Zenless Zone Zero

Zenless Zone Zero  is a free-to-play action role-playing game developed and published by miHoYo (with publishing outside mainland China under Cognosphere, d/b/a HoYoverse). The game was released on Windows, iOS, Android and PlayStation 5 on July 4, 2024.

Gameplay

Zenless Zone Zero is an action role-playing game. The player assumes the role of a Proxy (the protagonist known as Wise or Belle), a character who helps others explore hostile alternate dimensions called Hollows. Over time, the Proxy will recruit new party members known as Agents to fight the Ethereal and other enemies. In addition to the Proxy, players use assistants known as Bangboos.

The gameplay is split into two different modes: a "TV Mode" and "Combat Mode." TV Mode gameplay resembles a 2D dungeon crawler game, with the Proxy roaming on tiles that resemble TVs to find treasure, solve puzzles, and fight Ethereals. If the Proxy steps on an enemy tile, the party is sent to "Combat Mode," where they fight in a 3D hack and slash-like game mode.

By combining the abilities of different Agents and Bangboos, players can deal greater damage and combos (known as Chain Attack) onto enemies. The game features an in-game clock system, with the days split into morning, afternoon, evening, and midnight.

Setting

The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic futuristic haven known as New Eridu. Large pocket dimensions called Hollows plague the world, engulfing the land and spawning hostile monsters called Ethereals, who have wreaked havoc on humanity. After the fall of Eridu, a group of survivors established a bastion against the invaders known as New Eridu. The group survived the oncoming onslaught by extracting a substance called Ether from the Hollows, which is used as a potent energy source.

Several factions are present in the game. The Cunning Hares, formally known as Gentle House, is an “odd jobs” agency from which the player obtains their first four agents. Belobog Heavy Industries and Victoria Housing Co specialize in construction and housekeeping, respectively. Hollow Special Operations Section 6 is a frontline unit of Hollow Special Operations, which is based in the original Eridu location. The Criminal Investigation Special Response Team is a branch of New Eridu Public Security. Lastly, the Sons of Calydon is a biker gang.

The story follows Phaethon, two siblings who work as Proxies on Sixth Street in New Eridu. The siblings possess a special technology known as the Hollow Deep Dive System, which allows them to remotely monitor and navigate Agents within Hollows through the use of a Bangboo.

Despite falling into the "futuristic" category, Zenless Zone Zero adopts a retro and analog aesthetic, which is explained by the notion that modern technology is susceptible to corruption from overexposure to Ether. Characters operate flip-phones or mobile phones reminiscent of models from the 2000s and 2010s. The two main protagonists reside in a video store (known as Random Play), where New Eridu citizens can rent VHS tapes. CRT television sets reminiscent of those from the early 1980s and 1990s are commonly seen throughout the game. There are also references to 1990s media as well as grunge or street-style designs present throughout New Eridu.

Characters

Playable

All playable characters are associated with a faction. Agents wield one of five attributes: Electric, Ether, Fire, Ice, or Physical. Additionally, each Agent adopts one of five combat styles: Anomaly, Attack, Defense, Support, or Stun.

Random Play

Random Play is a video store in New Eridu where Belle and Wise rent out VHS tapes, while living on the second floor above their business. The staff room in the back of the store doubles as a base for their Proxy work.

Cunning Hares

Cunning Hares (formerly known as Gentle House) is a small scale temp work agency that takes on various commissions for clients who cannot or will not hire a larger (or more reputable) agency. This faction was released in July 2024.

Belobog Heavy Industries

Belobog Heavy Industries is a company specializing in In-Hollow construction. This faction was released in July 2024.

Victoria Housekeeping

Victoria Housekeeping is an agency specializing in housekeeping services, though they will also take on jobs that require venturing into the Hollows to acquire items for their client. This faction was released in July 2024.

Hollow Special Operations Section 6

Hollow Special Operations Section 6 (also known as Section 6) is a frontline operational unit of the Hollow Special Operations. This faction was released in July 2024.

Obol squad

Obol Squad is a part of New Eridu Defense Force Obsidian Division. This faction was released in July 2024.

Criminal Investigation Special Response Team

The Criminal Investigation Special Response Team (part of New Eridu Public Security or PubSec) is an agency specializing in law enforcement. This faction was released in July 2024.

Sons of Calydon

The Sons of Calydon is a biker gang who reside in the Outer Ring of New Eridu. This faction was released in July 2024.

Non-player characters

• Fairy (Voiced by: Allegra Clark). One of the keys in the Hollow Deep Dive (HDD) system.
• Mr. Mole (Voiced by: Tim Heller). An unseen voice-only character encountered by the Proxy.
• Tin Master (Voiced by: Tim Heller). A robot barista and owner of Coff Cafe coffee shop.
• Officer Mewmew (Voiced by: Tiana Camacho). A cat mascot of New Eridu Public Security.
• General Chop (Voiced by: Unknown). A red oni who runs the "Waterfall Soup" restaurant on Sixth Street.

Development

The development team cited Persona 5, Digimon World, and Street Fighter as influences for Zenless Zone Zero, influences from Street Fighter can be seen within animation of characters during combat while the influences of Digimon World can be seen in the implementation of the in-game clock system. Despite the similarities between Persona 5 and Zenless Zone Zero in terms of art style, the development team stressed that Zenless Zone Zero has its own unique style.

Characters in Zenless Zone Zero have different design based on their faction; For instance, the design for Victoria Housekeeping characters is based on Victorian-era butlers and maids with tropes from horror movies. There is an emphasis for quality over quantity in regards to development of characters.

Unlike the character designs in MiHoYo's previous games such as Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, Zenless Zone Zero took a different direction with its variety of playable characters; There are non-human playable characters such as Ben Bigger, a grizzly bear, Soukaku, a blue-colored oni, and Billy Kid, a cyborg gunslinger. During the planning stages, these non-human characters were not intended to be present in the game but the team did find them fun and later incorporated them into the game.

According to Li Zhenyu, the producer of Zenless Zone Zero, main protagonists Wise and Belle have independent roles from each other.

Distribution and promotion

MiHoYo revealed the game in May 2022 and began holding closed beta tests, known as "Tuning Tests", for PC and iOS in August of the same year. A second closed beta test, called an "Equalizing Test", was also held for PC and iOS in November 2023. A third beta test, called an "Amplifying Test", was held for Android, PC, and iOS, in April 2024. During PlayStation's State of Play presentation in January 2024, a PlayStation 5 port of the game was announced as a timed console exclusive. A technical test was held for the PS5 in April 2024. The release date was announced in late May of that same year.

The game was released on July 4. To promote the game, HoYoverse collaborated with several graffiti artists to create Zenless Zone Zero-themed graffiti in 19 cities in Indonesia. An advertisement on the Manila Light Rail Transit in the Philippines was held. A series of launch events titled "New Eridu City Tour" is being held in 19 locations worldwide. Another series of events titled "Zenless Dazzle Expo" is held within six comic conventions.

In July 2024, HoYoverse, through a collaboration between them and Lofi Girl, released a Zenless Zone Zero-themed Lofi Girl video featuring the character Belle though its HoYoFair YouTube channel, which features lo-fi remixes of select Zenless Zone Zero soundtracks.

Reception

Prior to the game's release, the Chinese video game news website 17173 noted that HoYoverse had significant experience with action games, considering Zenless Zone Zero both a return to the genre and a potential breakthrough for the company. They believed that HoYoverse had yet to encounter significant rivals in the action game category and that Zenless Zone Zero could "stabilize and expand the user market." 17173 also emphasized the game's strong stylized design and trendy visual elements, noting that it inherited HoYoverse's expertise in the action category while presenting a distinct and unique work.

Eurogamer called the combat and day-to-day exploration exciting, and the world setting unique and immersive. Kotaku said its combat system is similar to miHoYo's previous game, Honkai Impact 3rd.

Paste is more critical in its review by praised the characters design and variety while called the starter playable characters usage repetitive and the TV mode dull and uninspiring. PC Gamer criticized the combat system by called it "mindless mouse clicking".

The mobile version of the game grossed almost US$52 million in its first 11 days and US$100 million in its first month. Chinese video game news website GameLook estimated the total revenue from all platforms of the game for July 2024 to exceed CN¥ 2.2 billion (US$306 million.)

Controversies

Some players have criticized the alteration towards Nicole Demara's design, especially regarding the jiggle physics.

Concept art of an unannounced idol faction and Sons of Calydon was leaked on the internet prior to the release of the game. Zenless Zone Zero development team released a statement on Bilibili expressing their disappointment.