Available on: PC, PlayStation 5, mobile (iOS, Android)
Played on: all of the above!
The controversial, randomized monetization of gacha games have been around for years on the mobile platform, but HoYoverse (miHoYo) blew up the genre with Genshin Impact in 2020.
If Genshin was heavily inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, then Zenless Zone Zero, their latest AAA, free-to-play gacha game, is all Persona.
Zenless oozes style, from its slick menus to highly animated character designs. Combat is fast-paced, engaging, and rewarding, and the world is interesting without getting dragged down in endless lore dumps or filler side quests.
It’s one of my favorite games of the year, live service or not.
Read on for our review of Zenless Zone Zero!
Straight Outta Sixth Street
In the near future, the world has been nearly wiped out by invading creatures called Ethereals, transforming the outside world into unstable dimensions called The Hollow. Only a single city remains, New Eridu.
The siblings Wise and Belle act as the central protagonists (players can choose which one, though both are present throughout the story). They’re Proxies, special tech experts who help Agents and others navigate through The Hollow.
The world of New Eridu is immediately appealing, and the biggest inspiration from Persona.
Between missions I walk around and interact with shops and NPCs, enjoying HoYoverse’s signature art style, catchy music, and rapid fast-travel. I also adored the graphic novel cutscenes, flipping through digital pages with full voice acting, and occasional fully animated sequences.
The main story progresses over Chapters, including the introduction of the dysfunctional Cunning Hares team, and the mechanical plight of Belobog Industries.
The storytelling is a surprising win for a free-to-play game, though often dialogue is a little too verbose. Things get especially wordy in random side quests without voice acting (Bangboos are always a slog). But I enjoyed the focus on characters and the realism of the intriguingly anachronistic world of retro technology.
Hollow Investigation Association
The world of Zenless starts small, then gradually opens up with a seemingly endless parade of tasks and content: combat challenges, mini-game side-quests, lengthy dungeon crawls, Agent-specific quest lines, grindable bosses, and more. The world nicely eased me in to its unique gameplay cadence of exploring the city, completing missions, and trying to unlock my favorite Agents.
Hollow Agents are the main draw of Zenless Zone Zero. Players collect and improve them and their equipment through the randomized gacha system.
Taking on missions means gathering a team of three Agents, utilizing faction and element bonuses, and ensuring they’re leveled up and outfitted. Then completing simple combat arenas, or more in-depth dungeon explorations involving weird but interesting retro TV-landscapes and a myriad of creative mini-games.
Billy is a standout Agent in the early game, with his rapid-fire dual pistols and quick mobility. After unlocking some new Agents, I created an ice-element team with the prim wolf-dude Lycaon, ice-demon girl Soukaku, and maid-with-a-chainsaw Corin.
As with other gacha games, powerful S-rank heroes are hard to come by, and significantly stronger than the more common A-ranks. ZZZ’s pity system ensures that everyone receives some S-rank Agents after a certain amount of “pulls.” But the inability to outright purchase the Agents you like can be frustrating, and a turnoff for the genre.
Thankfully the combat is an absolute blast. Like Genshin, players control one character at a time, and can freely swap them in and out. But it goes a step further — Agents get chain attacks to combo off each other, as well as quick assists and defensive assists, opening up a ton of cool options, animations, and attacks with only a few button presses.
Lycaon can charge each of his basic attacks for more damage and stun, while Corin can hold down her special attack button, letting her chainsaw go brrrrr for as long as she has energy. Combined with the ultra-cool art, animation, and punchy sound effects, ZZZ’s combat is a joy, even when grinding for materials and resources.
The Rating
Zenless Zone Zero is rated T for Teen, with Violence and Suggestive Themes, as well as In-Game Purchases including random items. Combat is very action-heavy with players using swords, fists, and guns to take out thugs, robots, and crystalline monsters. There’s no blood or gore, and enemies disappear when defeated.
ZZZ has an anime art style and character designs that accentuate many features on female characters in suggestive ways (cough, jiggle physics, cough), though there’s no explicit sexuality or nudity.
The Takeaway
Zenless Zone Zero is the evolution of HoYoverse’s gacha game model, distilled through one of the most popular RPGs of the last decade. The modern JRPG embraces the live service model, and (so far) continues to deliver on excellent new content and characters.
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