be like climbing a ladder. Look them over for obvious issues (vomiting, wounds, lethargy, etc.) Feed them, check their poop. If the poop is suspect, move on to using the thermometer to figure out which one is sick, then do the blood draw on the one that's actually sick. You shouldn't have to do every. single. step. on every. single. animal. especially when they squirm and bug out/get stuck where you can't access them. Like if you go to the doctor for a headache, they don't immediately send you to get an MRI. From the constant pushing/loading the trolley to the diagnosing, the mechanics in this game just waste the players' time and as a result it allows them more time to focus on the flaws that are really apparent. I agree with you that streamlining it would make it a much better experience. I think this game has a really interesting concept and is salvageable, but the devs are going to need to be willing to listen to feedback and put in the work and I think that ship may have already sailed now that the game is fully launched and for sale. Oh well. At least the monster designs were pretty cool.

[@Mom_LifeASMR]

I had a feeling this title was coming lol. I've been enjoying this game aaannnddd I was so disappointed when it killed you in the first run. I was like " excuse me?!"

[@Forestilling]

Happy John did a part 3. Excited to see what he plays next.

[@littlekitsune1]

You need the animal blood in your inventory. Don't submit it for testing.

[@billl5297]

completely agree with your analysis at the end - the game would be a lot better in the linear way you described

[@elvensith001]

7:50 free-standing is foundational to free-running, she'll be parkouring around the house in no time

[@Quinlana83]

That was really fun! Thank you for playing, John!

[@DiegeticDogma]

This game has a pretty cool concept! It's just a bummer how it seemed not to be executed very well, from just watching you play through it. Like, the tutorial had you check the temp and poop, but nothing about drawing blood or sound, but no worries, the doc just knew it was just a fever and not a parasite. What a relief I'll be honest, this was the first series where I actually increased the watch speed, bc I felt like the gameplay was too slow. Your commentary was great, but I was bored of the game :/ I couldnt see myself playing this, let alone getting all 23 endings.

[@onetruepauline]

If a part 4 comes out, it would be considered cruel and unusual torture and a desperate cry for help. Not like this, John! You have so much to live for!

[@staceyr8777]

I agree that the game would benefit from being more linear and having the tools introduced. It's tideous to try and understand how things work for half an hour. For example, you can only draw blood when the animal stops walking. The game could've put a simple graphic or a line of dialogue at the beginning to explain it, but instead you're left struggling to draw blood, not understanding why it doesn't work half the time. The gameplay is already very repetitive which is boring and tiresome ; making it confusing doesn't help. Also, the game not being linear makes it so that you don't feel any kind of purpose in your gameplay. So you spend hours trying to understand the way the game works because it's never explained correctly, in order to do the same chores again and again for no apparent reason, because it never amounts to anything other than a new animal that provides the exact same frustrating experience you've dealt with for two hours. The unfortunate passing of the director (may he rest in peace) might have a role to play in this, because the game feels roughly unfinished. It's sad, it had potential. (PS : I'm french, in case you spot any mistakes)

[@mooncrumpet7143]

There should have been audio logs from a former employee or something that explained wtf to do during the mutations, that way you're not left confused when you're supposed to feel tense. And if you experienced random scares/events from say some sort of hallucination caused by the parasite that would have made the looping aspect less stale even with that aside, the game would have been better as a linear experience. Also the parasitic mutations are cool but they seem to only happen off-screen (not sure if that's just a coincidence or I missed something there though) but since the game announces the mutation is happening before you even see it, it feels anti-climatic when you get to see them.

[@samwisegamgee1243]

You're right, the mutations happen offscreen, and I found out from disappointed Steam reviews that unfortunately they're programmed that way. It's a shame that the trailers had a lot of us excited to see the mutant behaviors and transformations, but ultimately we don't really get to experience any of that.

[@mooncrumpet7143]

@@samwisegamgee1243 That's so disappointing, it would have been much more interesting if you could even spot the mutant behaviour before the finished transformation. Like features of the animals slightly mutating, animals convulsing subtly and if you could discern which one was the mutant you could prepare something to hold off the transformation while you're tasking or something. Idk right now the gameplay feels like zookeeper simulator early access that was turned into a horror game last minute. It's unfortunate because it really seemed like it had so much potential.

[@katyawc]

not the canadian soft lock :(

[@moniquebear4544]

I do think that if you do decide to play this again, that you maybe just look up spoilers for gameplay. I honestly think you'd like it better if you knew what to do because this looked very frustrating and the game itself just makes it hard to figure it out. Though I definitely wouldn't blame you for just not playing it again, it seems like it gets kind of repetitive. It's a shame, it looked so good to start with and the monster designs and enclosure designs felt cool at the start but the different animals all kind of feel the same. At the very least, new game + should have included keeping all notes and such to cut down on repetition.

[@lossmoss7378]

I think this game was banking on the mystery to hold up too much of the frustrations of the mechanics and pacing. Thank you for the play through!

[@828Bbot]

I agree that sadly the game didn't explain a lot to you. Like how to use the gun effectly or that you can cure the animals. Like they could have had a pda that you pick up that talks about someone trying to cure them.

[@Emily-xk2du]

Mmm, yeah. agree with everything John says at the end. Some FANTASTIC ideas, love the enclosures and animals, the mutations and the weirder and creepier stuff (the shot of all the fingers when Mother was first revealed), I like the tasks of tending to the animals and being a zookeeper (there was a Wild Thornberries game I LOVED playing on the Nickelodeon website as a kid that reminded me of this a bit actually haha), all that is really cool! The characters, eh, Doc being cartoonishly evil I didn't mind too much, but the main character felt like he was kind of a weirdo with his choices and how he reacted to things, but again, not a dealbreaker. It was really the forced stops that completely killed the momentum and only unlocking new animals at the cost of losing other animals (like we never got to see the mutated penguin because penguins got locked eventually! that doesn't make me want to play it more to see it, it just makes me annoyed that the game says "NO, now you can't play this part." A linear game would have been much more suited for this, like John said, and I do think he's probably right about them maybe designing it this way to pad out the playtime so people won't play it and get a Steam refund as quickly. Instead it's just frustrating. I think the game could still be improved in its current state if they DID rework it to be linear, you unlock access to new enclosures as you go. I think I'd like it better if Paul had already worked at the zoo as a zookeeper for a long time, knew the animals and they knew him, and DOC was the new hire, the zoo's new shining star they hired for his amazing veterinary medicine and technological improvements to the park. Doc explains to Paul how to use the new technologies to figure out illnesses and fix them, and at first Paul is impressed like everyone else, but eventually (maybe it takes place over the course of a few days and we get a Paul voiceover or something for each day describing how the following day at the zoo went and maybe weird things that happened, like the animals being unusually listless, or sick, or aggressive towards each other or staff or the visitors - this next part might happen Day 3 or something) he notices the animals are suddenly ALL sick now (Paul's poor charges got infected under his nose by the "medicine") and he stumbles across the Mother. That's when Doc twists his arm into helping with the mutations by revealing Paul or his family have been infected too and Doc is the only one with the know how to cure them. Paul agrees but looks for the cure for him/his family and the animals in the meantime.

[@gothclown9013]

yeah i really dont' understand why the game is structured like that...why not make the player complete an entire run of all enclosures and then, based on how compliant they were, there's a good and bad ending. kinda sad to see this, i've been keeping an eye on this game ever since i saw the trailer months ago and also i can see that there's so much potential!

[@joseblua6566]

I understand your feelings towards the game, the game is not in a good enough state tbh

[@celloafterdark4173]

The game was a blast to watch! I really like the train car and cart organization- really fun and satisfying to watch. Not sure I'd want to play it myself though

[@wildboar67]

"mother" this game wishes it was as cool as alien

[@holographic_hae]

About the last run: the new vials were in the parcel box which is on the wall directly next to the entrance door (you've used it the first time to give Lily the meat). It's not the same box which you were coming up to, where you get the first 3 vials near the door to the hub (it has a cross and a pet paw icon on it; the parcel box had a letter icon I think). With those vials you probably could've created enough lethal injections. Tho it's hard to tell how randomized the game is when it comes to the monster's first appearance.. Because up until the moose, every 1st run (after the tutorial one) was without the mutant. So I wonder, if it's just a bug or is there actually a possibility for it to happen so early... 'Cause yeah, in that case, the only thing you could do was to kill it. Because you don't have the recipes for infected animals unlocked yet. It's a bit of a shame, because the premise and the concept of the game is very interesting and I think it has quite the potential. But the current state of it does seem to need more work; it really feels rushed... With the very lacking tutorialization, and the feeling of playing a mini-version of the game even tho it is a full release... The first trailer that I saw really bought me, so I can only hope the devs will listen carefully to the reviews and critiques and just take their time to create an interesting and enjoyable experience.

[@appalachiabrauchfrau]

I get more scared when I get a broken fence alert in Zoo Tycoon than I did at any point while watching anyone play this tbh. Not a good thing.

[@BarkingPup]

I've watched several of the you tubers I follow play this game and all have the same issues with no direction or instruction. The tutorial is too condensed while also not being thorough ENOUGH. All Tubers couldn't figure out why they weren't done in an enclosure because the tutorial didn't explain a tool. No one could figure out what to do with an infected animal and basically winged it or lethal injection. The game lacks a lot of explanation for what to do and the notes aren't metered out so you read them BEFORE you need to do the thing. It really needs tool tips to pop up on screen when you first pick things up. The cart should be able to carry multiple species' food and either be the place for testing OR you can test, make drugs, prep for SHTF, and be able to do all the enclosures in one go. Your first playthrough you would probably only bring medicine and in the second you'd have tranq's, meat, and lethal injection. The mutations would only trigger when you left the "lab" so the player could read the info at their leisure. There needs to be an option to skip the giraffe tutorial in the beginning since it's made to be played multiple times. The contract death is funny, but spoils the "human meat twist." There's not enough difference from the first playthrough for the second one to be interesting. There needs to be pops up telling you what you're missing from an enclosure before you can leave, some indication of where poop is (outlined, stink lines, etc), and some way to stop the animals to take blood, like carrying treats to make them approach you. Another problem was lack of info on the animals themselves. Mr. Kravin entered the wallaby enclosure and was shocked how terrible the noises they made were. But without knowing what Wallabies are supposed to sound like he had no way to know it wasn't the right noise. It wasn't one making the noise, it was all of them. So having at least one healthy animal to compare them to OR having your PDA include info and sound bites of the animals would be nice.

[@TheReZisTLust]

Id be horrified if i tranqd a gorrila and just petting it wakes it up enough

[@awesomekittypower]

Thank you for playing as much as you did! I agree that it was too repetitive. The idea of it is awesome definitely, but yeah, the developers could've done something different and much better

[@cylisargo7236]

I think there's a bit too much throw up close ups in this game.. I mean, you get hit once you throw up, sure, but every time you get hit, you gotta see Paul throw up. The animals are always throwing up, too. I feel like the developers could have used other ways to show an animal is super sick, aside from seeing them throw up every time. Like different fur color, different texture to them. If the blood came out in different colors depending on the condition, it would be cool. Many other ways. It's like, yeah, we get it, you're sick/infected and we don't need to constantly see you throw up in vivid detail. I know the game is susposed to be gross, but it just seems un-necessary with how often you see throw up.

[@adriells5695]

9:14 red dead redemption is getting to him lol

[@jorngaming89]

Oke I'm really liking the Steve Irwin impersonation 😂

[@aambuhhh_duhh]

10:49 my gen alpha daughter says your cool & giggled her head off when you said fanum tax & said you did say it right John 😂

[@JohnTwolfe]

Yessss I am YOUTHFUL

[@fuchsfarben]

I think what this game gets wrong is the dynamic behind intrigue: There's enough games out there who have a more sinister story or different endings hidden inside them. What a lot of them do better though is, they give you ALL the tools and then you can use those tools to f around and find out. Zoochosis doesn't even give you all the tools, its really lacking in the tutorial department, making the whole thing frustrating in my opinion :/ I do like the animal animations and the monster designs! They look wonderful. The voice acting is good for an indie game too.

[@caramelspellman3253]

It'd be better to play some other game tbh I understand what they were going for but this game is just annoying at times

[@groundedgaming69]

Like I said before the trailer look scary and cool concept on paper but like allot of those cool concepts it wasn’t executed right and it definitely iant as good as trailer

[@RedUnit10]

The paths on how to get a good ending in this game, are bloody annoying. Very demanding you follow a very certain set of steps, and if you deviate, you are not getting the good ending.

[@WafflingWillow]

I'm agreeing with the people who aren't really into the game too much. Theres a mystery to the game but it reveals itself too quickly. And even if you don't have all the pieces to that reveal, idk it's just not easy to watch someone looping through the game multiple times in order to find the bits and pieces to the mystery that we already know about. I don't hate or dislike the game, really. I think it has potential to be more interesting. But its very back and forth without much reward. While there are more things to discover as you go along because of the different endings, i guess i just expected more plot and depth.

[@EdinMike]

I’m literally gonna reiterate most of what’s been said, there’s an idea here. A concept, it just isn’t done correctly ?!

[@Lambwarrior]

I like the idea of the game just not the execution

[@GenX_files]

Agree with everything you said i think it had such potential and just really dropped the ball. Fyi migraines are know for making you throw up if they're severe enough I've suffered with them my entire life, mostly under control now from multiple meds thankfully

[@stiriann]

It's such a shame that the game ended up being like this. I was really looking forward to it after seeing the initial reveal trailer.. 😞 Well, at least I always know you'll make any game fun to watch with your commentary, so this series still ended up being fun! 😊

[@yuwrenn]

This game would benefit from a good updater 6 months from now!! But I wonder if the director really passed away that it made them cut quite a bit of content over just replacing him entirely in the game.

[@shadows-sweet-embrace]

This feels like it could have used quite a bit longer in the oven. I do see potential and that's what makes seeing the final product be the way it is hurt a bit. EDIT: 😭Also as someone with severe chronic migraine, yeah, that'll make ya puke LMAO. I know most people just assume migraines are a "bad headache," but nah, that's a neurological disorder.

[@joelferraro2675]

to help u out u keep the blood without putting it into the device to check it also u dont need to tranc the animals to get them to sit still if your patient they will sit down and can get blood then alsofor the parasite that you use the vacum for poop it does both

[@Supachee]

This game was wild, wish there was a wee bit more…”lore” and I’m not usually a lore hungry dood. I just at least like a vague idea on what I’m doing these wild things for, I get it’s a video game lol, but yeh. You did a great job as always John, was a treat watching you play this while I fed my lil’ baby. Thank you for another great play through! 🎉

[@Hell1ian]

Can’t blame you

[@sierrajohn7967]

i have played a game called "observation" in 2019, a scifi game set in a space station in which you control a robot drone under the command of a female astronaut, but it blatantly tells u nothing on how to solve the puzzles and that it would not hold your hand, it will actually make u think like ur the actual astronaut, and this game has that no handholding vibe, which is a shame since, like zoochosis, observation had an interesting premise but i never really did finish the game due to the lack of clear objectives

[@bish_puddin]

Surprised John didn’t catch the part about how he didn’t save the journalist. I know it flashed so fast but thought he’d catch it and finally not grind up the poor lady 😂

[@JohnTwolfe]

I did catch it. I just don’t care lol

[@staceyr8777]

@@JohnTwolfe lmao

[@SemiIocon]

People probably looked into the coding files to find all the endings on day one. It's the most likely.

[@handsomelessking]

I presume animal blood needs to be in your inventory...

[@clockworkreveur6]

I feel like this had a chance to be a good game, but has poor execution. I definitely think they wanted to be more like the mortuary assistant style gameplay, but would have done better with fewer endings and a more linear storyline. They try to explain things with the notes and PDAs you can find, but it doesn't work super well. I've watched a lot of playthroughs but still haven't figured a lot out. There are a lot more vials, but they get sent to the door you give the meat to your wife through. Not the one John opened at the beginning, those are different from the ones Doc says he sends. You technically can get blood without tranqs, they just have to be standing still, which is harder with some animals than others. And I feel like they didn't do a good job explaining what the mutants are and how to deal with them. From what I can tell, if two animals are acting sick, one of them actually is, and one of them is a mutant mimicking sickness. So when you make the cure from what you get from CJ's locker, you have to make sure you make one that is mimicking the disease the other animal actually has. I feel like it's a really cool theory, but just missed the mark.

[@dyinglight1377]

I’m so sad that this was such a let down…I understand some elements of a game should be left for exploration, but this game really fails to provide any kind of real tutorial. I hope the developers learn from this, because there are some really promising elements that show some level of effort went into this. John, you’re definitely not the only person that I’ve seen play this that had those complaints…

[@BasementDweller_]

I wish the game could help convey things to the player better. Especially since the tutorial doesn’t cover many other parts.

[@Leonarcticus]

Watching someone else play this, i saw that you can reload the dart gun with R and then i look it up and you can press MMB to change darts. If only the game taught how to do that...

[@elise7493]

was super excited about this game.. the concept was so cool but as others have said very poor execution... great videos though i enjoyed your playthrough so thank you

[@mikeosredkar8804]

I can't be the only one who sometimes sees the zoo logo and does a double take because it looks like the Mortal Kombat logo, can I?

[@Emily-xk2du]

Whoaaaa, so the moose softlocking the game in the doorway was actually FORESHADOWING all along that that run would end up being impossible to progress in. 😮

[@sarahflodell7976]

I actually liked this game more than I thought. I do think streaming it and knowing you are going to play a few times would be cool. Based on what I’ve seen there is still a bunch that will happen

[@gnolex86]

It's a shame, really. This game needs polish. It could take devs weeks to fix most of the pressing issues and I don't envy them because by that time most negative reviews will solidify as people will be unlikely to revisit the game.

[@avidwriter2882]

This game would have been much better with "Night 1" "Night 2" being more enclosures added. Maybe a twist on night 3 where they add the "meat" and you find out the meat you gave your wife on Night 1 and 2 was... *that*. Then you have the "ending" on Night 3 being repeatable and you forgo a lot of the repetition.