Zenless Zone Zero Review

The combination of style and substance is the HoYoverse’s gangsta brawler.

Exploring nostalgia-laden images that dates back to the 2000s in the beginning, Zenless Zone Zero sees HoYoverse’s developer re-orient themselves from the fantastical worlds from Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail into a captivating urban dystopia. The world is one where you can battle it out in flashy combats in real-time as an ensemble of streetwear-clad soldiers who solve simple problems as their handlers in between battles to guide them through the maze of encounters and that’s not even getting to the fun of social activities that are added on top. A variety of scrumptious influences blend to create something incredibly fashionable, yet uneven, often ruined due to a absence of substance. However, Zenless Zone Zero caught the attention of me despite that; its unstoppable appeal enticed me to continue fighting each puzzle, or one bowl of ramen, at a time.

Zenless Zone Zero takes place in a place where monster-filled pockets known as Hollows have ravaged civilization. While the majority humankind has been taken from the planet, the cyberpunk paradise located in New Eridu survives through a complex relationship with the Hollows and the precious resources located within. You can play as Belle or Wise as a hacker brother-sister couple who have a knack of traversing this treacherous terrain as they tackle commissions from the roster of adorable players looking to score their next hit. It’s a distinctive and thrilling game that, though a bit confusing sometimes, keeps me interested by testing my logical thinking in a variety of tasks I was compelled to do my get the best results.

The brawls begin in the backroom with retro tech strewn throughout the brothers their video rental store which is where you’ll choose from an impressive selection of unlockable characters to create a trio of players and then head into the dangerous Hollows and trade your the rewards of your success in exchange for XP or upgrade resources. The test build offered by HoYoverse before launch provided players access to each the available agents and I quickly discovered that I had a love for the agents belonging to a group called Victoria Housekeeping, thanks to their adorable British styles and battle maid costumes. My personal favorite of the group is Shark-tailed Ellen Joe, swipes and cuts with a icy blade, stacked the most powerful debuffs to enemies and dropping some blase quips during the process. The composition of your ideal team is largely determined by your Gacha Gods, as characters are not locked through the game’s standard method of randomized pulls, it’s helpful that story missions let players to test the characters without the requirement to first pull them.

However intense the game might be when in motion, Zenless Combat in Zone Zero is gentle and attainable. It has a simple attack and dodge that allows swift escapes from attacks that are marked as well as the option to switch to other players to be safe from scrapes, parry or even increase the intensity of their attacks. The ability to build a daze meter for your opponent will result in a resoundingly satisfying chain attack or slow-motion quick-time event when your opponent swoops in to deliver the punch. Basic and ultimate skills make up each character’s fighting options, but as with any adventure game there’s a lot of possibilities to play with thanks to the use of quick button presses and passives that are latent.

The boss battles were challenging and came to test my skills, however, I never felt overwhelmed when I was able to make sense of the details in my strategy for combat and masterfully manage attacks to keep various kinds of enemies in check. Complex build-tinkering mechanisms, difficulties options, and ending game content are all designed to increase the challenge level for aspiring players, however Zenless Zone Zero seems content to keep out of your way if you need to pick the game up and try some cool moves. Beautiful animations accompany the majority of your moves from the moment you see the local demon Van Lycaon effortlessly lowers his metal heels after landing a kick. In the end, the emphasis is on savoring the thrill of fighting against Zenless Zone Zero’s gorgeously created and incredibly voiced characters, rather than comparing to the games like Devil May Cry with its combat style – which is a tradeoff I’m happy with regardless of the fact that it results in less depth in the mechanical sense.

The dazzling battle is ruined by the apex of hacker-related puzzles that symbolize the connection between your agents and the intermediary who guides you across the Hollow from home. The game will take you through the maze of massive CRT screens between zones of battle by pushing a small avatar around to trigger the mechanisms that will lead to the next checkpoint or encounter. The sloppy design of the mode is enjoyable to view however, the gameplay seems arbitrary and kills the energy. After traversing the walls of screen, I began looking for the next scene quickly to increase my enthusiasm and then return to the frantic action sequences that really are what make Zenless Zone Zero compelling.

The long-running cycle of accepting orders and then heading into the Hollow to finish them can just be the whole thing and it shouldn’t be a burden but, surprisingly that it’s only about half of the content. The remaining half is a simulation game in which you’ll wander through cosy suburbs, run the business of your favorite characters’ Blockbuster-style and build relationships with locals by telling them dialogue-driven stories that span a tense day-to-night time-span. Although it’s not a completely open-world, Zenless Zone Zero’s stunning areas are meticulously decorated with details of the environment that make it an enjoyable place to wander around. From the rusty riverside rides to soiled bedrooms and vandalized backstreets, there’s a lot of attention paid everywhere you go that helps keep you in the current science fiction universe.

When my initial enthusiasm for exploring Hollows began to fade I began to be fascinated by all the other activities I had disposal. The video store I had set up turned into the center of my routines in the mornings I’d get started by pairing various videotapes I had in my library with fanciest demands of the masses. Following that, I’d have to go out to find better products and complete tasks for locals such as solving a variety of puzzles or taking photos for editorial purposes to get my VHS reward. The synergy process was effective to direct my attention towards various social events as well as the cash generated by managing my business definitely was a source of funding for my adventures in the story mission.

This aspect that is Zenless Zone Zero isn’t quite as focused as it’s counterpart, the Persona series that it’s clearly is based on, so there are some areas that seem dull however it provides an exciting task for players to sign in and complete on a daily basis. Your activities are connected well by an excellent submenu dubbed the Inter-Knot which helped me get my bearings in all the possibilities I was offered. The in-game app that covers everything quickly became my most trusted companion and took on the role of job seeker as well as a social media platform and most importantly, a the ability to schedule my time, making sure I didn’t get lost in the overwhelming decision of what I should do the next step.

I was enthralled in avoiding my responsibilities duties by seeking out top scores in the Godfinger Arcade which’s more than a minigames involving snakes and spelunking ate up a significant amount of my time. But the fun and deep stories left the most lasting impression that reminded me of the stakes for humanity in the world. One of the side missions is a robot who’s silhouette is eerie enough to scare an ordinary person which leads to a surprising shifting crossed wires scenario. In the sea of cute shopkeepers and virtual currencies, the fundamental fragility that is Zenless ZZ’s post-apocalypse world is always on display. In the main, themes of corruption and displacement are evident in the film’s narrative and the layout of the city wards that range from shabby to modernized.

With the incredibly generous quality of HoYoverse’s review building it was difficult to come up with an idea of the way that Zenless Zone Zero’s progress strategies will play out over the long term however, the gameplay I’ve played so far doesn’t seem wildly out of sync with other gacha-based games. It’s still interesting to begin the new account when it launches and then get used to playing in an natural live-action setting (and we’ll make sure to make any necessary adjustments if there’s something that’s out of the norm). However, I developed an enduring connection to the world of this rich and vibrant universe and its cosplay-friendly characters at the conclusion of a story that could easily take many hours to complete I was left with the impression that this sweeping change is up to the expectations established in Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail.