It’s Victory Day in Krasnogorie. Thanks to the wisdom and courage of Great Leader Vozhd, the city celebrates the 80th Anniversary of the war’s end… and a promising future for all!

You’ve been selected to pilot the Krasnogorie Police Force’s brand-new fighter jet. Put on a good show and don’t let the protestors spoil the fun. Do well and your Social Credit will skyrocket! Embarrassment will not be tolerated.

Glory to Vozhd… Glory to Krasnogorie!

For Great Justice!

Zakon, the party-approved arcade flight game by indie dev Mishanya takes off at full-throttle. Boasting crisp controls, unique cybersoviet aesthetics, and gameplay that seamlessly blends traditional flight combat with arcade action, Zakon is hot! Greeted by a Blade Runner-esque sea of neon lights and towering skyscrapers, your coworkers set the scene. The star attraction of Krasnogorie’s Victory Day Celebration, your job is to show off your jet’s capabilities. How? By flying through hoops, busting out tight turns around the government building, and… blowing up protest statues.

Don’t think too hard about it… Today’s supposed to be FUN!

As mentioned above, Zakon’s controls are tighter than a good soldier’s belt! Sure, I had to check the controls when the game didn’t tell me, but soon I was weaving through towers and harassing protestors like an ace. As busy as Krasnogorie’s skyline is, you never feel too crowded when zipping around the city. When you do hit something, the game merely slaps you with some damage and sends you on your merry way. It’ll take a bit to get the lay of the proverbial ‘land’, but soon you’ll be patrolling the city like a champ.

A Social Butterfly

Being a police pilot, completing objectives and serving the state awards you with Social Credit. Acting as a score, currency, and loyalty tracker, the concept is simple: keep your credit high and reap the rewards. Let it drop and… well, you don’t wanna know. Accumulating Social Credit allows you to make purchases and buy upgrades for you and your jet. While doing this is relatively easy, there are a few situations in which it seems like Social Credit decreases arbitrarily. Whether this is a time limit or something else eludes me, but hopefully it’ll make more sense in the final release.

Zakon… Zakoff!

At the present, Zakon’s biggest enemy is itself. Gorgeous aesthetics aside, when the game booted up it took me a few minutes to realize there was a holographic billboard with the words “New Game” on it. I’m mature enough to admit I’m not the wisest man on Earth, and certainly not the best one considering my first instinct on boot was to light up civilians. Though Zakon paints an extremely pretty picture with its neo-retro graphics, these sometimes get in the way of the game itself. 

Most objectives and enemies are outlined in red, but there were times in the demo where it wasn’t immediately clear where to go or what to do next. As a veteran flight gamer, I was able to catch on quickly, but newcomers might benefit from a bit more distinction between targets and set-dressing.

The only other issue I came across was during the demo’s boss fight. I won’t spoil the surprise, but amidst the chaos and confusion I somehow managed to pick up a subway train, get caught inside the boss, and die over the span of four seconds. Unless there’s a game mechanic for picking up monorails and carrying commuters to their stop for extra Social Credit, I think this should be addressed before the final release. It’s difficult to decide what should happen in a flight game when the player collides with something, but ironing this out now rather than later might solve some problems in the future.

All in all, Zakon’s future is promising. It’s a little rough around the edges, sure, but the gameplay is solid. After overcoming the initial glow-induced confusion, I found myself having a blast cutting across the city skyline. I’m eager to see where this game will go, and if you’re into flight games then you oughta’ check it out too!

Zakon is featured in Steam Next Fest: June 2025. It’s set to be released soon, but there’s no set release date yet. Play today!