Part-life simulator, part-dungeon crawler, and part-action-RPG, Zenless Zone Zero combines different genres to create an engaging gameplay loop that works incredibly well with the gacha mechanics of its HoYoverse predecessors, Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. Even better, the game looks just as good as it plays, featuring a distinctive urban aesthetic and a colorful cast of anime-inspired characters that ooze style and exude charm.
As I previously said in my hands-on preview, free-to-play gacha games never interested me much before. However, Zenless is unlike any gacha game I’ve ever played before. The combination of different gameplay mechanics quickly sank its hooks into me, and I soon found myself religiously taking time out every day to play and complete dailies.
Calling all Agents
After spending about 15 hours with the game so far, the high-octane, combo-focused combat remains the highlight for me. The action is always exhilarating because of how intuitive the controls are and how satisfying it feels to pull off attacks. Chain attacks especially are a treat, with each Agent from your team of three coming in to deliver a devastating special in a flashy quick-time-event-like sequence that’s just as cool to behold as it is to perform.
The somewhat simplistic nature of the combat and its relative lack of challenge might put off those in search of more hardcore experiences. However, personally, I think they work to the game’s favor. Accessibility here is more of a design choice, rather than a flaw. Sure, you can get away with mindless button mashing in some encounters, but once you start digging deeper, you’ll find that there’s more to the combat than what it initially lets on.
I also think the combat’s accessibility greatly helps the overall experience on mobile, where you have a smaller screen and finicky touch controls. It’s still not the most ideal way to play the game, in my opinion, but I appreciate that the option is there for when you, say, want to farm in-game materials or complete dailies while on-the-go.
The only catch is that you’ll need high-end mobile hardware to run the game. You might also want to keep a power bank handy as it can drain your battery fairly fast. It does run smoothly on mobile though and can look just as good as its console and PC counterparts on the highest settings.
Live out your urban fantasy adventure
Outside of combat, you’ll be exploring the bustling post-apocalyptic city of New Eridu as a renowned Proxy; individuals who can enter and guide Agents through monster-inhabited supernatural dimensions called Hollows.
You can easily lose dozens of hours jumping from different sections of the map, completing different activities, from talking to NPCs, managing your video rental store, playing at the arcade, and even taking photos of street cats. These seemingly trivial activities almost always net rewards that’ll help you boost your Agents’ combat prowess, making them worth pursuing when you’re not kicking monster butt.
Moreover, the game does a fine job at immersing you in its setting, which makes these activities so much more fun to do, thanks in large part to the wonderful presentation. Everything from the character designs to the animation are masterfully crafted and have top-notch production quality.
The use of both illustrated comic panels and highly cinematic cutscenes are great, too, made even better by the stellar voice performances. The game also has a unique aesthetic identity, anchored by a colorful cyberpunk motif and catchy industrial tunes.
Now, with Zenless being a gacha game, it’ll of course try to coax you into spending real money to earn in-game rewards. That is, after all, the very business model of a gacha game: you pay to roll the dice on getting the character or piece of gear you want. But I’d say the gacha system in this game is not as invasive as those of other games.
Unless you’re after a specific character, you can probably complete the story chapters without having to spend a single cent. You still have to farm for resources, but at no point are you ever forced to spend real money to progress – at least not at the pace that I’m playing the game.
I’ve been playing short bursts every day since launch, farming materials to level up my characters and completing Commissions here and there, and I have yet to reach a point where I felt like my Agents weren’t strong enough to progress. So I think the game handles the free-to-play model rather well.
Still, I know Zenless won’t be for everyone. I was skeptical of gacha games too before playing this. What ultimately won me over in this game were the terrific combat and the irresistible charm of the art. These two elements, perhaps along with the story and the world, make up a strong foundation for future expansions that could keep players engaged for months, if not years, down the line. – Rappler.com