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The story
The thread kicked off when a user who wasn’t getting much use out of their PS5 went looking for a free game to play, tried HoYoverse’s ‘Zenless Zone Zero,’ and posted that it was ‘insanely fun.’ Opinions split from there: some praised how enjoyable it is even without spending money, plus the quality motion and effects, while others complained the story drags on too long, the combat has good pacing but is too easy, and the limited-time events feel monotonous. Some even suggested that a free title reaching this level of polish threatens the very reason packaged (retail) games exist.
What people said
If you can get this for free, Japanese game makers are doomed.
Why not just play it on your phone?
I got bored of it fast, though
Combat is just mashing buttons — barrier-free action aimed at little kids
Looks hardcore but it's really just a numbers game: gacha pulls (凸, i.e. character copies) matter 1000x more than skill, basically zero strategy
Forces you into shoddy Mario Party knockoff minigames
Unskippable, agonizingly long cutscenes that exist just so the devs can show off
Yeah, the story dragging on forever, I get that complaint
When you just want to get to the fighting it's annoying lol
This thread's hyping it up, but honestly it's pretty much what Re: #5 described
I do like the characters with their niche appeal and the animation, but the actual gameplay isn't something I'd call good even being generous
The story and GUI are mediocre, and I genuinely don't understand why some of the gimmicks and minigames were even implemented
That's exactly what makes it good
All the sound effects, visual effects, and slow-mo hits just flood you with dopamine!
Jumping through tight gaps in Mario isn't fun in itself either
How exactly is that supposed to be hard for women and kids?
It's just a kiddie trick, and kids see through it and don't bother playing
Are you the type who thinks a game's only fun if it demands precise, meticulous play?
Sounds like you'd be into 2D action games lol
So did it ever actually break out of being 'just a phone game'?
It's just a button-clicking game
Attack timing is literally displayed on screen for you, and worst case the dodge input still registers even after you've already been hit — it's a super barrier-free game
Wolverine (the Marvel game) is harder than this
With exclusives gone and even GTA looking shaky now, all that's left for it is to live on as an oversized phone — what a garbage console 💩
A console has value if it can play fun games lol
Zenless Zone Zero works on phone too, but I don't think I'd have enjoyed it this much without playing with a controller
You can use a controller on your phone too, though
Using a controller with that tiny screen though, lol
How small is your phone exactly
It's simply more impactful playing it on a TV
If a huge enemy doesn't actually look huge, you'd probably lose all sense of immersion lol
When you start fresh, features unlock one after another in rapid succession
So I honestly have no idea what to even prioritize lol
I only recently learned that you're supposed to be picky about which Drive Discs (the game's gear/equipment) you keep
It really is super fun
If it's this enjoyable without spending money, no wonder packaged (retail) games can't sell anymore
The problem is it's designed to pile on stress if you don't pay, just to squeeze money out of you
Sounds like the type of guy who'd complain at a supermarket sample counter, 'Not enough of a portion! Bring out some rice too! And tea!'
Also, the fact that it's NOT an open world is actually a plus for me
Exactly, exploring stuff gets annoying for me too, that's why I picked Zenless Zone Zero over Genshin
When the motion looks cool it really makes it worth playing
The first time I pulled off a chain attack, I was genuinely impressed — hadn't felt that way about a game in a long time
Apparently the action is too fast-paced, so unlike Genshin or Star Rail, there are hardly any female players
The gamer-bro types call it an easy 'baby game' that needs hand-holding, but it's actually tough for women and kids
If it would at least stay simple button-mashing barrier-free stuff that'd be fine, but instead you get garbage fetch quests, baffling 2D action segments, weird casino-style minigames — all for a pittance of rewards, and you're stuck grinding through that empty busywork for the whole season, it's exhausting
Honestly it's pretty pathetic spending months grinding for gacha currency you could just buy in 10 seconds with money you earned working
Classic Chinese gacha-game move — they love stuffing events with indie-game ripoffs or educational-game-style minigames
The recent pinball one was actually pretty fun though lol
Background and key points of this discussion
“Zenless Zone Zero” is a free-to-play action RPG that miHoYo (HoYoverse) began releasing in 2024, using the same gacha monetization model as Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. Opinion in the thread split because the same feature — that it’s fully playable without spending money — is praised by some as generous design and criticized by others as making the combat “too easy” and “lacking challenge.” There were also comments noting that, compared to consoles, the mobile version is at a disadvantage in screen size and controls, meaning satisfaction with the same title can vary depending on the platform used to play it. The revenue model built around gacha pulls and limited-time events — typical of free-to-play games — likely underlies complaints about the story’s length and the events’ monotony, though that connection is hard to pin down from the individual posts alone.
※This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “[Good News] Zenless Zone Zero is Incredibly Fun.”
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