Zenless Zone Zero

Zenless Zone Zero
Developer(s)	miHoYo
Publisher(s)	CHN: miHoYo WW: Cognosphere TWN/HKG/MAC: Nijigen Games VNM: Gamota
Producer(s)	Li Zhenyu[1]
Engine	Unity
Platform(s)	Windows iOS Android PlayStation 5
Release	July 4, 2024
Genre(s)	Action role-playing, hack and slash
Mode(s)	Single-player

Zenless Zone Zero ^[a] is a free-to-play action role-playing game developed and published by miHoYo (with publishing outside mainland China under Cognosphere, d/b/a HoYoverse). The game was released on Windows, iOS, Android and PlayStation 5 on July 4, 2024.^[2]

Zenless Zone Zero is an action role-playing game. The player assumes the role of a Proxy (the protagonist known as Wise or Belle,) a character who helps others explore the hostile alternate dimensions called Hollows.^[3][4] As they advance, the Proxy will recruit new members known as Agents to their party as they continue to fight the Ethereal and other enemies. In addition to the Proxy, players also use assistants known as Bangboos.^[4]

By combining the abilities of different Agents and Bangboos, players can deal greater damage and combos (known as Chain Attack) onto enemies.^[4][5][6] The game features an in-game clock system, with the days split into morning, afternoon, night, and late-night.^[4]

The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic futuristic haven known as Eridu. Entities known as Ethereals have traveled into the human world from portals called Hollows. The Ethereals have wreaked havoc on most of humanity, wiping most of them out. However, a select group of survivors formed a bastion against the invaders called New Eridu, having survived the oncoming onslaught by extracting the Ethereals' technology and resources.^[7]

There are several factions in the game, such as Random Play, where the Proxy belongs, Belobog Heavy Industries, whose focus lies in construction, Victoria Housekeeping, a housekeeping agency, Hollow Special Operations Section 6, a frontline unit of Hollow Special Operations, the Criminal Investigation Special Response Team, which is a part of New Eridu Public Security, and Sons of Calydon, a biker gang.^[8]

Despite falling into the "futuristic" category, Zenless Zone Zero takes on a retro and analog aesthetic, which is explained by the notion that modern technology is susceptible to corruption from the game's main enemies, the Ethereals. Characters can be seen operating flip-phones or phones reminiscent of models from the years between 2000 and 2010. The main 'base' location is a video store (known as Random Play) where citizens of New Eridu can rent films in the form of VHS.^[9] Box TVs are also commonly seen throughout the game. There are also references to 1990s media as well as grunge or street-style designs present throughout New Eridu.

All playable characters are associated with a specific faction.

All playable Agents wield one of 5 playable attributes: Electric, Ether, Fire, Ice, and Physical and one of 5 playable styles: Anomaly, Attack, Defense, Support and Stun.^[10]

Random Play is a video store in New Eridu where Belle and Wise rent out VHS tapes, while living on the floor above the business. The staff room in the back of the store doubles as a base for their Proxy work.

Name	Voice Actor	Description	Cits
Wise	Lin Jing Stephen Fu[11] Atsushi Abe[11] Lee Sang-Ho	The main protagonists of the game, a pair of siblings who secretly perform Proxy work under the codename "Phaethon." Neither of the siblings participate in combat, but instead use their unique "HDD" system to sync up with their Bangboo, Eous, to guide their clients through the Hollows. Players can choose between Wise (male) and Belle (female) as the player character. Whoever is not picked will serve as the player character's assistant throughout the game.	[8]
Belle	Yī Koujing Courtney Steele[11] Sayaka Senbongi[11] Lee Sae-ah

Cunning Hares (formerly known as Gentle House) is a small scale temp work agency that will take on various commissions for clients who can't or won't hire a bigger (or more reputable) agency. This faction was released in July 2024.

Name	Attribute	Rarity	Style	Voice Actor	Description	Cits
Anby Demara	Electric	A-Rank	Stun	Yanning Sam Slade[11] Atsumi Tanezaki[11] Kim Bo-na	A calm and collected young girl who is unusually competent and efficient in combat, but struggles in other aspects. Anby attempts to improve her social skills by imitating scenes from popular movies, but with little success.	[8][12][13]
Billy Kid	Physical	A-Rank	Attack	Chen Runqiu Clifford Chapin[11] Yū Hayashi[11] Lee Jo-seung	A cyborg gunslinger with a surprisingly casual and carefree personality. A Starlight Knights superfan who refers to his custom revolvers as his "girls."	[8][12][13]
Nekomiya Mana	Physical	S-Rank	Attack	Hualing Alice Himora[11] Sayuri Hara[11] Lee Bo-hee	The mischievous catgirl Thiren of the group. Initially she planned to have the Cunning Hares killed in the Hollows for their role in killing her former gang-mate Silver, but after seeing them try to rescue her former neighbors from the Vision Corporation's scheme, she decided to join them instead.	[8][12]
Nicole Demara	Ether	A-Rank	Support	Chen Tingting Nadia Marshall[11] Yu Serizawa[11] Shin Na-ri	The founder of the Cunning Hares who struggles to keep her group afloat financially.	[8][12][13]

Belobog Heavy Industries is a company specializing in In-Hollow construction. This faction was released in July 2024.

Name	Attribute	Rarity	Style	Voice Actor	Description	Cits
Anton Ivanov	Electric	A-Rank	Attack	Xiao Zhai Alejandro Saab[11] Shinichiro Kamio[11] Jang Seo-hwa	The sharp-tongued project manager who refers to his wrist-mounted drill as his "bro."	[8][12]
Ben Bigger	Fire	A-Rank	Defense	Meng Xianglong Henry Schrader[11] Kenji Hamada[11] Han Bok-hyun	A grizzly bear Thiren who works as the accountant. Despite his imposing presence, Ben rarely gets angry outside of combat.	[8][12]
Grace Howard	Electric	S-Rank	Anomaly	Xiao Gan Chelsea Kwoka[11] Haruka Shiraishi[11] Kim Yea-lim	The mechanic of the group, her enthusiasm for all things mechanical has led her to design and program various heavy machinery for Belobog, referring to them as her "children."	[8][12][14][15]
Koleda Belobog	Fire	S-Rank	Stun	Mu Xueting Katie Cofield[11] Yuka Iguchi[11] Jeong Hae-eun	Grace's unofficial sister and the President of Belobog Heavy Industries. She blames her father for disappearing one night with a bag full of money, thinking he was responsible for embezzling company funds and nearly ruining everything while she had to slowly rebuild Belobog's reputation afterwards.	[8][12]

Victoria Housekeeping is an agency specializing in housekeeping services, though they will also take on jobs that require venturing into the Hollows to acquire items for their client. This faction was released in July 2024.

Name	Attribute	Rarity	Style	Voice Actor	Description	Cits
Alexandrina "Rina" Sebastiane	Electric	S-Rank	Attack	Zhang Ruoyu Crystal Lee[11] Satomi Arai[11] Lee Eun-jo	The gentle and delicate Head Maid, often accompanied by two floating Bangboo puppets named Drusilla and Anastella.	[8][12][14]
Corin Wickes	Physical	A-Rank	Defense	Mu Fei Chloe Eves[11] Hiromi Igarashi[11] Cho Kyung-yi	A timid and anxious maid who wields a very large buzzsaw as her main tool.	[8][12]
Ellen Joe	Ice	S-Rank	Anomaly	Xiao Qingyuan Giselle Fernandez[11] Shion Wakayama[11] Lee Ji-na	A shark Thiren who prefers hanging out with her friends to doing extra work or club activities. She wields an oversized pair of pruning shears.	[8][12]
Von Lycaon	Ice	S-Rank	Stun	Wang Yuhang Nicholas Thurkettle[11] Chikahiro Kobayashi[11] Jang Min-hyuk	A white wolf Thiren who acts as the Head Butler, using a kick-based fighting style to dispatch enemies with his cybernetic legs.	[8][12]

Hollow Special Operations Section 6 (also known as Section 6) is a frontline operational unit of the Hollow Special Operations. This faction was released in July 2024.

Name	Attribute	Rarity	Style	Voice Actor	Description	Cits
Hoshimi Miyabi	Ice	TBA	TBA	Du Mingya Ami Koshimizu[11]	A member of Section 6 with kitsune girl appearance.	[8]
Soukaku	Ice	A-Rank	Support	Liu Wen Machico[11]	A blue, demonic oni girl whose true origins are unknown. Soukaku prefers talking about eating more than anything else.	[8][12]

Obol Squad is a part of New Eridu Defense Force Obsidian Division. This faction was released in July 2024.

Name	Attribute	Rarity	Style	Voice Actor	Description	Cits
Soldier 11	Fire	S-Rank	Attack	Chen Yu Emeri Chase[11] Yukiyo Fujii[11] Moon Yoo-jeong	The mysterious leader of Obol Squad. Her real name is unknown. She has a love of spicy noodles and cats.	[8][12]

The Criminal Investigation Special Response Team (part of New Eridu Public Security or PubSec) is an agency specializing in law enforcement. This faction was released in July 2024.

Name	Attribute	Rarity	Style	Voice Actor	Description	Cits
Qingyi	Electric	S-Rank	Stun	Hao Sibai Kira Buckland[11] Maria Abo[11] Kim Soon-mi	An android member of Criminal Investigation Special Response Team.	[8][16]
Seth Lowell	Electric	A-Rank	Defense	Xiu Yuan Nazeeh Tarsha[11] Kengo Takanashi[11] Lim Chae-bin	Fluffy-eared member of Criminal Investigation Special Response Team.	[8][16]
Zhu Yuan	Ether	S-Rank	Attack	Mace Alaina Wis[11] Marina Inoue[11] Lee Joo-eun	The leader of the group.	[8][12][16]

Sons of Calydon is a biker gang. This faction was released in July 2024.

Name	Attribute	Rarity	Style	Voice Actor	Description	Cits
Burnice White	Fire	TBA	Anomaly	Ge Zirui Karin Takahashi Bae Ha-gyoung	A member of Sons of Calydon.	[17]
Caesar King	Physical	TBA	Defense	Su Ziwu Rina Satō Kim Bo-Min	A defender woman with spiked shield and sword.	[18]
Luciana "Lucy" de Montefio	Fire	A-Rank	Support	Xian Ta Wutong TBA[b] Ayaka Asai[11] Kim Mi-so	A rebellious, blonde-haired biker who travels with tiny boar Thirens. She has a surprisingly refined demeanor in contrast with her appearance.	[8][12]
Piper Wheel	Physical	A-Rank	Anomaly	Wu Zheru Suzie Yeung[11] Manaka Iwami[11] Son Jung-min	A tiny woman who maintains a big rig for the Sons of Calydon. She prefers resting when not actively on the job.	[8][12]

• Fairy (Voiced by: Allegra Clark). One of the keys (artificial intelligence) in the Hollow Deep Dive (HDD) system.^[19]
• Mr. Mole (Voiced by: Tim Heller). An unseen voice-only character encountered by the Proxy.^[20]
• Tin Master (Voiced by: Tim Heller). The barista and owner of Coff Cafe coffee shop.^[20]

The development team cited Persona 5, Digimon World, and Street Fighter as influences for Zenless Zone Zero, influences from Street Fighter can be seen within animation of characters during combat while the influences of Digimon World can be seen in the implementation of in-game time system. Despite the similarities between Persona 5 and Zenless Zone Zero in terms of art style, the development team stressed that Zenless Zone Zero has its own unique style.^[21][22]

Characters in Zenless Zone Zero have different design based on their faction; For instance, the design for Victoria Housekeeping characters is based on Victorian-era butlers and maids with tropes from horror movies.^[9] There is an emphasis for quality over quantity in regards to development of characters.^[21]

Compared to design of characters in MiHoYo's previous games such as Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, Zenless Zone Zero took a different direction with its variety of playable characters; There are non-human playable characters such as Ben Bigger, a grizzly bear, Soukaku, a blue-colored oni, and Billy Kid, a cyborg gunslinger.^[23][24] During the planning stages, these non-human characters were not intended to be present in the game but the team did find them fun and later incorporated them into the game.^[25]

According to Li Zhenyu, the producer of Zenless Zone Zero, main protagonists Wise and Belle have independent roles from each other.^[26]

MiHoYo revealed the game in May 2022 and began holding closed beta tests, known as "Tuning Tests", for PC and iOS in August of the same year.^[27] A second closed beta test, called an "Equalizing Test", was also held for PC and iOS in November 2023.^[28] A third beta test, called an "Amplifying Test", was held for Android, PC, and iOS, in April 2024.^[29] During PlayStation's State of Play presentation in January 2024, a PlayStation 5 port of the game was announced as a timed console exclusive.^[30] A technical test was held for the PS5 in April 2024. The release date was announced in late May of that same year.

The game was released on July 4. To promote the game, HoYoverse collaborated with several graffiti artists to create Zenless Zone Zero-themed graffiti in 19 cities in Indonesia.^[31] A series of launch events titled "New Eridu City Tour" is being held in 19 locations worldwide.^[32] Another series of events titled "Zenless Dazzle Expo" is held within six comic conventions.^[33]

In July 2024, HoYoverse, through a collaboration between them and Lofi Girl, released a video with the character Belle in a position like Lofi Girl though its HoYoFair YouTube channel.^{[34][35][36][c]}

Prior to the game's release, the Chinese video game news website 17173 noted that HoYoverse had significant experience with action games, considering Zenless Zone Zero both a return to the genre and a potential breakthrough for the company. They believed that HoYoverse had yet to encounter significant rivals in the action game category and that Zenless Zone Zero could "stabilize and expand the user market." 17173 also emphasized the game's strong stylized design and trendy visual elements, noting that it inherited HoYoverse's expertise in the action category while presenting a distinct and unique work.^[39]

Eurogamer called the combat and day-to-day exploration exciting, and the world setting unique and immersive.^[10] Kotaku said its combat system is similar to HoYoverse's previous RPG, Honkai Impact 3rd.^[23]

Paste is more critical in its review by praised the characters design and variety while called the starter playable characters usage repetitive and the TV mode dull and uninspiring.^[40] PC Gamer criticized the combat system by called it "mindless mouse clicking".^[41]

The mobile version of the game grossed almost US$52 million in its first 11 days and US$100 million in its first month.^[42][43][44] Chinese video game news website GameLook estimated the total revenue from all platforms of the game for July 2024 to exceed CN¥ 2.2 billion (US$306 million.)^[45]

Some players have criticized the alteration towards Nicole Demara's design, especially regarding the jiggle physics.^[46][47]

Concept art of an unannounced idol faction and Sons of Calydon was leaked on the internet prior to the release of the game. Zenless Zone Zero development team released a statement on Bilibili expressing their disappointment.^[48]

• Honkai Impact 3rd, a similar game also created by miHoYo and part of the Honkai franchise.
• Punishing: Gray Raven, utilizing similar combat gameplay inside a futuristic setting.

• Official website
• Zenless Zone Zero on X
• Zenless Zone Zero at IMDb
• Zenless Zone Zero at MobyGames