The game comes out on July 4th. Ground Zero Without Zen is a slasher role-playing game for PC and mobile devices from the Chinese HoYoverse, known for Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. The novelty is eagerly awaited by both fans of the studio and ordinary players who appreciate dynamic hand-to-hand battles.
A few days before the launch, the developers held a stream during which they provided additional details about the new project. What ZZZ will be like and whether it deserves your attention: we find out a little further down.
What is Zenless Ground Zero?
Following the approach of open world gaming and JRPG, Chinese developers are dominating the slasher genre. Characters add dynamics to battles (combos and various bonuses are tied to their change), and the variety of bosses and combat mechanics indicates that the focus is on gameplay.
By the way, the gameplay is pretty good. Battles are of interest to fans of the genre and at the same time are gentle for newcomers – you can get stuck in difficult combat modes or you can focus on the plot and a well-developed atmosphere with good graphics and music.
Related materials
How Zenless Zone Zero turned out: a new game from the Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail team
Zenless Zone Zero is a typical HoYoverse game with all the studio’s pros and cons. Rechargeable energy doesn’t let you upgrade your character 24/7, farming resources and selecting artifacts takes a lot of time, and not all heroes can be obtained for free, thanks to the gacha mechanic.
Not all players can handle such restrictions, but many are confident that it is worth it. Free ZZZ initially offers about a hundred hours of content and a lot of interesting things to get the strongest characters. And in the future, the game will continuously expand, opening new modes, continuing the plot, etc., like in “Genshin” and “Honkai”.
The new game works according to the old HoYoverse scheme: not everyone likes it, but it gives results
Photo: HoYoverse
Details of version 1.0 in Zenless Zone Zero
Typically, Chinese game makers release a new patch every six weeks, and ZZZ is unlikely to be an exception. If nothing happens, the game will be updated with the release of version 1.1 on August 15, and until then we should have enough launch content: by some estimates, we’ll have to dedicate more than 100 hours to it.
Immediately after launch, three story chapters will be available, and one of them was not even seen by beta test participants. In the last (for now) part of the story, players will have to help the members of the local Victoria agency.
For the release on July 4, the authors have also prepared new characters and factions: some heroes will appear in version 1.0, others will be playable in future updates.
Zhu Yuan belongs to a new group: the Public Security Service
Photo: HoYoverse
The developers also announced that they have prepared many new territories for the launch of Zenless Zone Zero, including the city streets of New Eridu and other locations.
For example, they created a separate location for the Zero Cavern mode, because they hope the format will attract players’ attention. Essentially, it is a combat roguelike reminiscent of the virtual universe of Honkai: Star Rail, but here it will be much broader.
In addition to Zero Cavity, another combat mode will be available in ZZZ at launch: rally. Rewards and levels will be updated over time.
The game does not have a full open world, but there are well-developed separate locations with many media references.
Photo by: HoYoverse
HoYoverse often delights with bonuses in the form of promotional codes, but this time there was only one. You can activate the code in the first week after the game’s release.
ZZZFREE100
But the developers are generous with free “spins”: at first, the banner can be freely opened 100 times, despite the fact that to get a five-star hero you need a maximum of 90. The authors of ZZZ give another 80 attempts for the banner with bangbu (assistants in battle).
Probably all players will be able to obtain a legendary character at the beginning of the game.
Photo by: HoYoverse
Zenless Zone Zero Release Details
Zenless Zone Zero will be released July 4, 2024 on PC and PlayStation 5, as well as on Android and iOS mobile operating systems. There are now rumors about a release on Xbox and Nintendo Switch, but it’s too early to talk about it seriously (“Genshin” has been waiting for its Switch port for several years).
As for the flagship game of 2024, ZZZ has modest system requirements: PC users will need an Intel Core i5 with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 to run it, and an iPhone XS or Android with Snapdragon 8 will be enough to play in your pocket.
Related materials
Full system requirements for Zenless Zone Zero from the creators of Genshin Impact have been revealed
HoYoverse releases are not available on Steam, but you can download Zenless Zone Zero on PC via the launcher from the official website or on the Epic Games Store (essentially the same thing).
The game is available for free; you won’t have to pay for any mode. Monetization is tied to flashier characters that can be obtained as internal currency. You can accumulate it as you go along, but if you want to unlock upgrades for heroes and better weapons, you’ll need to get a bank card.
Related materials
Classification
The best free games
