Summary
- Zenless Zone Zero offers a sci-fi twist, diverging from Genshin's fantasy focus, with unique gameplay mechanics and urban exploration.
- Combat in Zenless Zone Zero feels more like hack-and-slash games, with flashy agents battling terrifying Ethereal creatures in alternate dimensions.
- While lacking a clear roadmap, Zenless Zone Zero's world and gameplay offer a fresh, exciting experience for Genshin Impact players worldwide.
The developers at HoYoverse have their hands full with Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, but that hasn't stopped them from working on yet another project: Zenless Zone Zero. This urban fantasy action role-playing game is currently being fine-tuned with closed beta tests, the latest of which was dubbed the "Amplifying Test," to prepare the game for global consumption. Like Genshin and Honkai, Zenless Zone Zero promises to be a game filled with highly stylized characters with highly stylized attacks. But this attentive approach to design might be the similarities between Genshin Impact and Zenless Zone Zero end.
Genshin Impact is all fantasy, whereas Zenless Zone Zero is sci-fi at its finest. There are some core mechanics that have become the bread and butter of all HoYoverse games, like the artifact systems and gacha banner systems, but Zenless Zone Zero looks like a distant cousin of Genshin rather than a close sibling.
Genshin Impact Developer Announces New 'Amplifying Test' for Zenless Zone Zero
Genshin Impact developer HoYoverse has announced the next "Amplifying Test" closed beta for its upcoming action RPG, Zenless Zone Zero.
An Action RPG With Roguelike TVs
Genshin Impact emphasizes several gameplay elements to keep players engaged: open-world exploration, story quests, and building characters, as well as participating in limited-time events. Zenless Zone Zero is still a closed beta, and as such does not have events yet, but its core gameplay is a marked departure from an open world like Genshin's. Zenless Zone Zero players split their time between three types of gameplay:
- Combat
- TV mode (the roguelike element)
- City exploration
Zenless Zone Zero's Combat Explained
The combat is where Zenless Zone Zero most resembles Genshin Impact. Flashy characters known as agents are used in Zenless Zone Zero and controlled by the player's character, a Proxy. The Proxy leads agents into dangerous, alternate dimensions called Hollows to fight the terrifying creatures called the Ethereal that lurk there. Players switch between three agents in order to utilize their various powers. Like Genshin Impact characters, these agents have ultimate abilities that show a flash of animation before unleashing devastating attacks. Combat in Zenless Zone Zero also utilizes perfect dodges, assists, and parries. According to closed beta participants, the playstyle is more reminiscent of hack-and-slash titles like Devil May Cry than Genshin Impact.
Zenless Zone Zero's TV Mode Explained
All the missions and combat in Zenless Zone Zero are locked behind its roguelike element: the TV mode. This is where players solve puzzles through the view of a grid of old-school CRT television screens. These puzzles on the Hollow Visualization TV Wall can vary between quick color matches to brief battles, occasionally rewarding the player with buffs or punishing them with debuffs. TV mode has established itself as a core aspect of Zenless Zone Zero and is likely to stick around as the prelude to the stories and battles within the game.
Zenless Zone Zero's City Exploration Explained
Genshin Impact is praised for its huge open world, the land of Teyvat packed full of new places and experiences. In Zenless Zone Zero, players are confined to a single city, but that city has places and personality in spades. The setting of New Eridu is a punk, post-apocalyptic heaven. The streets are lined with cool hangouts like ramen bars manned by robots and arcades filled with mini-games. The aesthetic and day-to-night cycle are extremely reminiscent of Persona games. The inspiration is especially striking with the artifact system: units are buffed with albums drawn from the local record shop rather than magical accessories won from Genshin's Domains.
How Genshin Impact's Story and Stakes Differ From Zenless Zone Zero
Genshin Impact makes its stakes and story clear from the very start: the player, as the Traveler, is searching for their sibling after coming to the world of Teyvat from somewhere beyond the stars. The story is told in a way that makes the Genshin Impact roadmap pretty obvious; players will traverse the world nation-by-nation before finally confronting their greatest enemies and finding out the truth regarding what happened to their missing sibling. In its current form, Zenless Zone Zero lacks a finite direction and has a lot of gaps in what little lore is available.
This is understandable, considering that Zenless Zone Zero is not yet ready to premiere worldwide. It is entirely possible that the game will be released with a definitive story and direction. That said, it's plain that Genshin Impact is the stronger of the two when it comes to storytelling. Players can expect fluid, fun animations from Zenless Zone Zero that make Genshin Impact's cutscenes pale in comparison, but Genshin is the stronger storyteller. Zenless Zone Zero has a unique, fascinating world and flashy, fun gameplay that could present a wholly new adventure for Genshin Impact players, and it is meant to come to players worldwide sometime in 2024.
Genshin Impact
- Released
- September 28, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
Step into Teyvat, a vast world teeming with life and flowing with elemental energy.
You and your sibling arrived here from another world. Separated by an unknown god, stripped of your powers, and cast into a deep slumber, you now awake to a world very different from when you first arrived.
Thus begins your journey across Teyvat to seek answers from The Seven — the gods of each element. Along the way, prepare to explore every inch of this wondrous world, join forces with a diverse range of characters, and unravel the countless mysteries that Teyvat holds...
MASSIVE OPEN WORLD
Climb any mountain, swim across any river, and glide over the world below, taking in the jaw-dropping scenery each step of the way. And if you stop to investigate a wandering Seelie or strange mechanism, who knows what you might discover?
ELEMENTAL COMBAT SYSTEM
Harness the seven elements to unleash elemental reactions. Anemo, Electro, Hydro, Pyro, Cryo, Dendro, and Geo interact in all sorts of ways, and Vision wielders have the power to turn this to their advantage.
Will you vaporize Hydro with Pyro, electro-charge it with Electro, or freeze it with Cryo? Your mastery of the elements will give you the upper hand in battle and exploration.
BEAUTIFUL VISUALS
Feast your eyes on the world around you, with a stunning art style, real-time rendering, and finely tuned character animations delivering you a truly immersive visual experience. Lighting and weather all change naturally over time, bringing every detail of this world to life.
SOOTHING SOUNDTRACK
Let the beautiful sounds of Teyvat draw you in as you explore the expansive world around you. Performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the soundtrack changes seamlessly with the time and gameplay to match the mood.
BUILD YOUR DREAM TEAM
Team up with a diverse cast of characters in Teyvat, each with their own unique personalities, stories, and abilities. Discover your favorite party combinations and level up your characters to help you conquer even the most daunting of enemies and domains.
JOURNEY WITH FRIENDS
Team up with friends across various platforms to trigger more elemental action, tackle tricky boss fights, and conquer challenging domains together to reap rich rewards.
As you stand atop the peaks of Jueyun Karst and take in the rolling clouds and vast terrain stretching out before you, you may wish to stay in Teyvat a little longer... But until you are reunited with your lost sibling, how can you rest? Go forth, Traveler, and begin your adventure!
- ESRB
- Teen / Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, In-Game Purchases (Includes Random Items), Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo)
- Publisher(s)
- HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo)
- Engine
- Unity
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, iOS, Android
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Action, Adventure, Gacha, Open-World
- Metascore
- 86
- Platforms That Support Crossplay
- Mobile, PC, PS4 & PS5
