Despite the Zs, MiHoYo’s latest shouldn’t be slept on
Developer/ publisher HoYoverse
Format Android, iOS, PC, consoles TBA
Origin China
Release TBA
Still basking in the success of gacha hits Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, HoYoVerse is adding another string to its live-service bow with this ARPG. It’s only natural to be cynical about the studio spinning up another game within the same framework, but after working through its opening chapters and a slew of side-missions, Zenless Zone Zero stands out from its labelmates.
In part, that’s thanks to an art style that’s not afraid to squash, stretch, and morph. It kicks off with a frantic escape by The Cunning Hares – your archetypal thieves with hearts of gold – as a heist in a rival gang’s hideout goes wrong and they tumble into a Hollow, one of many pockets of distorted reality within the futuristic, megacorp-ruled New Eniru. That’s where you come in. Choosing one half of sibling duo Wise and Belle, as Proxies we possess the ability to guide our clients through this space, which would otherwise turn those lost within it into monsters.
It has visual charisma to spare, going off-model and off-kilter with every character design
It has visual charisma to spare, going offmodel and off-kilter with every character design and interaction. Even the frequent comic-book cutscenes are full of personality, avoiding the feeling that they’re here as a cost-saving exercise, as likely a factor as that is. Within the opening we meet the proprietor of the local café: a robot with a coffee maker for a head. Then comes a ramen chef who uses extra mechanical arms to separate his noodles. Soon after, we’re teased with the possibility of unlocking another playable Agent: Ben Bigger is a blinged-up bear with a hefty scar.
In practice, our work as a Proxy means controlling a group of three Agents as they tussle with Ethereal monsters. Combat is another strong suit – inputs feel responsive, and moves are impactful. Its surface simplicity belies surprising depths: you open enemies up with basic attacks to fill their stun gauges, after which a heavy attack (which becomes stronger after accruing enough energy) makes a chain attack possible, whereupon you pick another character to use a unique move. Group up enemies or larger targets and these can chain multiple times, so all your allies will pile in.
Switching characters helps in a defensive capacity, too: hit a shoulder button as an enemy telegraphs an attack with a gold flash and an ally will leap in to parry it. Dodge instead and time will slow, allowing you to capitalise while an enemy is vulnerable. There’s always an angle to work, and these moves are consistently satisfying to pull off, even if more variation wouldn’t go amiss.
Rather than fighting through whole levels, you access these slightly spartan batt
