Review: Zenless Zone Zero — 60% Presentation, 40% Substance
July 13, 2024
miHoYo is at it again — Zenless Zone Zero is their latest offering of games that are meant to keep you addicted to the daily grind. ZZZ, as the game likes to abbreviate itself, is an action RPG not too dissimilar to previous games that miHoYo has released such as Honkai Impact 3rd. Taking place in a postmodern, post-apocalyptic world, Zenless Zone Zero explores all kinds of sci-fi themes. It's a bit all over the place, but it doesn't do it any disservice.
Whether or not you're into miHoYo's style of games, there's probably something here within ZZZ to captivate you. I can say that for sure. Now, whether the whole experience will interest you...that's a different story. While there's a lot on the surface level, the game's execution is a bit frustrating. There's something about every aspect of the game — other than its presentation — that just doesn't feel well-made enough. What could have been an excellent experience is sullied by some poor decisions. Zenless Zone Zero is ultimately still a solid game, but it's not a must-play game. Regardless, the free price point makes it pretty easy to get into so let's talk about what you can expect from ZZZ if you're curious about what it has to offer.
Enjoyability: 9/12
Mostly everything within Zenless Zone Zero is fun to some degree. When I was talking about the strong surface level, this was mainly what I was talking about. For example, the music is nice to listen to whether you're in or out of combat. The story has its engaging moments and is also pretty funny from time to time. The action feels impactful and plays nicely. All that, and yet the game is barely captivating.
Again, it comes down to some really bad executive decisions. Zenless Zone Zero's gameplay is all about fast-paced action, but the rest of the game is anything but fast. The story is interesting, but it's also, no doubt, a slogfest. Anything done in the overworld mainly just feels like a waste of time and the early game is filled to the brim with those kinds of objectives. ZZZ gets in the way of itself and that's a shame. Whenever you sit down to play the game, it's just impossible to know if you're going to have a fully satisfying session or if you're going to be staring blankly at your screen for half of your playtime.
Gameplay: 10/12
The gameplay is honestly the strongest selling point of the game. It gives Zenless Zone Zero basically all of its identity and that makes sense because it personalizes all the characters that are available to play. While ZZZ doesn't exactly offer the most compelling combat out there, it's pretty good. It's fast-paced, flashy, and fluid. While you don't have a lot of options in attack (characters basically only have access to 2 distinct moves at any given time), the ability to switch between 3 characters at any given time adds a nice level of planning and keeps the gameplay dynamic throughout any given fight.
There's also a good variety to the gameplay mechanics. You can perform chain attacks, perfect dodges, dodge counters, perfect assists, assist follow-ups...the list goes on. Great maneuvering gets rewarded properly and that's always essential to these types of games. Even so, Zenless Zone Zero's combat can get pretty brainless. Proper difficulty is not this game's specialty. More likely than not, you'll like the gameplay, but your attachment to it and feelings on it might change a lot over time.
Atmosphere: 10/12
I have to say, I appreciate Zenless Zone Zero's world a whole lot. At least, the fundamental aspects of its universe. It blends futuristic themes with conventionally sci-fi ones while still being ingrained in some sense of modern reality. Nothing about it is too offsetting which makes it pretty easy to get into. The fact that you get introduced to parts of the world mainly through the use of technology also helps a good deal; it makes it feel more grounded. That's really important because ZZZ really doesn't make any attempt whatsoever to explain the intricacies of its world at the beginning of the game. I think it's impressive that it manages to leave an impression despite throwing a lot at you early on.
Not everything's perfect. The Bangboos feel very forced. They're cute, sure, but they're clearly designed to serve simply as a marketable mascot. In truth, they'd add nothing of substance to the world if not for the fact that Phaethon uses one to travel through Hollows. Their minimal purpose in New Eridu just doesn't justify there being so many of them. Speaking of the city of New Eridu, it's not the most entertaining of settings. That might just be the game's fault, though, for having a lot of garbage objectives take place in the area. In terms of just taking a moment to chill out, it's pretty good for that. Taking a minute to bask in the music is not a bad pastime. Zenless Zone Zero's soundtrack hits a lot of the right beats. It plays with all kinds of different moods and succeeds with just about all of them. Whether you want to relax inside the video store or want to get amped up in the empty streets of a Hollow, you can be sure you'll be getting a banger.
Design: 9/12
Independent of everything else, the game's design is pretty alright; though, it's nothing special. The TV System, for example, gets talked about a lot, but it's not a dealbreaker like many make it out to be. It is time-consuming, but that's just par for the course with this game. Its novelty wears out quick, but it doesn't make the game unplayable. It only really feels bad because the narrative also takes a long time to develop during most missions. The TV System may not be the most interesting thing, but Zenless Zone Zero, at the very least, tries to add new interactable elements to it every now and then. For example, it incorporates a train route in one mission which actually ties into the story. It's not the most satisfying thing in the world, but it has its moments. I just don't see how this is ruining people's time with the game.
In terms of your more standard combat action, the game evolves fairly naturally. Action RPGs are tough to get wrong. You don't really need to add too much variety between levels to make things feel different; the flashiness of the gameplay compensates for a lot. Even so, ZZZ switches things up a decent amount so it doesn't feel like you're playing the same level over and over again. Switching between different agents innately changes how things play so that's also a factor in this, too. All in all, Zenless Zone Zero manages to keep its levels engaging. No matter how deep you're in it, there's always going to be some type of draw to it — even if it's a faint sensation.
Direction: 8/12
Don't sleep on Zenless Zone Zero's story. Or well, that's what I would say if the game itself didn't make it so easy to fall asleep while actively going through it. There's just no reason for dialogue to be so slow to move through. That's not my main complaint, by the way. The real problem is that the game loves to frequently throw a bunch of side objectives at you while you're busy going through the way more interesting plot. Let me tell you something. This doesn't add any depth to the game. It just makes playing through it feel worse.
Exploring the main narrative gives you a look into the complex character relationships and the deep-rooted conflicts of the world. Taking a break from that to collect coins is not fun. If you're looking to, you know, actually play the action part of the game, temper your expectations. There isn't a whole lot to play through for a while. I just can't fathom how this game was given the okay to be like this. Who thought it was a good idea to hold players' hands even as deep as 20+ hours into the game?
Despite all that, I do rate the narrative pretty highly and it's the main reason why I'm not rating this more harshly. If you come in without any expectations, I think you'll leave pleasantly surprised. Clearly, miHoYo knows how to tell a captivating storyline. If only they didn't supplement it with absolute garbage...
