There’s something missing from Zenless Zone Zero. Armed with a deep combat system, new urban setting, and roster of characters easy to love, it seemed like developer miHoYo was teed up for another win after recent successes Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. Having spent countless hours immersed in both of these worlds, I’m still fascinated enough to show up for each patch, so miHoYo’s newest post-apocalyptic take on their winning formula should surely be my next obsession… and yet after playing its second beta, I’m left more confused than anything else.
The most egregious reason Zenless Zone Zero feels so off is its major pacing issues, primarily caused by its insistence on throwing you into the same television-styled mini-game. While there are variations in what you do during each TV grid – like remembering colour sequences, or solving box puzzles – the majority of your playtime in Zenless Zone Zero is made up of slowly moving up, down, left and right. Main missions, side quests, and even the bonus roguelike mode all force you into this linear perspective, with little to no variation in how the grid is presented. It’s a bizarre division of your time because the grid mini-game is one of the worst parts of Zenless Zone Zero, whereas combat is absolutely one of its finest. It’s absurd that this fast-paced, incredibly stylish action is constantly pushed aside in favour of traversing boring grids, as you only get brief moments of combat before you’re forced back to the TV exploration mode.
Fighting has a focus on dashing and quick-swapping between characters, meaning you’re always on the move, thinking about your next action. It’s easy to play, offers depth for more dedicated players, and, most importantly, feels ridiculously cool. So why is it drip fed instead of the main course? The occasional longer stints spent blasting through waves of enemies serve as a wistful example of what Zenless Zone Zero could have been.
