Image credit: IGN
MiHoYo has released a new game with a new urban vibe. Zenless Zone Zero is the newest venture into the series of “Hoyoverse” games with many of the mechanics but with fresh new ideas. I am not a fan of Hoyoverse games, but my fellow clarion worker Mason has been since the Genshin Impact days. We have differing opinions on the Hoyoverse games in a general sense but we both enjoy Zenless Zone Zero quite a bit. From the character designs to the gameplay loop we’ve discussed how we both feel about the different aspects of the game.
This time around the setting is a futuristic city called New Eridu. In New Eridu there are extradimensional spaces that can form called “hollows” that transform the poor souls caught within them into monsters after an amount of time. On the flip side there are also very valuable things contained within that tempt people in with the promise of riches. But unfortunately, due to the hollow’s composition as an extradimensional space people often get lost within and must be rescued by an individual known as a “Proxy” and this is where you come in. A Proxy is a freelance agent that uses their hacking skills and small rabbit-like machines called Bangboo to extract this individual for a price.
The core loop of the game is obviously leading into the gacha mechanics. In this game the Gacha Mechanics represent your character hiring different agents to go into the hollows for them in teams of three. The gacha mechanics feel fair enough that it feels like you’re getting something of value with each pull even if the rate of characters appearing is a little lower than I would have preferred. The characters themselves are also Appealing and varied. A complaint I had about earlier HoyoVerse games is that most characters fell into the category of very anime and cutesy. Though this aesthetic is still very represented in Zenless it also has quite a few characters that exist outside of this narrow box, including my three favorites Ben Bigger, Billy Kidd and Von Lycaon. Mason Even went as so far to say that “they are the best I have seen from Hoyoverse”.
A large concern from gamers at large would be the micro transactions as the game is based around an RNG mechanic that you can influence by giving the game money. Unfortunately, it is a reality that games such as Zenless must use such tactics to stay afloat financially because the game is otherwise free of charge. Fortunately for the people reading at home the regular rewards you get from gameplay are enough to get you plenty of the characters and the prices are not so insane that you must blow hundreds of dollars just to fully experience a game.
The story is another big draw for the game. While the stories have been present in other Hoyoverse games this one is especially well done due mostly to the amazing writing of the characters. The characters of Zenless are not just there to look pretty for you to want to gamble for them (although they do serve that role quite well). Instead, they have very defined and entertaining personalities that are a delight to watch interact with each other. This is all in front of a very interesting retro aesthetic backdrop of futuristic analog technology like cassettes and Box T. Vs that lend the setting a nostalgic and timeless feel.
But a game could be as pretty and as well written as it wants but it can’t hit its full potential unless it has good gameplay and Zenless also knocks it out of the park in this case as well. I could not get into the older Hoyoverse games because the gameplay was too simple mash one button and occasionally hit another for a special move. Zenless however includes things like dodging enemy attacks and and parry mechanics and even combos that require you to pause in the middle of them to get their maximum effect. These mechanics also change from character to character so there is no lack of depth in this entry to the Hoyoverse.
I asked Mason to sum up his thoughts on the game in a single quote and he told me “it is the best anime looking game i’ve ever played”. Although I feel a little more apprehensive to say that it is the BEST anime inspired game i’ve ever played I can definitely say that it is my personal favorite game to come out of miHoYo.
Andrew Barnes