Hoyoverse’s Zenless Zone Zero met with mixed reception.
When I opened the Hoyoplay Launcher to carry out my daily commissions for Genshin Impact, Hoyoverse promoting their newest title, Zenless Zone Zero, came to my attention. I tend to stay away from other gacha games as I feel that Genshin Impact offers me all I need from the genre in terms of narratives and gameplay. However, since I did not get to play Honkai: Star Rail when I had a seedling of interest in it, I decided I should give this new project a try.
As per tradition with the games Hoyoverse puts out, the sizes of the downloadable content are massive. Of course, when you install these games on your phone, they will not take up the same space as they would on a PC. Still, for a first full launch, the space it takes up on all platforms available can be a bit absurd. Zenless Zone Zero, like its predecessors, will be updated throughout and it is only going to get bigger.
Including DLCs, Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs 2, takes up about 45 gigabytes of space. You would expect a title such as GTA 5 to take up 65 gigabytes, but Zenless Zone Zero? Without even being an open-world game, it is the same amount in size, which is kind of insane to think about. This could change over time if Hoyoverse decides to compress the files a little bit more so it could be easier to download.
Upon starting the game, it is a custom that you select between a male and female protagonist. The character selection process within the other Hoyoverse projects tends to have the two choices look very similar to one another with matching color palettes, the only difference being their gender.
Despite that, in Zenless Zone Zero, the male protagonist, Wise, and his sister, Belle, are visually distinct from one another; the only thing revealing their link is that the duo both have ever-teal-colored eyes. The game’s principal focus is on combat. And if I am completely truthful, it’s not wonderful either.
After that, Zenless Zone Zero puts you through a string of cinematic sequences intercut with very little gameplay. You can’t deny the stunning visuals and animations. I even welcomed the comic book sequences since I could admire the graphic style better and tap through faster without having to wait for them to finish voicing their lines or skip the scenes entirely.
The game’s principal focus is on combat and if I am to be completely truthful, it is not wonderful. I may not be a meta-player, but I still take combat very seriously when it comes to these games. And well, there is not enough for it to feel innovative. For the most part, it is just spamming left-click on the mouse and occasionally clicking E. The only way to make it feel like a meta is to somehow hit the enemies and switch a lot between characters, triggering powerful attacks to deal explosive damage.
At first, it is satisfying; the force of a strike feels great, and dodging prompts a slow-motion camera shot. However, there is no fun combination of attacks you can really do. No special jumps or anything of the sort. Hours after playing, I am left with suppressing yawns. If the game’s core element becomes dull that fast, then it may take a way lot more for it to sharpen its edge.
Zenless Zone Zero’s material, in the beginning, is more suited for casual players. In my opinion, they aim for casual gamers to have a straightforward experience in completing all of their objectives so they can progress further in the game. Their goal is to make it thoughtless.
The average casual player will not plan on how to ideally optimize their teams or build their characters in the most ideal way. Perhaps that is their reasoning as to why Zenless Zone Zero is designed like this; the intention is to make the game easy so they can softly get them into the other games. For meta players, well-known titles from the same developers cater to them better.
They did, in fact, create a mode for challenges. To be completely fair, I think this challenge mode missed the mark entirely. Instead of having adversaries attack more often, all we are met with is the enhancement of their health. It does not matter how little I do, I always end up winning. The scope of the challenge mode ends there. It just does not feel like it is for the long-time players of Hoyoverse’s games. It is hard-hitting for less effort, leaving the impression of a rather cozy game.
An aspect of the game almost everyone, including myself, had was the infamous TV system. In the early game, these are terrible, and in the first 24 hours of gameplay, I have felt miserable doing these TVs, to be completely frank. I don’t know how these TV systems made it through three betas without them ever reinventing it in the story. I feel like they must have gotten critiques on this through every single beta, and still, they continue to push this for story content and exploration content, where in neither of these is it remotely fun.
In my opinion, exploration and narrative commissions are incomplete without them, or at least severely reduced versions of them. And I would just like to say, that I think everybody’s hate for the TV system is completely justified.
Given this, I do not believe it is necessary to stress at this time. How actively the development team is working on Zenless Zone Zero is something we are unaware of. We are still in the Zenless Zone Zero 1.0 upgrade, it is still possible that they will overhaul the TV systems in the storylines and exploration.
I think that most, if not all, the playable characters available look like they are mere four stars. You put all of these characters in a row and I would not be able to point out the five stars without prior knowledge. It is imperative that the gacha games have remarkable designs for their characters to go with their meaningful temperaments. The developers need to have the capability to market these characters as the profit stems here. As of now, I do not want to pull on any of these characters, let alone spend my money.
It is feasible that they do introduce such a character soon, but looking at Zenless Zone Zero’s sister titles, I cannot help but feel a certain way. Suppose a Genshin Impact character – Arlecchino. Now, that is a character that radiates the aura of a five-star. None of the characters in Zenless Zone Zero have that specific factor. They all look subpar, which is truly a shame considering how good the aesthetics of the game are.
Paying attention to detail is something the creative directors took when designing the game and it is abundantly clear. Everything in the backdrops is bursting with color. Even the NPCs stand out with their individual models, ranging from hairdos, and one-of-a-kind attire. The other projects under Hoyoverse lacked this diversity for their NPCs, which is not the case for this title, showing their significant improvement.
As for the plot of Zenless Zone Zero, I went in blind and managed to grasp the following: The “Hollows” are a supernatural calamity that has wiped out modern society. From seemingly nowhere, they proliferate at an exponential rate, causing chaos in realities where creatures known only as the “Ethereal” prowl. The only urban civilization to escape the catastrophe, New Eridu, flourished after learning how to cultivate the Hollows for precious metals and other minerals.
With its transformation into a city of supposed miracles and the influx of displaced people, New Eridu began its enormous investigation of the Hollows in preparation for its possibly endless expansion. Over time, the Hollows’ industrialization and monetization by the city’s government exacerbated tensions between monopolistic businesses, gangs, conspiracies, and extremists.
Comprehending all of this took me a considerable amount of time. Perhaps it was due to the heavy distraction of the disappointing gameplay that my mind was more occupied with than the story itself.
There does not appear to be much more I can say about Zenless Zone Zero other than to reiterate my views on topics on which many people agree since it has only recently been released and has limited material that will be expanded upon in future updates.
Because of my own tastes and expectations, I found the experience to be insufficient. Still, if Hoyoverse wishes for the fans of their previous games to deeply care about this newly released one, they should consider changing things quite a bit.
