Z-End
Z-End
Game
Game2015
Zanzarah: The Hidden Portal
Developer Funatics Software
ZanZarah: The Hidden Portal (German: Zanzarah: Das Verborgene Portal) is an action-adventure video game by the German company Funatics Development, released in 2002 by the publisher THQ. An expansion was in development in 2002, but was later cancelled. The game involves travels and combats in a magical world loosely associated with our own world. Versions for Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube were announced in 2003… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
192 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Oct 21, 2026 · last updated Oct 22, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
77
LovedLoved
140 positive · 41 negative
95% range 71–83%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 140 | 41 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 6 | 1 | 4 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
272 of 390 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
76% recommend · 138 yes, 44 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 182 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (868 of 1,184 positive).
Players praise the game's unique mix of fairy collection and first-person arena combat. [1][2][3] Many note it requires fixes to run on modern systems, with mixed success. [4][1][5]
Liked
Representative posts
- [5]
I know this game quite well, i played it years ago, before steam even existed. While the game was very good, i cannot recommend this version. I does not run on windows 10 or in any modern resolution. The highest resolution that could be chosen was 1024x768 and it didn't even start. This is a blatant chash grab to squeeze money out of a really old game without offering an optimized version that work on modern PCs and …
- [1]
Good luck getting this to run on modern systems it took me ages. From what I’ve seen, performance is pretty inconsistent and seems almost random. Some people get it working smoothly, others run into endless issues, and I’m still not sure what makes the difference. Zanzarah is one of those hidden gems from the early 2000s that still feels magical today. The mix of fairy tale exploration with a Pokémon style battle …
- [3]
Pokémon but the creatures are tiny little fairies, the other characters are elves, dwarves and goblins, and the battles are real-time, first-person shooters. As someone who doesn't care much about Pokémon... what's going on here? Why aren't there more games like this? Do they have some massive and vague patent on the concept of capturing battle creatures that prevents this sort of creative take to become popular? …
- [2]
A blast from the past, Zanzarah is an adventure game about collecting poke... *ahem* fairies. But unlike that *other* creature collecting game, this one has FPS arena-style combat. This is an older game (2002), so it comes with some challenges to make it run on modern systems. Fortunately, it's not too difficult, and I left instructions here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/384570/discussions/0/4792394847130011278/ …
- [4]
As I loved playing the game in my youth I was looking forward to it and quite disappointed that it didn't work. After a few initial tries I have finally found the solution of running it properly in windows 10. And given the amount of negative reviews I'm gonna mention it here. The fix has already been mentioned in the steamcommunity but was for some reason not the first entry I found when searching for the solution. …
Summarised from 34 of the 193 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 9, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked Zanzarah: The Hidden Portal talk about unique blend of Pokémon and Quake-style combat; those who didn't talk about requires external patches to run on modern PCs. Which matters more to you?
Critics, per Wikipedia
The game received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 192 · most liked firstZanzarah is dirt cheap right now: store.steampowered.com/app/384570/Z... Very unique game that mixes Pokémon & Quake III Arena lol You're a British girl exploring a magical world of elves & fairies... that you capture, equip and evolve to use in FPS arena battles, flying around and casting spells
positive · AI labelView post →It's easier to download the piracy version with all the patches than to suffer with this piece of ♥♥♥♥. You can’t just upload something to the Steam platform and leave everything in the same form in which it was all at the time of release.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I know this game quite well, i played it years ago, before steam even existed. While the game was very good, i cannot recommend this version. I does not run on windows 10 or in any modern resolution. The highest resolution that could be chosen was 1024x768 and it didn't even start. This is a blatant chash grab to squeeze money out of a really old game without offering an optimized version that work on modern PCs and operating systems. Stay clear!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First of all I would like to say like this one old game is just like kind of a memory to me as the time when we had those like game CDs with Demos and had like Windows 7 that was the time when I like first played this game first time ( I was 12yo) and then I can remember about it now in 2025 so searched it up on steam. Doesn't matter if you are a girl or boy and many people like ridiculed me for playing this but like generally this game had the female Main character as to play and also like…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As I loved playing the game in my youth I was looking forward to it and quite disappointed that it didn't work. After a few initial tries I have finally found the solution of running it properly in windows 10. And given the amount of negative reviews I'm gonna mention it here. The fix has already been mentioned in the steamcommunity but was for some reason not the first entry I found when searching for the solution. https://steamcommunity.com/app/384570/discussions/0/152390648088618058/ My…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good luck getting this to run on modern systems it took me ages. From what I’ve seen, performance is pretty inconsistent and seems almost random. Some people get it working smoothly, others run into endless issues, and I’m still not sure what makes the difference. Zanzarah is one of those hidden gems from the early 2000s that still feels magical today. The mix of fairy tale exploration with a Pokémon style battle system is super unique you collect and train fairies, then fight in fast paced…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →underrated masterpiece can't wait for the remake
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My mom's ex-boyfriend pirated this for me when i was like 5 I don't even like pokemon, i like whatever this is.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →the gender envy pokemon arena shooter with a final fantasy 11 vibe. Yes it's as peak as it sounds.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Probably the best story game I have ever played, the story, the gameplay, the feel, everything is just perfect. I beat the game many many times and I will do it many more times, never gets old. Zanzarah 2 would be dream come true, literally.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →On a modern (W11) machine, this game technically speaking ran, but had so much lag, animation stutter and flickering that I deemed it unplayable. And yes, I did google around and tested a few of the more popular fixes recommended in the Steam discussions for this game too, unfortunately nothing changed.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A blast from the past, Zanzarah is an adventure game about collecting poke... *ahem* fairies. But unlike that *other* creature collecting game, this one has FPS arena-style combat. This is an older game (2002), so it comes with some challenges to make it run on modern systems. Fortunately, it's not too difficult, and I left instructions here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/384570/discussions/0/4792394847130011278/ Despite it's age, this game looks great (artistically speaking) even now. The…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →DO NOT BUY THIS GAME - pirates have a version that is actually playable out-of-the-box and allegedly has patches and stuff. Also it is 40 hours of dull, slow level-grinding enforced by tough enemies as gate-keepers. BTW, the trailer shows the ending cinematic. Why grind when you can see everything in the trailer. LOL Tl;dr - the game, even when it works (a mouse patch, a ddraw patch and only in wrapped fullscreen mode) is an awful Pokemon rip-off with vastly worse mechanics and much, much more…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Quakémon, literally. A neat and pretty game with some great music and visual design (yeah the graphics are dated but it's an old game), the only thing is, you need some effort to actually make it run nowadays. Nothing hard, just a few one-time workarounds.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played this game back when THQ still exist. Still have the box copy from 2002. I've come to love Daedalic Adventure games and suddenly saw this in their list of games and I just have to buy it. :3 The game... this game... is too early for the age by the time it released. It's one of the very first 3D game with an actual pokemon idea that works back in the days. But it didn't get the needed advertising from THQ due to financial problem and all that happening inside THQ, so they don't get a lot…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is a hidden old gem. It brings calm to your soul and makes you never want to leave the magical world of Zanzarah and it's cute fairies.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pokémon but the creatures are tiny little fairies, the other characters are elves, dwarves and goblins, and the battles are real-time, first-person shooters. As someone who doesn't care much about Pokémon... what's going on here? Why aren't there more games like this? Do they have some massive and vague patent on the concept of capturing battle creatures that prevents this sort of creative take to become popular? Anyway, this game was my childhood. Your machine might not run it properly…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →the most awesome game. I played it at 14 and at 30 is still pleaseant to play.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honestly Steam, finally give us a neutral button! I loved this game as a kid! Probably the first one I really lost myself in. It has a great and relaxing atmosphere and a colourful fantasy setting. Zanzarah is basically a 3D Pokemon game - fairies being the pokemon - where fights are carried out as first person arena battles. Just starting it up and hearing the music again ... so much nostalgia! And after a bit of googling and downloading some fixes, the game runs just as I remember it. :) For…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Usually I am not a fan of remakes. But this game definitely deserves one! Zanzarah is a good mix between a 3D-adventure, a catch'em all and an arena fighting game (you collect fairies and let them fight against other fairies). The story is great and the world is very atmospheric and beautiful (like a fairy tale). I really enjoyed catching all fairies. And I love the soundtrack! Please keep in mind that the game is from 2002. It can have issues on newer PCs and the controls/gameplay are…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Please optimize the menu lag.... Pleeeeease.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game, as of 4/19/26 windows has fully broken the game. Can't even run it, so keep that in mind.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game from my childhood. Look out for the tutorial to fix the directx issue since the game is otherwise unplayable.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Zanzarah is a game I played in my childhood. I constantly come back and play more playthroughs maining different fairies each time. I have probably been through the game a couple dozen times at this point. It is just a surreal experience. I recommend to anyone who hasn't played it. You may have to do some work with DgVooDoo however!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is old school and will not support new computers, especially the 1920 x 1080 monitors. Don't waste your money.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The wonderful mix of monster battle, fairy theme and first-person shooter, I'm looking forward to repeating this game here on steam, although I miss achievements, which I think is necessary on every game with single-player. These fixes may be necessary in the current version for steam: The game does not start, asks for cd key, FIX: https://steamcommunity.com/app/384570/discussions/0/3445835585840251455/ Mouse Lag on start menu and maybe other game bugs, FIX:…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's an old game so it may not look the best but it is quite fun. Travel to magical world where you can capture and train fairies. Make them battle other fairies. It's like Pokemon with fairies =). They even evolve. Explore the world to find secrets and rare fairies. Used to play as a child. Very happy to play it again.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Zanzarah is a charming older game about fighting fairy battles in a magical world. Like many 3D games from the late 90s to early 2000s, Zanzarah can have difficulties running on modern computers, which is why this game has so many bad reviews. However, there are guides on the forum that can get the game working on modern machines. In Zanzarah you play Amy, a young woman from London. As Amy, you run around the world of Zanzarah, collecting fairies and fighting fairy battles, as you attempt to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Janky but loveable and made with soul. Doesn't run well on modern Windows, but runs like it did back on my XP on my Linux
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game was a huge part of my childhood, I finally finished it after over a decade and it's still as good as I remember it. Even better than I remember it now that I was able to properly play and understand it (I played the russian version as a kid and understood none of it). It's like a mix of Pokemon with an fps battle system and a classic fantasy hero story. Very nice world with a great soundtrack. If the game won't run on your PC, there is a patch that fixes it somewhere in the community…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →• On Linux works perfect, no issue, no mojo-bonjo dancing around, even resolution is perfect. The only thing I have tweaked were shadows in the settings to the lowest, you will understand why in the game :) • On windows 10 I had horrible experience, had to fix/mod everything. It says no SteamDeck support but if it runs on my Linux then it should run with no issues on SteamDeck as well. They use the same Proton layer to run windows games! Me Love the game!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty jank, and needing to install a direct x translation layer to even start the game is a bit rough but this game is plenty of fun, its like pokemon with european folklore and norse mythology, and instead of boring ass pokemon battles you have an arena shootout with your opponents fairies. 8/10, better than any modern pokemon
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played this when it came out decades ago. I always liked it. Using the fairies is fun. Regretably it's basically unplayable on Steamdeck.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've known this game for a long time and it's definitely one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. I love everything about it - the story,the mechanics(which some might simplify to a pokemon clone),collecting fairies and training them,evolving them,knowing their strengths and weaknesses which leads to on the fly strategies when you are facing adversaries' fairies in the arena.The music is absolutely superb and calming. I really wish someone would pick it up and remaster it like they…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →great old game, a lot of fun. you just need to hope it runs on your machine.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I get 4 fps on an RTX8000 with DUAL Xeon 16 core cpus 64gb of ddr5.... NO - THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bought it out of nostalgia, but it's basically unplayable. I still played quite a bit; then I got stuck and didn't want to grind with the controls (mostle the mouse movements) always lagging 5 seconds behind. It would be a really great game if the mouse controls weren't that laggy and the game would run with anything above like 8 FPS, no matter the settings, but in the state it is currently I sadly cannot recommend this. 1/10 because I did have fun once I got used to the extremely bad controls…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →WERY GOOD OLDSCOL GAME
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played this years go and was thrilled to see it on here recently. Great laid-back yet strategic game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Main and most favourited game of my childhood. It's a shame it's not optimized for Windows 10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game from 2002, highly recommended. Huge nostalgia trip for me. Unfortunately with modern graphics cards this game usually requires some user fixes in order to have a playable experience. Here is a link to a guide from the Steam community that supplies many details to help users get this game working on most modern systems. - https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1203967862
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Classic would like to see new version.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →ZanZarah: The Hidden Portal (2002) You play as Amy, a girl from London who receives a magical rune for her birthday that transport her to the world of ZanZarah, a typical fantasy world inhabitant by creatures such as Elves, Dwarfs and Goblins. You get a Fairy to start off with, and you duel against other fairies. Sounds familiar? Its basically Pokemon. Each fairy got an attribute with weaknesses and advantages. You fly around with your fairy in first person mode and you got some spells to use…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a retro game with a great story which works in a similar way to pokemon (collectiong creatures and wanting to "catch em all"). I used to play it as a child and I found it on steam in my teens and I really enjoyed playing it again. Here are the good aspects of the game: -Great story -Great scenery, music and feeling of the game overall -Great Graphics for the time -The skill level that is required is fairly low -You can finish the game very quickly if you wish to -low price Here are…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is unique in the combination of mechanics. A first-person arena shooter mixed with a catch'em all RPG with a 3rd person 3D adventure game binding all the elements together. Not bad for a game released in 2002. I enjoyed myself playing this game and really liked a lot of the models of the faeries. This game is not without faults (frame rate with menus and text on screen; GRIND; clunky 3D platforming), but none of it detracts enough that I wouldn't recommend a play through of the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game since it got released 2001, it followed my whole life, and i could play it back now since it got on steam, sad it died.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →best game ever.. even this game is kinda old , but in newer machine you will need dgvoodoo to maximize your excitement for this game.. it also increase the game graphic itself , so you really need that software to play enjoy this game to the fullest.. for me its 9/10 in 2020 :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Zanzarah: The Hidden Portal, developed by Funatics Software and published by Daedalic Entertainment, is one of those rare early-2000s titles that still feels oddly distinctive despite its age. It combines exploration, creature collection, and real-time combat in a way that never became standard, which is part of why it remains memorable long after release. While it is often compared to monster-collecting games, it ultimately follows its own path, blending genres into something that feels…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →it's buggy as all hell not even playable
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I think it's fair to say that anyone who would be looking at this game is probably someone that played it back in the day and is going for nostalgia. In that regard I'd say it hits in every single way you'd want. I went and played it complete and ended it. I was surprised how short it actually turned out to be but it's still got all that charm that it did back when I was a kid. All in all super worth it as a game. The only issue is optimizing it to actually play but you just have to google it…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty much unplayable without an outside program or other "fixing". It is not on GOG at the moment but hopefully one day it may be since they actually tend to make sure old games are in a playable state when installed. So if you actually like the game and has nostalgia for it or other old not well function games do vote for it on their dreamlist.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Such an underrated game! It has PS1's nostalgic old graphics, Pokemon's theme (instead with fairies and pixies), Syberia's gameplay (walking simulator), and most importantly, nowadays considered a mth, a legend, a female MC with god-tier cake.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I think this game is something between Pokemon and Quake. You collect fairies you put them in 1 vs 1 arena shooting.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fairytales for kids I picked up in a bundle, it does not seem to run smoothly.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of my childhood games, so I can't really be objective here, but I still love playing this once a year.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is old good game, I think that graphics will terrible in now, but not! Thanks for guides and pathes, it runs fine on 4k (with some 4:3 scale and black borders on left and right) and it is really good!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nostalgic trip to one of the best pokemon genre mix games that ever existed
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have been playing this game since I was very young, and I would love to play the remake or the second part of this game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pokemons (and i mean it: evolutions (sometimes with catalyst, one fae works like eevee even), pokeballs, leveling) with realtime battles and midgard-flavoured world. Map is formed like metroidvania a bit, with earlier found parts of the world opened with later acquired artifacts. Sadly you'll have to go to guides to at least play this game because of no optimisation for newer directX and resolutions. Also you can't minimize game window like at all - it will crash when you open it again, no…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL;DR: Good game, brings back memories. Suitable for kids. Mostly fixable issues on modern systems. Themes: Fantasy, fairies. Catching, trainig, collecting, fighting. This is an old game. I did play through it years ago. And when I just recently found it here, I was, and still am, so happy! It might come off as childish or "girly" and sure the graphics are long outdated. BUT it is so nice what it stands for, a nice, beutiful world full of fantasy. I love the music, the looks, the world. Of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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