Zenless Zone Zero impresses with phenomenal presentation, slick combat, and smooth new player onboarding.
Following the major success of Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail, developer Hoyoverse is back with its latest free-to-play title: Zenless Zone Zero. This game differs from both of the above with its relatively modern setting and focus on fast-paced real-time combat as opposed to Genshin’s open-world exploration or Honkai’s intricate turn-based team building.
In terms of format, Zenless Zone Zero feels like a more traditionally built mobile game, with smaller hub areas and simple yet flashy combat. For many, it’ll come across as decidedly less ambitious than Hoyoverse’s previous efforts, but I don’t believe this to be the case, and you shouldn’t be fooled into thinking Zenless doesn’t have sauce all of its own.
For one, the game’s presentation is easily Hoyoverse’s most accomplished to date, with beautiful visuals, a killer soundtrack, and animated cutscenes that wouldn’t seem out of place in a big-budget, feature-length movie. The quality of animation extends to its combat, too, which is a little style-over-substance for sure, but nonetheless provides dopamine-inducing encounters and satisfying visual feedback.
To address the elephant in the room, though, not everyone will get on with the free-to-play gacha model (which essentially locks most characters behind a probability-based chance system) here. While Zenless Zone Zero’s onboarding is generous with an abundance of resources, being at the mercy of randomness for character obtention will undoubtedly frustrate some players. Pair this with the energy system that limits the play of certain modes and the game can certainly feel restrictive once story content and other non-energy-requiring modes have dried up.
Still, if you’re after a casual-friendly game with staggering production value, Zenless Zone Zero’s presentation and combat are well worth checking out especially given the zero cost of entry. New horizons
Zenless Zone Zero takes place in New Eridu, one of the last remaining safe havens for civilization after Hollows – localized zones that warp areas and turn those within into monstrous beings – ravage the planet. Our protagonists are Belle and Wise, siblings who take up the profession of Proxies who help guide combat-capable agents through these Hollow zones for anything from treasure hunting to search and rescue missions.
You’ll have the choice to play as Belle or Wise at the start of the game, but unlike previous Hoyoverse protagonists, both are present in the story and don’t take up combat roles. That instead goes to the aforementioned agents, some of which you’ll unlock for free in the opening chapter, and the rest becoming available via Zenless’s gacha system.
So far, each chapter of the story focuses on a particular group of agents belonging to various factions. The Cunning Hares, for example, is a ragtag, slightly unprofessional group that provides much of the game’s (genuinely very funny) comic relief. Belobog Heavy Industries, meanwhile, is a construction firm that specializes in deploying heavy-duty machinery in dangerous Hollow areas.
Sadly, in true Hoyoverse fashion, it takes a bit for the wider picture to come into play. But having played through all of the release version’s main story content, this feeling doesn’t last long – and the three chapters we have right now are exceptionally well-paced and brimming with eyebrow-raising lore tidbits.Well-hoyoversed
Likely, whether you’ll take to Zenless Zone Zero or not lies in its combat. And compared to previous Hoyoverse games it’s a relatively simple affair. Characters typically have a basic attack combo string and one or two special abilities, along with an Ultimate attack when you’ve built up the ‘Decibel’ gauge required to unleash them. Said gauge is also shared across your team of three, as opposed to each getting their own.
Your primary aim in combat is to attack enemies to fill their Daze meter. It’s similar to Sekiro’s stagger bar or indeed Honkai Star Rail’s break gauge; once filled, enemies become temporarily stunned.
