Hoyoverse Embraced Their Adult Audience - Zenless Zone Zero
Summary
TLDRZenith: Zone Zero is a gacha game offering a unique blend of storytelling and gameplay. The game surprises with its anime-inspired narrative, featuring a modern setting plagued by 'eternals' and a sibling duo running a movie store by day and acting as proxies by night. Its combat system is flashy and satisfying, while the TV-based board game element adds a strategic layer. The game also includes a story skip feature and a story library for replaying scenes. Presentation is a standout, with expressive animations and a cohesive art style targeting a mature audience, promising potential for an engaging roguelike mode in future updates.
Takeaways
- 🎮 The game 'Zen-et Zone Zero' is a unique entry in the gacha genre, offering a different experience from other titles.
- 🌐 The game's world is closely tied to real life, with a modern, eastern city setting plagued by 'eternals', monsters emerging from anomalies called 'hollows'.
- 🎭 The main characters are siblings running a movie store by day and secretly working as proxies (hackers or Netrunners) by night, influenced by cyberpunk themes.
- 📚 The storytelling in 'Zen-et Zone Zero' is multifaceted, utilizing comics, conversations, animations, and TVs to convey the narrative.
- 🔍 The game's progression system is designed to prevent premature farming of artifacts, unlocking basic features later to avoid wasting resources.
- 🎨 The art and animation are highly expressive, with unique character animations that enhance the emotional depth of conversations.
- 📺 The 'TVs' in the game serve dual purposes: storytelling and gameplay, acting as a board game mechanic that integrates with the game's roguelike mode.
- 🤖 The combat system is flashy and satisfying, with a hack-and-slash style that allows for chaining assists and special attacks.
- 🎲 The game includes a roguelike game mode called 'Hollow Zero', offering randomized events and permanent upgrades for replayability.
- 🏆 Achievements and mini-games are present, providing additional rewards and gameplay variety.
- 🎉 The game's presentation is top-notch, targeting an adult audience with mature themes and detailed world design.
Q & A
What is the main theme of the video script?
-The main theme of the video script is a review and analysis of the game 'Zen-et Zone Zero,' discussing its story arc, unique presentation, and gameplay mechanics.
How does the game 'Zen-et Zone Zero' differentiate itself from other titles by the same developer?
-It differentiates itself through its combat system, presentation style, and story, which are all notably different from games like 'Genshin Impact' and 'Honkai Impact 3rd.'
What is the setting of 'Zen-et Zone Zero'?
-The setting is a modern, anime-inspired city plagued with 'hollows,' which are anomalies that spew out monsters known as 'eternals.'
What are the two main characters' roles in 'Zen-et Zone Zero'?
-The two main characters are siblings who run a movie store and secretly work together as a proxy, functioning as hackers or Netrunners.
How does 'Zen-et Zone Zero' incorporate storytelling through different mediums?
-It uses comics, conversations, animations, and TVs to tell its story, each serving different purposes and adding depth to the narrative.
What is the significance of the TVs in 'Zen-et Zone Zero'?
-The TVs serve as a gameplay mechanic where players move around like in a board game, triggering events and story sequences, and they also tie into the game's narrative as the point of view of the main characters as proxies.
How does the combat system in 'Zen-et Zone Zero' work?
-The combat system is a hack-and-slash style where players can break enemies' guard to stun them, triggering assists and special attacks from different characters to create long chains of attacks.
What is the 'Hollow Zero' game mode in 'Zen-et Zone Zero'?
-'Hollow Zero' is a rogue-like game mode where players explore maps, get random augments, and engage in randomized events and boss encounters.
How does 'Zen-et Zone Zero' handle progression and character development?
-Progression involves leveling up characters, abilities, and weapons called 'cores,' and farming materials in simulated combat rooms. There are also various activities like side quests and achievements that reward 'pulls' for characters.
What is the significance of the 'bang boost' in 'Zen-et Zone Zero'?
-The 'bang boost' is a second gacha system in the game that uses a free-to-play currency and allows players to add an assist character to their team, functioning similarly to a normal pull system.
How does the presentation in 'Zen-et Zone Zero' cater to its target audience?
-The presentation, with its wacky animations, world design, graphic style, and attention to detail, is cohesive and serves an audience of adults, with some characters designed to be more attractive and expressive.
Outlines
🎮 Introduction to the Game's Unique Appeal
The narrator discusses their involvement in the gacha game genre, specifically focusing on Zenes Zone Zero, highlighting the game's unique combat, presentation, and story elements. The video is sponsored by Zenes Zone Zero, and while the narrator acknowledges the game's innovative aspects, they also plan to critique certain parts. The story is set in a modern, eastern city plagued by anomalies called hollows, featuring two main characters who run a movie store and work as proxies, hackers completing various commissions. The story, inspired by cyberpunk themes, has a slow progression but offers a unique and engaging experience.
📖 Storytelling Mediums in Zenes Zone Zero
Zenes Zone Zero uses four mediums for storytelling: comics, conversations, animations, and TVs. Comics offer quick exposition, conversations involve character interactions with unique animations, and animated cutscenes provide dynamic and engaging story moments. The TV gameplay, where players move around tiles triggering events, integrates the narrative with the game's mechanics, offering a unique perspective of the proxy's role. While some players find the TV gameplay divisive, it effectively ties the story to the gameplay.
🧩 Integration of TV Gameplay and Storyline
The TV gameplay serves as both a storytelling tool and a setup for the roguelike game mode, Hollow Zero. This mode involves exploring maps, acquiring augments, and facing randomized events and combat encounters. The TV sequences, reflecting the proxy's POV, seamlessly blend into the narrative, offering unique effects and settings for different missions. Despite some players' mixed feelings, the TVs add depth to the gameplay and story integration, making it distinct from other gacha games.
🏆 Roguelike Game Mode and Progression
Hollow Zero, the roguelike game mode in Zenes Zone Zero, features a progression system where players complete runs to earn currencies for permanent upgrades. This mode, similar to Star Rail's simulated universe, adds replayability and depth to the game. The TV gameplay is central to this mode, providing a modular design for diverse and challenging content. Despite initial mixed reactions, this feature is expected to evolve, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.
🌟 Diverse and Expressive Character Presentation
Zenes Zone Zero excels in character and universe presentation, targeting a mature audience with expressive animations and cohesive graphic design. The game's animations, including jiggle physics, enhance character expressiveness and appeal. Characters like Nicole exemplify this, with animations reflecting their personality traits. This approach marks a shift from previous titles, embracing a more mature and expressive style that aligns with the game's overall aesthetic.
🎭 Interactive and Immersive Game Elements
The game offers interactive elements such as exploring shops, reading newspapers, and inspecting 3D objects, adding depth and immersion. These features enhance the player's connection to the game world and provide additional layers of narrative and gameplay. The meticulous attention to detail in these elements showcases the developers' commitment to creating a rich and engaging experience, making Zenes Zone Zero stand out in the gacha game genre.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Gacha
💡Hoovers
💡Zenless Zone Zero
💡Combat
💡Storytelling
💡TVs
💡Proxies
💡Roguelike
💡Bangboo
💡Presentation
Highlights
The game genre of 'Zen-Et Zone Zero' is a new exploration for the player, offering a unique experience compared to previous titles.
The game is sponsored by Zen-Et, but critical feedback is still provided where it's due.
Zen-Et Zone Zero surprises with its combat system, which is notably different from other games like Genshin Impact.
The game targets a new audience with its modern, anime-like presentation and unique storytelling.
Players can choose their main character, which influences their daily tasks but not the overall story.
The game's setting is a modern, eastern city plagued by 'hollows' and 'eternals', adding a unique twist to the narrative.
The main characters are siblings running a movie store and secretly working as proxies, a unique angle for the game's story.
The game's story is carried by its unique character presentations and voice acting, making conversations engaging.
Zen-Et Zone Zero uses animation cutscenes to enhance storytelling, making scenes lively and expressive.
The game includes a 'TV' gameplay mechanic that integrates puzzle elements and storytelling.
The 'TV' gameplay is divisive among players, with some preferring pure combat and others enjoying the puzzle aspect.
The game offers a story skip button for players who prefer to focus on combat over narrative.
Zen-Et Zone Zero features a 'Hollow Zero' game mode, a rogue-like experience within the game.
The game's progression system includes leveling up characters, abilities, and weapons, known as 'cores'.
A second gacha system introduces 'bang boost' characters, adding another layer of character collection.
The game's presentation is highly praised, with detailed world design and cohesive graphic style.
Zen-Et Zone Zero caters to a mature audience with its storytelling and character designs.
The game offers immersive elements, allowing players to interact with the environment and objects.
Transcripts
well my doesn't do that so at this point
I am convinced I am not escaping the
gacha story arc what started as an
innocent dabble into a game genre I have
not tried before turned into diving into
new universes and burning energy to get
resources on daily basis and we keep on
with the grind because
Hoovers keep sponsoring these videos
that's right for legal reasons we have
to confirm that this video is indeed
sponsored by zenes Zone zero however
that does not mean I will not be
critical where it's fair because while
Zen lless does push the boundaries of
presentations in many ways and there are
some really good reasons for this game
to feel different from all their other
titles there are also some parts that
could be improved and so let's talk
about what kind of a new universe
Hoovers introduced and let's investigate
just why does it feel different zenet
Zone zero took me by surprise for a big
reason combat wise it is very different
from something like genin presentation
wise it is very different from Star Rail
and story-wise it seems to be something
entirely unique for Hoovers and that's
because zenes is specifically targeting
its own new audience now what kind of an
audience that is you'll see later before
that let's segment this video into
thematic parts and let's start with the
story the world of zenet Zone zero is
surprisingly close to real life if
anything this is as much of an anime as
a game can get you start by choosing
your main character which as far as I
know does not really matter and that's
simply because in this game unlike it is
in genin or Star rail both of them take
part in the story and they both take on
an entirely unique character which means
they are both present at all times and
what you're really choosing is what
character you control when you do your
daily tasks after this you are thrown
into what feels to be just a modern
eastern city but it's all plagued with
the hollows which are anomalies that are
spewing out monsters known as eternals
and just to make things a little bit
more interesting it also acts as a
plague infecting mortal beings and that
is pretty much it for the setup of the
story from that point on everything is
carried by the setup of the two main
characters they are siblings that run a
movie store which is something very
unusual to see in 2024 but of course
because the story is set up to be as
anime as possible while they are running
their own store in secret they are also
working together as a proxy with a proxy
essentially being a hacker or a
Netrunner which you might recognize from
some other sci-fi fantasy universes in
fact the more you dig into this the more
you might notice some similarities and
Inspirations from the original book
version of the cyberpunk universe and in
many ways the story will stay around a
similar theme you are someone who's
completing commissions for their clients
which can be anything from infiltrating
basis to collecting personal data to
taking down important personnel and
because you are not really a fighter it
is all done by navigating your agents to
complete the tasks the strong side of
this kind of a story is that it is very
different from what you might have
experienced before it definitely seems
to be inspired by The cyberpunk Vibes
maybe with a bit of a Sprinkle from the
Persona presentation and if you are into
that thematic you're going to love the
secret agent Vibes however the one
problem the story has right now is that
it takes a while for it to ramp up in
comparison to Star rail where they
really nailed the pace from the very
beginning here it really takes a while
before you find any kind of a meaningful
threat it really does start like you
start as a nobody and you are building
up your reputation which is what's
actually happening and in a way it is
awesome to see that but I believe in
zenet zone zero it takes a little bit
too long and it is all tied to the fact
that the progression also takes a while
to unlock by which I don't really mean
that people would like to rush to the
end game now I'm talking about simply un
unlocking basic features like farming
your artifacts which is what gacha games
always do just unlocking those takes
longer than is expected though there
might be a reason why they are doing
this because normally in a gacha game
you don't want to farm your artifacts
until you are a certain level because
you are only getting the Lesser versions
of those artifacts so instead zenas just
unlocks it later so you don't waste your
energy it is a bit of an odd design
decision but I can see why it works that
said back to the story as I said zenas
has a very unique way to go through it
mostly it is done through four different
mediums the comics the conversations the
animations and the TVs the comics work
really well they are a quick and easy
way to tell a story using just bunch of
images and popping up text they are
usually reserved for the beginning of
story lines or bigger points to make
simple Exposition as entertaining as
possible and at that it is pretty good
it honestly works so much better than
characters simply telling you what's
happening speaking of which of course
there are also the conversations these
are the Hoover Staples just bunch of
characters standing next to each other
as they engage in story talk while they
sometimes move using a shared library of
animations but here zenes does it
differently instead of just standing at
a location given how the open world of
this game works they wouldn't have
enough unique locations built so the
game is utilizing more of a presentation
style for their conversations the
characters simply pop up on screen with
the background rarely being meaningful
now here one could say that is a really
cheap way to do conversations but you
would actually be wrong here it is true
that characters simply popping up like
they are puppets may seem like it is on
a lower budget but as I mentioned it's
because Zess Zone zero doesn't have the
open world with the pre-built scenes to
utilize so to counteract on that they
gave all characters unique speaking
animations this is something neither
genin nor star rail has there all the
characters have one of four different
skeletons all of which shares the exact
same animations here when one character
uses their surprise animation or a
simple idle standing animation it is
entirely different from anyone else and
by doing this zenas is able to portray
so much more emotion during their
conversations this is perhaps the
strongest part of the storytelling even
though the story itself may not be for
everyone their presentation combined
with the ridiculously good voice acting
can make the scenes pop let's see
a flashlight old magazine broken
ashtray ew smelly sucks
gross what on Earth did these gangsters
leave in their
Hideout found it what' you find nekoma's
Family
heirloom maybe if her family heirloom is
the most amazingly awesome Epic shiny
Starlight KN emblem of the last 10 years
and speaking of making scenes pop they
also have their animated cutcenes and
these are the most ridiculous
over-the-top expressive animations I
have ever seen these play Whenever a big
moment is happening in a story though
sometimes they are also used for the
smaller scenes just to tie the story
bits together and in my opinion these
are the best way to tell a story in this
game I really mean it I have never seen
animation feel so Li
and it doesn't matter if it is an action
scene or if it is just two characters
having the most ordinary conversation
you can have these animations just give
me so much joy I mean really look at
this short clip of the two main
characters simply talking about
restocking their store so I did a pretty
good job of recording right isn't this
just footage of the rescue operation so
what it's got a factual basis just like
a documentary with a shaky camera and
Ser editing it combines exciting battles
with an emotional rescue operation this
is wild their animations could make
dripping sap interesting if they wanted
to but that leaves us with the last part
of Storytelling that is actually tied to
gameplay and that are the TVs we'll talk
about the gameplay side of these in
detail in just a moment for now just
know that during these missions you move
around the TVs like it's a board game
when you step on specific tiles you can
trigger specific events and sometimes
those events can have story sequences
and sometimes it can also be just a
combat style that throws you into the
Combat gameplay now if you have snooped
around the internet you might have
noticed that people are pretty split on
this feature there are some people that
would like to skip this and just stick
to the pure combat side but there are
also others who like the TV gameplay
personally I think they are totally fine
because they also add two new features
to this game first of all it is obvious
that these TVs are a setup for the Rog
likee simulated Universe gameplay
because later the TVs are reused exactly
for that but also interestingly enough
the TVs flawlessly weave into the
storytelling many people don't realize
this but with your main role being the
proxy or in other words a hacker you
watching these TVs is the POV of the
proxy this is how you're watching the
missions happen in front of you as you
are are navigating your agents and often
times the game is using unique TVs with
unique effects to set up the stories in
some you have to take over a train and
so bunch of TVs with actual train tracks
and the trains pop up in other missions
you might be getting bombed and so you
have to dodge TVs with actual bombs on
them honestly I think people are
underestimating just how well the TVs
can work to tie gameplay into Story the
issue is that it is just not gameplay
for everyone if you came into this game
just expecting bunch of combat you're
going to be surprised that this is a lot
closer to a puzzle game and even though
it is a puzzle game with RPG elements it
is very different from genin or Star
rail so overall the TVs work quite well
and their module design makes it so that
the deaths can go wild with them but for
now I understand that if some people
don't like them it is because they are
for a very very specific audience now
with these four Story tools covered we
should mention that given how Niche the
story line is Hoovers knew it wouldn't
be a story for everyone which is why
they also gave us the story skip button
so if you're not a fan of the story you
can just skip it and go for the combat
that said to show us that they are not
just giving up on the story they also
introduced the story Library which
allows you you to replay any scene and
any conversation from any of the stories
and that is honestly wild now as I
mentioned some of the story tools are
linked to gameplay so
now let's talk about gameplay for the
most part the gameplay is divided into
two parts the combat and the TVs the
combat itself is honestly pretty good at
first the chances are even after going
through the tutorial you will have no
idea what's happening and whenever an
assist is triggered you'll just be
meshing buttons to see if anything cool
happens and the truth is something cool
will happen if anything the combat in
zzz is flashy and once you start putting
some thought behind what you are doing
it can feel very satisfying essentially
we are talking about a hacken SL styled
combat where you can break the enemy's
guard to stun them which triggers an
assist in this step you can choose which
character you want to step in with the
special attack and if they override the
stun with an attack of a different
element they can chain in another assist
and that is how you can get these crazy
long chains of your entire team jumping
into the fight what's cool about this is
that you can easily trigger these even
if you have no idea what you are doing
however that can also be seen as a bad
thing because at times it may feel like
you are just button mashing but that's
mostly at the beginning where the
content is really a pushover the longer
you push into the game the more
challenging the content will get now I
haven't gotten to the very end yet so I
don't know what will face you there I've
heard rumors that things are not that
difficult though that also correlates to
how much you spent on the game it is a
gacha game after all but roughly in the
middle of the game you'll start seeing
some boss fights with mechanics that
actually matter not to mention that
later in the game you also unlock a hard
mode for most of the fights for those of
you who would like like to pay attention
during your fighting and of course zenas
is also getting the classic bi-weekly
challenge mode that rewards you with PS
this kind of a challenge progression
worked really well in their other games
and so I'm glad to see it's making a
comeback here now of course since the
combat in a mission styled game would
only carry you so far Hoovers decided to
fill the game with DVS so let's talk
about those when you are doing all the
story missions moving around the board
and doing the story tasks can be cool
and the story is doing its best to keep
it interesting but eventually you will
start to feel its repetitive side which
is where the Rog like game mode of this
game kicks in in Zen lless it is called
Hollow zero the place that is believed
to be the source of all the anomalies in
this game mode you are using the TVs to
explore Maps get random augments similar
to what you can see in Star rail which
can also fuse if you have multiple of
one kind of an augment you can walk into
randomized rooms with randomized events
you have your combat encounters you have
your boss encounters and honestly this
is where the TVs shine this is very
obviously why the TVs were put into the
game their main purpose was not to use
them for storytelling that is honestly
just the devs being clever no it is this
Rog likee game mode which is basically a
game within a game in current iteration
it is decent it has its own progression
system where you get currencies by
completing runs after which you can buy
permanent upgrades so you can take on
harder and harder rooms and it kind of
feels like the second iteration of the
simulated Universe we got in Star rail
which let me tell you is really popular
and that is why I have no doubt Zen
lless will iterate on this too I mean
star rail did exactly the same thing
some of you may not remember this but
when this game launched people quickly
cleared all the content and they had
nothing to do then they came out with
more of an endless version of the
simulated universe and that is where
people really got to test out their
teams in Zen lless it really seems like
hoyse is aiming to do the same thing it
is in my opinion the best part of the
game and we are one iteration away from
getting something amazing so overall if
you are not a fan of the TVs in the
story it will honestly get better later
it just sucks that it comes later now
since we are talking about gameplay
there is one more thing I have to
mention and that is the arcade mini
games yes these are just some quick fun
which you can play single player or
against other players and by doing this
you can unlock a bunch of achievements
which essentially give you more pools
but speaking of
achievements let's now dive into to the
progression in many ways this is a
staple of hoe games and so you know
exactly what to expect you get your
characters whom you have to level up you
level up their abilities you level up
their weapons which in this game are
called cores and you ascend them all to
get them to even higher levels of course
you hop into simulated combat rooms to
farm the materials for this and that is
your core gameplay progression Loop
though for some the progression Loop
will be arming pools for their
characters and that is where things get
interesting to get pools you can find
chests in random places around the open
world you can progress the bi-weekly
Challenge and see how far you can get
you get pools for doing the Rog likee
game mode you get a bunch of pools from
all kinds of achievements there are a
lot of side quests and combat quests
every day you can walk to the dog stand
and read some newspapers about what's
happening in the world as well as do a
SC scatch of gacha the arcade mini games
give you more pools and of course it is
Hoover so events also give you more
pools now of course if you want a whale
out none of this may matter to you which
is also where zenas introduced a second
gacha into the game but this one is
entirely free and that of course is
pulling for bang boost the bang boo are
very complex but they are pretty much
the mascot of this universe that's right
besides just the three people on your
team you can also add in one assist
bangoo whom you can get from a gacha
system for which you pay with an
entirely free-to-play currency as far as
I know you can't buy this one and it
functions exactly like a normal pool
system and with that said it is time to
get into the final part of this video
the
presentation if there is one thing this
game absolutely nails down it is the
presentation of its universe and its
characters from The Wacky animations to
the world design to The Graphic style to
all the details it all makes sense as
one uniform puzzle puzzle that serves
its own audience and that ladies and
gentlemen is an audience of adults now
hear me out it is obvious that this game
is meant for a more m
audience because from the very beginning
the story starts with a bunch of
swearing and then they drop Nicole on
top of your head now in a gacha game it
is no secret that the devs are trying to
make their characters attractive for the
sake of appeal but so far and I know
it's funny that I'm even saying this
Hoovers has always been very tame with
the way they present their characters
sure in their other games some
characters on the design perspective
might be more loaded than others but
when you talk to them you'll see they
are just a normal character with their
own problems they are just who they are
for the sake of being who they are and
they just leave their design just
sitting there and never mention it of
course there are some exceptions but
here zenas actually leans into it a
little bit and Nicole is the best
example you see when it comes to
character animations they are always an
extension of the character you are
animating when they have more springy
animations they might be more quirky and
when they have more Snappy animations
they might be a stronger character and
when you make the animations of a
character so it makes a perfect box
around their chest that is a sign you
embrace your audience and I'm not going
to lie zenas is doing it in a really
cool way because even on the design
front believe it or not it actually
makes sense with the way their
animations are extremely expressive with
their facial animation specifically
being all about stretch and squish
jiggle
physics actually enhance the animations
it is extremely cohesive with the entire
graphic style and I'll be honest I have
never seen a company that made that part
of their ident entity and did it well
this is an achievement and a half I
mean we don't even have to talk about
the wolf guy do we when you have a look
at the six guaranteed s ranks you get in
this game five of them are ladies one of
them is a wolf which means in this game
either you are looking forward to your
next waifu or you're leaning to be a
furry and I am not a furry I have no
idea from the animation I I have no
idea attendant like At Your
Service I am not a furry and that is
pretty much zenet Zone zero in a
nutshell for you a game with extremely
good animations a very different take on
storytelling a decently fleshy combat
and a massive potential for a really
good Rog likee game mode in the future
for me if there is something that took
me by surprise it is that everything is
interactive from the coffee shop to the
Noodle Shop to reading the newspapers
that show you what happened in the story
to reading the internet posts that also
reflect on what's Happening to trying to
spin every object in the game because
people don't realize when the game shows
one of these props on the screen it is
actually a 3D object you can inspect and
yes even the cores are fully 3D and
fully animated I have to admit I spent
way too much time just looking at these
because they look so cool but sometimes
these immersive elements in the game
also reveal something scary sometimes
they reveal something you might not want
to
[Music]
see for
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)