Platform reviewed: PC, PS5 Available on: PC, PS5, Android, iOS Release date: July 4, 2024 (Version 1.0) Following the major success of Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail, developer Hoyoverse is back with its latest free-to-play title: Zenless Zone Zero . This game differs from both of the above with its relatively modern setting and focus on fast-paced real-time combat as opposed to Genshin ’s open-world exploration or Honkai ’s intricate turn-based team building.
In terms of format, Zenless Zone Zero feels like a more traditionally built mobile game, with smaller hub areas and simple yet flashy combat. For many, it’ll come across as decidedly less ambitious than Hoyoverse’s previous efforts, but I don’t believe this to be the case, and you shouldn’t be fooled into thinking Zenless doesn’t have sauce all of its own. For one, the game’s presentation is easily Hoyoverse’s most accomplished to date, with beautiful visuals, a killer soundtrack, and animated cutscenes that wouldn’t seem out of place in a big-budget, feature-length movie.
The quality of animation extends to its combat, too, which is a little style-over-substance for sure, but nonetheless provides dopamine-inducing encounters and satisfying visual feedback. To address the elephant in the room, though, not everyone will get on with the free-to-play gacha model (which essentially locks most characters behind a probability-based chance system) here. While Zenless Zone Zero’s onboarding is generou.