REVIEW: ‘Zenless Zone Zero’ Chooses Style Over Substance (PC)

The city of New Eridu is under constant threat from the Hollows—spacial phenomena that can engulf entire city blocks, filling them with monsters and corrupting all who are trapped inside. While the government does what it can to keep the threat at bay, individuals also take jobs to explore, contain, and combat the menace of the Hollows. Wise (Stephan Fu) and Belle (Courtney Steele) are siblings who lead teams into the Hollows to get jobs done for people who can’t get help from the government. Despite having built up a legendary reputation, they will soon have to start rebuilding their reputation from scratch in Zenless Zone Zero, the action game as a service published and developed by Cognosphere PTE. LTD.

As the latest game as a service published under the Hoyoverse brand, there was reason to be skeptical about whether the game could find a unique formula that wouldn’t step on the toes of the other titles its developer has released. While Zenless Zone Zero does an impressive job of carving a niche for itself with its gameplay, what starts strong quickly falters under the weight of its many shortcomings.

In broad strokes, Zenless Zone Zero’s combat is much like that of other action games. Light and heavy attacks build up gauges that allow the player to unleash more impressive maneuvers, while well-timed dodges keep their health bar intact. Making the combat stand out here is the way the game incorporates the player’s three-person party. Whenever one of several conditions is met, the player can have one of their two sidelined party members jump into the fray, delivering a stylish attack as they take control of the battle.

This isn’t new in and of itself, but the rapidness with which these combo attacks string together gives the game a sense of speed and dynamic energy not usually seen in a third-person action game. There are times when Zenless Zone Zero made gameplay feel more like the player is experiencing a team-based fighting game than an action game. It’s dynamic and exciting, never losing its impact and coolness, no matter how many times I saw these moments play out. And I saw them a lot.

Helping the action hold its excitement throughout the game’s many battles is a solid diversity of characters. There are melee and ranged options for players to try. Combine these with elemental affinities and classes and players have a reason to experiment and mix up their builds. Despite the free-to-play gacha system used to acquire characters, it doesn’t take long to assemble a good variety of characters without spending a dime. Along with numerous characters to spice up combat, equipment can be added to modify how they perform.

The final element players can utilize in battle is the Bungboo. It’s like if a Rabbid and a Minion had a baby. These oddly cute companions accompany the player’s party into the Hollows. Coming in several visual styles, each one supports different team dynamics with its own set of abilities and attacks that operate independently of the player. Seeing the cute little guy firing lighting or small turrets gives each battle some additional fun while also proving helpful.

The only part of the combat in Zenless Zone Zero that fails is how repetitive it becomes. While there is a decent variety of enemy types, individual excursions into the Hollows often force the player to fight the same handful repeatedly. In some longer missions, the player will even notice they spawn in the exact same group configurations. When it’s noticeable, this lack of variety holds back the gameplay.

Each battle takes place in a small arena-like space. Waves of enemies spawn in, forcing the payer to best them all before moving on. While small stretches between fights are sometimes navigated in third-person mode like the battles themselves, longer distances are traversed through a more creative method.

When the player takes on a larger excursion into the Hollows, they maneuver through areas via a board game-looking interface. As the player maneuvers around the board, they can discover items, interact with simplistic puzzles, and run into enemies, triggering a battle. This unique traversal method gives the game’s larger missions a break from the third-person perspective. It also helps it distance itself from other games in the genre by not requiring players to run through yet another big open world.

When the siblings aren’t guiding their party through the Hollows, Zenless Zone Zero gives them smaller tasks to do around their neighborhood. Sixth Street in New Eridu is a fun, bustling stretch of road filled with shops, an arcade, and other things to do. The pair also operate as a front for their less legal work as well.

The eclectic locations on Sixth Street help the player progress their party with useful items. They also give the game some personality. You don’t see much of New Eeridu on missions, so having this slice of the city to run through and interact with locals helps connect the player to the place they are trying to save. This connection becomes important since the central cast gives players little reason to feel connected.

The core characters that occupy Zenless Zone Zero‘s narrative run the gamut from boring to annoying. Most personalities are extremely one-note as they lean on unsuccessful humor to try to make themselves memorable. The game got so annoying in places that I eventually found myself skipping any dialogue that wasn’t plot-important, just so I wouldn’t have to listen to the painfully inane chatter of my party and their allies.

While the cast’s personality is wanting, many of their visual designs are far more interesting. Aside from the battle maids, every character’s look feels unique. Rocking various techno-punk designs, every party member looks interesting. Even some rather original weapon choices help build the visual style.

With characters, weapons, equipment, and even Bungboos to upgrade, Zenless Zone Zero has no shortage of systems and currencies to keep track of. While the game does a solid job of letting the player know where to find the things they need, if you find yourself feeling overwhelmed when you have too many tasks to do or things to collect, managing all the aspects of this game may be a bit much for you.

There isn’t much worth discussing about the story. Much of it fails to provide a solid reason to keep players engaged with the game. The scope of many of the missions feels small, and with little indication of where the story is going overall, players will be hard-pressed to feel compelled to see it through.

After numerous hours bouncing between fun, if repetitive combat, and annoying characters occupying a forgettable story, Zenless Zone Zero falls well short of what it needs to be. As a game that wants players coming back for the foreseeable future, it doesn’t give nearly enough incentive for them to keep returning to New Eridu.

Zenless Zone Zero is available on PC, iOS, Android, and PlayStation 5.