We Played Zenless Zone Zero Again and Discovered MiHoYo's Secret to Success

When the first PV of Zenless Zone Zero was released, the prominent "16+" at the beginning sparked my imagination. As the PV played on with its strong street-style music, I was instantly drawn into another action-packed anime-style battle feast from MiHoYo, following Honkai Impact 3rd. As the PV concluded with the sound of an old TV turning off, my mind started to wander about the game's storyline, gameplay, and other aspects.

Since then, Zenless Zone Zero has undergone two closed beta tests. Whether it was the exhilarating combat experience, the cool interface style and character design, or the combination of "comic + animation" in storytelling, the various elements showcased in these tests immersed me in the trendy, near-futuristic world of "New Eridu." As the game evolved from the first to the second test, I saw it becoming more polished, with many players already declaring its completion level near public release standards by the second test.

Therefore, with the announcement of the third test, I was eager to see how the game had shaped up after about six months of refinement.

After playing the game for a day, I found myself echoing the sentiment of the player community:

"Why are we still testing this? Just launch it, I'm ready to play!"

Combat: Exciting and Satisfying

From the first test, Zenless Zone Zero impressed many players with its exhilarating, fast-paced combat experience.

This combat feel is thanks to MiHoYo's approach of streamlining the combat process: players don't have to worry about cooldowns for blocking, and there are no delays after dodging or blocking. Additionally, the game merges the switch character and block buttons to accommodate the limited screen space of mobile devices, making combat more flexible and lowering the entry barrier significantly.

In line with this simplification approach, the game doesn't have complex combo mechanics. A basic attack and a special move to stun are enough to execute powerful team combos. Landing a perfect block with a satisfying "ding" sound and successfully counterattacking with a combo, accompanied by cool battle animations, gave me a thrilling high-speed combat experience from the start.

These mechanics had a basic template from the first test and became more refined and mature in the second. As a result, the third test didn't see drastic changes in combat but focused on fine-tuning details, such as categorizing character combat types and attributes. The introduction of the "Bangboo" system in this test, which allows the game's pets to participate in battles and trigger combos, undoubtedly added strategic depth to the combat process, making the gameplay more balanced and flexible.

To complement this fast-paced combat, this test also made adjustments to the overall gameplay experience. In the third test, commission tasks no longer consume stamina, saving players resources for character or weapon development materials. The exploration experience in the map called "Hollow" now allows for direct movement by clicking on grid spaces and includes a fast-forward feature, significantly simplifying the exploration process and speeding up the game's pace.

However, despite the game's focus on exciting combat and flashy effects, some characters still feel a bit delayed in their hit feedback, and some ranged characters' attacks feel lightweight. Overall, the combat feel might need some optimization.

If you don't enjoy combat, the third test also introduced difficulty options. Players can choose between a challenging mode that tests combat skills, a more relaxed mode focusing on the storyline, or a story-focused mode that simplifies many operations, further lowering the entry barrier and accommodating most players.

Overall, as an action-focused game, Zenless Zone Zero has reached a considerable level of completion. Despite some minor flaws, the overall experience of "combat excitement" remains unaffected. Moreover, the game also brings us a vibrant "cyber street" full of life.

A Distinctive Game World

After three tests, the most memorable aspect for me is the "New Eridu," filled with details.

Listening to the complaints of passersby in the game, reading various posts on the virtual forum, helping people with mundane tasks, or completing commissions in the "Hollow" - all these activities make the world feel lively and filled with stories. Similar to Yongen-Jaya in Persona 5, the Sixth Street, where the protagonist lives, is not large but vibrant and full of life.

If MiHoYo's previous games like Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail aimed for vast and comprehensive worlds, Zenless Zone Zero strives for a smaller but more refined design.

or first-time players, "trendy" is the most intuitive impression, with its bright yet decayed art style and numerous trendy symbols, even the characters' attire seems more fashionable. However, the game content is quite down-to-earth.

The story is set in this lively street, with the protagonist siblings engaged in a gray business called "Proxy", interacting with street-savvy individuals. This setting gives the game a street-style full of life, from visuals and music to dialogues. The near-futuristic world setting also makes the details more relatable to our real world, enhancing the game's street flavor and immersion. Zenless Zone Zero, while aiming for a broad audience, achieves a cooler content expression.

This realistic setting foundation allows for many internet slang and references that resonate with the players, alongside numerous nods to various anime, movies, and even MiHoYo's own games. This humor continues from their work on Star Rail. Characters like the face-saving Nicole, the emotionless Anbi, the catgirl Nekomata, and the timid maid Corin, all have distinct characteristics, leaving room for countless fan creations and discussions post-launch.

However, the world isn't perfect. Character expressions during stationary dialogues often lag behind the voice and text, and in some emotionally intense scenes, the characters' expressions remain indifferent, causing a slight disconnection from the immersive experience.

Nevertheless, the overall immersion and liveliness of the world in Zenless Zone Zero are excellent. The level of detail in world-building, from NPC interactions to virtual forums and character messages, to the dramatic tension in the storyline and the cinematic techniques in cutscenes, all reflect the experience and strengths MiHoYo has accumulated.

It's fair to say that this third test of Zenless Zone Zero showcases MiHoYo's matured content production capabilities.

A Promising Future

The biggest reaction from the player community during this third test has been about the improvement of the Bonbon system.

In addition to the previously introduced "Bangboo" feature, this test made Bangboos available through free draws instead of paid purchases, significantly reducing the pay-to-win aspect of the system, much to the relief of many players.

However, this change also eliminates a potential revenue source for the game, sparking much discussion in the community, with many praising the development team's decisive actions.

More importantly, this change largely stemmed from player feedback about the monetization of the Bangboo system in previous tests. In fact, many aspects of the game, such as removing frame rate limits, improving the "Hollow" gameplay, and feedback on character mechanics, were addressed in this test.

While game testing and sending feedback questionnaires are standard practices, this "responsive" attitude demonstrates sincerity towards players, reflecting a commitment to improving game quality and user experience. For MiHoYo, which already holds multiple successful IPs, this enthusiastic approach towards player interaction is commendable.

However, this enthusiasm is not unique to Zenless Zone Zero but stems from MiHoYo's long-established interaction model with its player community: creating game-related memes, guiding operations, encouraging player participation, listening to feedback, and optimizing the game. This model has created a positive feedback loop, building game awareness, and user engagement, ultimately fostering a large, active fan community for MiHoYo's games, retaining countless loyal players. Zenless Zone Zero's substantial community buzz after two tests is a testament to this mature model's effectiveness.

In conclusion, both in-game and out, MiHoYo now has a well-established methodology to identify its audience and deliver what they want. Internally, this manifests as comprehensive industrialized content production capabilities; externally, it manifests as a well-cycled operation strategy with the community. This maturity is a key reason for MiHoYo's frequent hits and will be a core advantage for Zenless Zone Zero in the future.

Of course, the game still has room for improvement, such as combat feel, storyline presentation, loading issues on mobile devices, and overheating on certain models. Despite these flaws, after witnessing the game's maturity over several tests, I believe MiHoYo will address these issues before the public release, delivering a complete Zenless Zone Zero to players.

For me, the future of Zenless Zone Zero is worth looking forward to.