This Game Has No Zen, But It's Not A Zero! (Thoughts on Zenless Zone Zero)

     I have a lot of thoughts on the topic of "Gacha" practices and "free to play games" in general, very few of them being positive. The concept is not new, and for those of you not in the know, the word "Gacha" derives from the Japanese "Gachapon" machines, which equate to capsule toys like you might find in front of a grocery store or a steak and shake. It refers to the concept of random rewards being given in games once you've gained a certain amount of currency to try for a new character or weapon. The controversy comes along when you introduce little kids to this type of game, which is essentially something akin to gambling, especially when you can buy this fictional currency with real money. There has been a lot of legislation against this type of game recently, so it's less predatory than it used to be, now there has to be some way that the game can disclose your odds of getting a really cool thing, but it's still yucky. I unfortunately have to make this comment to begin a review of any of Hoyoverse's games, because they all use that system. Unlike many free-to-play games, however, Hoyoverse makes some good stuff, and their most recent game, Zenless Zone Zero, is no exception. You may recall that I wrote an impressions post of Honkai Star Rail probably around a year ago, and this is the same studio that made that game, as well as Genshin Impact. I thought I would spend some time this week on talking about this new game, and some of the differences between it and some of its predecessors. I'll be acting as your Proxy today as I show you around the world of New Eridu.

Urban Living Simulator? Take Another Look!

    It may be easiest to describe just how different this game is when compared with some other games by this same company. Genshin Impact is essentially a game built on the same concepts as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but where you can change your character and weapons, which is mainly where the Gacha elements come into play. Honkai Star Rail is a pretty standard RPG where you get your new units and "lightcones" from the Gacha system. In Zenless Zone Zero, the character that you play as is not a fighter, instead you play as a Proxy, a hacker that has the task of guiding agents through Hollows, which are corrupted areas of the city or world that people can only stay in for a little while before they themselves become corrupted by. There is combat in the game still, but the agents that you work with are the ones that do the fighting, and they are also gotten through Gacha means, as well as the W-Engines which make them more powerful.

    The main content of the story consists of areas where your character (either Belle or Wise, depending on if you choose to play as the female or male protagonist respectively) controls a little robot through a computer program, which looks like a maze. Every now and then, you'll run into an enemy icon on the program, which is where the combat takes place. Three characters are in your team at a time, with the systems running something like Bayonetta or Devil May Cry, where the combat is very fast paced, and heavily reliant on dodging or swapping characters at the right time so they'll parry whatever move a monster will throw at them. The combat is really flashy and satisfying, even though I don't quite understand the requirements for team composition so far. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it sometime soon. 

    The Hollows are the main places where the game moves in a forward motion, but it's far from the only place that you'll go. You spend most of your time doing many other tasks as well, between running the video store that the two siblings own, doing odd jobs for different people around town, going to get a coffee, playing games in the arcade (of which there are only two so far, being essentially Snake and Mr. Driller, which is really didn't expect), and just getting to know potential teammates better. I certainly have not played all that there is to do in this game yet, as I've only been playing for a few days, but it's a pretty interesting experience, and one that is very different from the previous games that I discussed earlier.

    One of my friends made the comparison that this game is similar to how Persona 5 plays out, which is pretty accurate. Half of the game is simulating what normal life would be for someone in this weird world, lending to an interesting "slice of life" type experience, and then the other half is dealing with the combat sequences where you have to rely on the agents in your party to take care of the battles for you. I will say that this game doesn't blend the two sections as well as the Persona series does, where you interact with party members in the real world, and then it will boost your performance in the dungeon-crawling section, but it's still a pretty cool experience. I'm still early on, so it's entirely possible that they'll have more crossover between the two main settings in the future, but so far I haven't come across anything like that.

    There's not much else I can say about this game for right now, but I do like what I've played of it so far! Obviously, I still don't approve of the microtransaction-heavy state of games right now, but I've done a lot for free, so I've enjoyed what I've played so far, which is the same thing I've said about the other two big Hoyoverse games that I've played. The issue comes with the exploitation of young minds or minds that are more susceptible to gambling mechanics, even introducing that type of stimulus to someone that would potentially never have experienced it otherwise.

    Thanks so much for reading this post, friends. I have a hard time recommending games like this, because you never know exactly how someone else's brain will work, but for those out there who aren't susceptible to the gross monetization processes here, there's a lot you can do with this game. The trade off is always time vs. money, either you invest more time, or you invest money. I hope you have a great week, and feel free to let me know about some new fun game that you've found recently! Until next time, I'm Jonathan, a Self-Proclaimed Proxy, and I'll talk to you again soon!