Hoyovere’s Zenless Zone Zero captures the perfect flow of action gameplay

The best character action games allow me to enter a state of combat flow. I love charging at my target, pounding them with attacks, nimbly dodging, launching them into the air, and juggling their bodies until they finally give up – or in case Zenless Zone Zero, explode into a kaleidoscope of neons evoking a 1990s television set. The latest free-to-play offering from Hoyoverse excels in frenetic combat that is instantly gratifying. I sometimes wished I could jump back into the action quicker while playing, but there is so much more to the rest of the game.

Zenless Zone Zero, or ZZZ, is my first Hoyoverse title. I didn’t try Genshin Impact or Honkai: Star Railbut that’s mainly because of the setting and style of the game ZZZ appealed to me much more. Since my playthrough was the beta with everything unlocked, I can’t speak to how the free-to-play gacha mechanics will play out in my live playthrough.

ZZZ puts me in the shoes of Belle, a teenage girl living in a future tech-centric metropolis inhabited by regular humans, augmented humans, cat people, shark maids, espresso-making robots, and any other personality combination ever dreamed up on an anime poster. That’s not a pejorative sentiment, by the way; everything and everyone in ZZZ It feels like part of the same messy, trendy universe, and I like that. There are robot rabbits called Bangboo that help with all kinds of tasks. By day, Belle runs a video store with her brother, but her main gig is as a highly skilled guide to the interdimensional rifts (called Hollows) that keep popping up in her town. I never fight anyone like Belle; for action sequences, I’ll switch to a combat-oriented crew of playable characters. Belle is present, but observes and controls the party members through her own Bangboo robot, which she controls remotely.

During ZZZ‘s fights, I can switch between up to three characters at will. While they all have different weapons and playstyles, all combat centers around chaining light and heavy attacks, dodging, and meter-based super moves. Billy, a cyborg, uses weapons and ranged attacks, while Corin, a maid whose main personality trait is “always deeply anxious”, uses a staff that doubles as a chainsaw to tear apart faceless enemies. I can quickly switch between my party members at will, but there are special points where I can mark help as more damage. No matter which character I choose, the overall combat system is intuitive and fluid. It offers the perfect video game feel where you suddenly make the player feel powerful without boring them with overly simplistic mechanics.

Image: Hoyovers via Polygon

Another aspect of Hollow exploration is a little surprising: the puzzles. Instead of sending the squad through an endless maze of corridors, all of which look appropriately tech-wasteland-y, I navigate through a grid of TVs overlapping each other in a 2D plane. Sometimes I move the weight to open the door; other times I’ll jump between floors to get to different points on the map. It’s a unique mechanic that, like any good puzzle, becomes more difficult after the tutorial stages. Solving these puzzles is tied to the story objectives, but they are also an important way to gather resources ZZZ. Their design is a fresh approach that I haven’t seen much in any game, and they’re a nice palate cleanser after action sequences.

Image: Hoyovers via Polygon

There is also a lot of work when I am not in Dolík. As Belle, I can explore my surroundings, manage the video store display to support customers, play arcade games, take pictures of cats, text with friends, or have coffee or noodles to increase my stats for the next Hollow run. (If you’ve ever wanted to see the irritating pre-battle refueling scene for the espresso machine, ZZZ I can even scroll through forum posts on my phone before bed.

Image: Hoyovers via Polygon

There are many gameplay activities that enhance the experience, along with a fully voiced story told through comic static panels or conversations. I often wanted to go back to just fighting, and sometimes the litany of items—and endless offers to upgrade my characters and weapons—felt like obstacles to combat and puzzles. When Belle was assigned a daily list of chores to complete for in-game loot, I realized how much ZZZThe scope went beyond just the quick battles I’ve grown to love.

Since I played on a beta account provided by Hoyovers, all my progress will be deleted ZZZ it goes live. But I’ll be curious to play the actual experience, including its gacha elements, to see how it affects the flow. I look forward to finding zen ZZZaction sequence again.

Zenless Zone Zero will be released on July 4 for Android, iOS, PlayStation 5 and Windows PC. The game was reviewed on PC using a pre-beta download code provided by Hoyovers. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not affect editorial content, although Vox Media may receive commissions for products purchased through affiliate links. You can find Learn more about Polygon’s ethics policy here.