This article is written by guest contributor Kyle Lantion. Kyle is an avid comic fan and loves all things comic-related. So much so that his favorite tabletop hobby is painting minis for Marvel Crisis Protocol and other miniatures. When he’s not painting, he’s probably playing in or Judging Flesh and Blood TCG Tournaments all around the city.

Whether you’re a die-hard Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail fan, or just somebody whose friends are all talking about it, you’ve probably heard of Hoyoverse’s newest game: Zenless Zone Zero. If you’re wondering whether or not you should play it or are just genuinely curious about the game, you’ve come to the right place. Today, we look at the game’s mechanics, visuals, plot, and overall design and hopefully help you come to the decision of whether it is worth it or not.

What’s it about?

Zenless Zone Zero throws you, the player, into the futuristic world of New Eridu, a post-apocalyptic city serving as the last bastion of humanity’s future. In this world, extra-dimensional cracks known as “Hollows” are common occurrences, and you work as a non-government investigator, aka “Proxy.” Your job as a proxy is to take commissions from both civilian and mercenary groups to investigate Hollows and guide agents through the cracks. Starting the game, you get to choose between a pair of siblings (Much like Genishin Impact) and proxies from a group known as Phaethon (Not to be confused with a spear-wielding champion from LOL). Wise, the older brother, and the younger sister, Belle, serve as the player’s in-game avatar. 

How does it play?

Unlike the turn-based combat of Honkai: Star Rail, Zenless Zone Zero shares more similarities with Genshin Impact and Honkai Impact 1-3 gameplay-wise. It’s a visually stunning hack-and-slash game where you swap between 3 characters known as “agents” during the fight. While the gameplay is rather straightforward, the game makes the experience unique based on team composition and strategy. Different agents in the game have different roles and fighting styles, some being ranged and speedy, while some are slow but hard-hitting melee fighters. There are only a handful of agents to choose from, but we expect the options to increase as the game is updated.

One question everyone has is, “Is Zenless Zone Zero an open world?” Sadly, the answer is a resounding NO. Much like the three Honkai Impact games, the players explore parts of their home base for most of the story. Combat only happens when you take commissions and dive into Hollows, wherein you’re limited to fighting in arena-like maps with a few zones, defeating enemies as you progress from zone to zone. From our initial playthroughs, while the combat mechanics look intimidating initially, it’s very easy and forgiving. The controls are simple to grasp and take little effort to master.

Should I play it?

From what we’ve seen while playing, the game can be described as an interactive visual novel with many Persona 5 elements when playing story mode. What we mean by this is that you go through a mountain of dialogue during the game’s earlier stages, and the combat moments feel more like plot devices that drive the story forward than actual gameplay. Once you get to level 15, you receive a quest that leaves you to do side missions and other commissions to hit level 20. The story seems to be a significant part of the game’s design, so if you don’t like it, the game might not be for you. That said, there are quite several side activities to do when you’re not trying to progress the story.

Much like MiHoyo’s other games, they usually start off slow and pick up speed once patch 2.0 drops, so we’ll have to reserve judgment until then. Currently, the game is a nice pickup if you don’t mind the almost tedious amount of story and dialogue you have to get through and you want a rather quick and simple hack-and-slash game with stunning graphics and beautifully dynamic visuals!

Now that you’ve read about Zenless Zone Zero, how about reading the Complicated Colossal Castle from Demon Slayer? Check it out below!

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