Chapter One: Introduction
Zetria is a lewd puzzle-platformer with action elements from karnedraws. It took me less than three hours to complete the game with nearly one-hundred percent completion; had I not missed a few “power cores”, I would have gained access to a couple more sexual animations.
Chapter Two: Gameplay (3/5★)
Section One: Overview
Enlisted to rescue “missing facility workers” from “alien monsters”, you control a “rescue operator” named Solana. To bring the workers back to safety, a path must be cleared by shooting anything that moves. Naturally, the facility is on lock down; Solana needs to flip a series of switches in the right order to reveal “Evacuation Zones” and ultimately, the source of alien infestation.
Section Two: Combat
Solana may either kick or shoot foes. Ammunition is restricted, so it’s best to save bullets for ranged foes. But unfortunately, combat is underwhelming at best, infuriating at worst.
The following clip showcases Zetria combat in the highest complexity.
Frustratingly, most enemies will walk off ledges and block passages as they maintain line of site through walls. Mechanically, Zetria‘s foes remind me of “Koopa Troopas” from Super Mario. But what makes them fair and interesting enemies to is that they are always moving.
Koopas don’t create impossible situations where the Mario must take damage to defeat them. Once engaged, enemies in Zetria never assume an “idle” state. If you’re unable to reposition them using a nearby room, the only thing Solana can do is take damage to run past them.
In the following clip, I inadvertently lure an enemy into a nearly impassable position.
Section Three: Exploration
karnedraws writes “Zetria is a pixel/retro style platformer with action and puzzle elements” — but they fail to communicate how much “puzzle elements” define the game. I consider a Zetria a puzzle-platformer with action elements.
After all, most of the game is backtracking to activate switches.
To move onto the next level, Solana must rescue a scientist by bringing her to an “Evacuation Zone”. However, Solana is unable to jump or crawl with a body slung over her shoulder.
If they were conscious they wouldn’t need saved!
Due to movement restrictions, Solana must utilize teleporters and adjustable platforms to transport them. No room should go unexplored; all but the most hidden areas are essential for progression. Additionally, players interested in sexual content must locate hidden “Data Cores” before bringing any scientists to safety.
Shown below is a Data Core hidden behind a passable wall.
Section Three: Balance
If Solana dies, you must restart the selected level. She doesn’t even get to keep “Data Cells” — I mean really restart! It’s not until reaching the final boss a “Check Point” is offered.
Fortunately, combat and puzzles are ridiculously easy.
There’s usually enough bullets for everyone as long as Solana doesn’t miss any shots. Enemy movement can be infuriating, but as long as enemies are slain as soon as they encountered they don’t usually cause problems. To be honest, I guessed my way through most of the game — I found it wasn’t necessary to plan ahead more than a single switch or two.
As long as you explore all rooms and crawlspaces, you’ll probably 100% the game.
Section Four: Controls
The game looks “triple-a”, but it doesn’t feel triple-a. For the most part, movement is nice and snappy, but sometimes the application ignored my inputs. I had a big problem with double jumping; whether or no Solana would reach faraway platforms felt like a matter of chance.
I found the default keyboard and mouse controls acceptable. A mouse is not necessary to play the game, but I appreciate the support. As a long time Borderlands player, using the mouse wheel to scroll through weapons feels natural. But unfortunately, Zetria offers no support for rebinding controls. If you don’t like karnedraws keybindings, I guess you can go fuck yourself?
The following image showcases Zetria‘s default (and only) control scheme.
Chapter Three: Sexual Content (4/5★)
Section One: Content
There are fifteen full-art, unlockable animations, four secret “PDA” animations, and a handful of animations played throughout levels.
Section Two: Implementation
Collecting “data cores” and completing levels unlocks sexual animations in the “Archive”. Foes can be found fucking each other to pass the time, but show’s over when Solana gets too close.
Solana can have sex with tentacles to regain lost health — the length of the animation depends on how much life she has lost. In the following clip, I “demonstrate” tentacle usage.
Section Three: Interactivity
The sexual animations are not interactive; climaxes and continuous playback are not for debate.
Section Four: Quality
Like a frozen treat, the animations are sweet and finished before you know it. The full art content showcasing Solana fucking her enemies is regretfully reserved for the “Archive” to play no part of gameplay. Bizarrely, animations that are played in-game don’t loop — what the heck karnedraws?!
The following clip shows Zetria taking advantage of the Archive after collecting power cores.
Chapter Four: Story (2/5★)
Section One: Overview
Enlisted by Zetria Cooperation, Solana must rescue a research team from an escaped “infestation”.
Section Two: Plot
The store page offers some insight on the story;
“Equipped with her advanced NX-37 Combat Harness and trusty sidearm, Solana has ventured out on the border sectors to find her way as a salvage and rescue operator. During one of her regular runs to the debris fields of the abandoned Zetrian system, she picks up a distress signal and sets down on a frigid exoplanet to discover the source.”
Little of this information is shown in-game. A cutscene would have sufficed, but karnedraws apparently decided an introduction to the game is completely unnecessary.
Who pays attention to stories anyways?
It doesn’t take long to figure out Solana’s mission; she’s on a rescue mission, and the “fridgid exoplanet” is swarming with monsters. At the heart of the breakout is a monster so big and scary only somebody with a trusty sidearm stands a chance.
Seriously, does no one employed by Zetria Coorperation have firearms?
Section Three: Characters
The only character in the game with meaningful dialogue is Asera, Solana’s employer. Solana herself never utters a word (she moans, but no words). There’s also a mechanic in the game, but she’s just a glorified level-select screen.
The girls Solana rescues could have provide exposition, but all they have to say is “thanks”.
Section Three: Writing
I only recall seeing a single typo in the game. I don’t remember where, but I’m not about to shuffle through my footage without compensation. I don’t proof-read games for free, karnedraws.
Exposition is provided at the beginning of levels, sometimes — as long as Asera isn’t “peering at you in a judgmental fashion.” karnedraws could have done a better job delivering the story using the characters in the game. It would have been nice if the final level had some build-up.
Chapter Five: Sound (3/5★)
Section One: Soundtrack
There are only a few tracks; one for the “archive”, and another that’s played throughout every level. They’re great tracks, but any music played on repeat is bound to get old eventually.
Section Two: Sound Effects
Shooting, reloading, running, jumping and activating terminals sound great — but I found enemies to be a little annoying. They sound less like “infestation” and more like Pokémon with indistinct sound effects. Additionally, offscreen projectiles annoying explode on repeat. It’s nice knowing an enemy is in the next room, but you’d think they would wait until seeing Solana.
Section Two: Voice Acting
Solana will moan for sex scenes and scream “ouch!” A few enemies have weird death moans, but otherwise voice acting is scant in this game.
Chapter Six: Visuals (4/5★)
Section One: User-interface
I enjoyed the stylish user-interface. My biggest complaint with the UI is scaling; the size of pixels differs greatly between graphical elements.
For example, in the following image you can see how the dialogue box (bottom) is just the portrait box (upper left) rescaled. If you compare Solana’s face (upper left) to the Rescued Scientist’s (middle left) another discrepancy in scale can be found.
The icon for Data Cores (below Solana’s face) and compare it to the icons used for ammunition (right), you will find one more example of poor consistency.
Section Two: Graphics
Zetria‘s explorable world is a delight. No doubt, the Zetra‘s visually engaging sprite work was a big reason why I purchased the game. The dark corridors overgrown with fleshy lattices somewhat reminded me of Nintendo’s old Metroid games (specifically, Metroid Fusion and Super).
Solana’s animations are a lot fun. I loved watching her oversized tits bounce around as she runs and crawls. A small detail I appreciated was the way they are pressed against her shotgun; it made me wish there were more weapons in the game to showcase her breasts in different angles.
Speaking of breasts, I’m surprising this game doesn’t featuring a clothes-breaking mechanic.
Chapter Seven: Verdict (3/5★)
Zetria looks great, but it’s an average experience. Disappointingly, sexual content plays no role in gameplay. You wouldn’t be missing out on anything if you just watched the animations online — they aren’t even interactive. As long as you’re not interested in sexually charged gameplay or interesting combat, Zetria is decent puzzle-platformer to kill a few hours.
Recommendations
I wish monsters telegraphed attacks. Enemies don’t “wind up” to give players a chance to react. It makes ranged enemies frustrating to battle and melee kind of a nightmare.
