The newest game release from miHoYo has proven to be the bane of my productivity, but in a good way. It has been a lengthy time since I have been as invested into a video game as I am into Zenless Zone Zero. This ‘urban fantasy ARPG’ is reminiscent of the Persona games, minus the turn-based combat sequences. I have enjoyed Persona 3 before on my old PlayStation Portable, but I have never been an avid fan of the games. Instead, what I enjoyed the most in them was the visual design and NPC interactions. This is something that ZZZ nails completely, in my opinion.

The Good and the Bad, Without the Ugly Link to heading

After having played the game since release, I have already completed all the main and most of the side content. I found myself truly enjoying nearly every aspect of it. I say nearly, because the game isn’t without faults and I will mention them in a bit, but first I want to briefly go over the good points. ZZZ has an original and compelling story, interesting and expressive characters, smooth and satisfying combat, as well as beautiful aesthetics with great attention to detail. Every little thing is considered when presenting the game to the player, from extremely subtle character animations to the simplest interactions with the game world while exploring.

As a free-to-play gacha game, it needs ways to keep its playerbase active and engaged to keep earning from the in-game purchases. As such, it’s design is meant to restrict fast progression and promote grinding for character and story advancement. However, even this never feels like a chore. Farming upgrade materials is a breeze and the only real gripe is the high energy cost - the in-game resource that gets expended on specific actions - that leaves you needing to prioritize your grind for the day. It feels a bit too restricting at the moment, but this is again understandable due to the amount of content available on game release.

Finally, it’s important to mention the bad. Really, there is only one thing that bothers me and it feels overlooked even though it’s clearly not: the ‘Hollow Deep Dive’ system. Specifically, I refer to the big part of the game that has the player maneuver their character between monitors, which corresponds to the character moving through the Hollow, lore-wise. This unique mechanic perhaps provides a more cost-effective way of conveying events and the story to the players, as well as respite from endless button-mashing in combat sequences. However, it takes up roughly 80% of the game and is often seen as boring or not engaging enough by many players, who expected more combat, given it’s one of the main selling points of the game.

Don’t Underestimate Maids Link to heading

Maids are a common trope in the entertainment industry and seem to have more significance in eastern asian countries. As such, one of the most popular characters in the game is Ellen Joe - a senior high school girl employed as a maid by the fictional in-game organization ‘Victoria Housekeeping’. As one of the most promoted characters of the game, Ellen has found herself in the top position in terms of popularity caused partly by her outward appearance and partly by her effectiveness in-game. Her and other members of Victoria Housekeeping are all elite Agents that seriously kick ass and look cool doing it.

I almost don’t want to talk about the hours I’ve already spent trying to obtain Ellen for myself. I wanted her for the fact she’s currently the best DPS character in the game. It was definitely not due to just her character design…

Once I finally did get her, I found myself breezing through the game and an already enjoyable game was made even more so. After all, what sane person wouldn’t want a shark maid of their own to beat down monsters with giant freezing scissors?

But what if just having her smack monsters around is not enough for you and you want to be more engaged with the character? Well, what makes Zenless Zone Zero feel like a Persona game is the special side missions that allow you to build trust with characters of your choice. These provide unique interactions that feel personal and fun. On top of that, they also provide special rewards, such as in-game dynamic wallpapers and even assistance in the weekly raid type missions dubbed ‘Hollow Zero’. All that in exchange for a little patience. Like I said, the game only got better after obtaining her.

Back To the Grind Link to heading

It’s time to bring my little monologue to a close here. I’ve written things in such a way that it might even seem I got sponsored to do this, but regretfully this is just written from my genuine enjoyment of the game. It’s been a while since a game has really gotten me excited to get up in the morning or stay late in the evening to play without a care in the world. All in all, I can only recommend fellow gamers to try and play Zenless Zone Zero. It’s not a perfect game - nothing ever is - but it gets damn close to it for me.