
USSR, 1986. A girl goes missing in the closed city of Vorkuta-5, yet not a soul seems to be concerned. Uncover the mystery behind her disappearance and transmit your signal to the universe.
Revenue comes from in-game items and microtransactions, which our price-based model doesn't estimate. The player count below is how many people own it, not what they spent.
About
USSR, 1986. When Ira Grachevskaya goes missing in the closed city of Vorkuta-5, not a soul seems to be concerned – except for the quiet outcast Asya Shubina, that is. Uncover the mystery behind Ira’s disappearance, transmit your radio signal to the universe and learn why a bird flies past the window.
Meet the cast.

A problem child and a truant, Ira doesn't have the best reputation. Her standoffish demeanor makes her difficult to talk to, especially for someone as meek as you. There is a rumour she's been meeting with an older man.

Marina's carefree personality makes her quite popular among her classmates. Adults don't seem to like her very much, probably due to poor grades. Despite the girl's outgoing nature, her worldview is rather cynical.

A boy with an unpleasant sense of humour. Likes picking on people weaker than him, namely you. His family has been a little out of it the past few weeks.

You. Not worth writing about.
Z.A.T.O. is a linear visual novel with roughly 7-8 hours of playtime. There are no choices. The ending is predetermined. Sit back and enjoy your time in a town that doesn't exist.
DISCLAIMER: the game contains strong language, loud noises and flickering images.
Genres
Stats
Languages: English
Engagement
Reviews
Themes across 1912 recent reviews and how positive each mention is. A keyword signal, not full sentiment analysis.
Reviews
Es una lastima que sea tan corta, los personajes son muy queribles
i love this vn and everything in it
tldr; You should just play this. It's fantastic. You also don't have anything to loose since it's free xD The story is (imo) really well written. Often, VNs feel very unnatural and forced (especially in this niche), while this really is the opposite. Trust me. Also, I really like the setting. Those closed cities (what ZATO translates to) apparently actually did exist in the USSR and they fit the whole mood really well. The sound design is fantastic. You experience it the first second you boot up the game. I also really like the artwork. Normally, I'm not that big of a fan of this anime-style stuff, but here it's quite well executed.
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Hours played at review time, across 1.9K reviews with recorded playtime.
positive critical· bar length = how often the theme comes up
oh... oh my... oh... this feels like restarting life, or switching your brain, or living another universe this sticks so deep in your soul this could have been a book, i wish i had experienced it as such, its a perfect writing
This game has a very good, thoughtful and somewhat confusing plot. The characters don't just feel alive, you feel like they exist. Drawing, the style of drawing games and characters, music. Everything is in a harmonic flow and feels very pleasant, at some points the game is very sad in terms of the plot, because it becomes a pity for both the main character and the rest of the characters.
一个最缺爱的人却把我爱你喊的那么大声 谢谢你谢谢你谢谢你谢谢你谢谢你我爱你
"你知道我们的太阳其实是一颗十分不同寻常的恒星吗?" 即使生命虚无, 即使世界濒临崩溃, 你还愿意用尽全力去爱它吗, 舒宾娜你这家伙...... 这简直, 太可爱了!
当世界终被修正 我亦站在高塔上 高喊着,我爱你 高喊着,感谢你 电波永不消逝 爱意永存
changed my way of viewing life, 10/10 I want Asya plush
I read the entire thing in one sitting. It is now 3am but I don’t care. I need to get this out while it’s still fresh. I can’t say something grand like “It changed my views of the world!” like that. I can’t process things that are that big of a scale but I do know a thing; Z.A.T.O. spoke to me. It might not reach everyone but I’m sure there’s loads of others that it will speak to as well. It is free so if you have the time, try listening to what it has to say. Here are my afterthoughts after completing the game (Includes Spoilers) [spoiler]Asya reflects my thoughts a lot. Probably from me having adhd and ocd as well. Thoughts are so loud. When something is wrong my mind would immediately run back to something like “Ah, I probably did something wrong again.” even though in reality, nothing even went wrong in the first place. My mind was filled with self-doubt and trust in others– along with the fear of being judged. [/spoiler] [spoiler]Z.A.T.O. helped me realize one thing that even though I’ve been told through words or actions throughout my life, were drowned in the doubts I cultivated myself. [/spoiler] [spoiler]Even though you were flawed (or that you believe you are) or even if the strings of fate itselves turn against you, remember that you are loved. I love you and you are my universe. It’s okay that your thoughts are self centered, universes do that after all. [/spoiler] [spoiler]For that, I know this won’t be enough and isn’t the only thing I can do but still, Thank you. [/spoiler]
Active players
Estimated daily and monthly active players (DAU/MAU) modeled from peak concurrency.
Players by region
Where this game's players are, estimated from review languages.
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| $2.8M | 6.7K | 95% | $24.99 | |
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| $0 | 275 | 98% | Free | |
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| $94K | 907 | 92% | $7.99 |