HoYoverse's latest brainchild, Zenless Zone Zero, is like watching a cybernetic octopus juggle neon chainsaws—simultaneously chaotic, mesmerizing, and utterly confusing. While Genshin Impact fans are busy climbing mountains and arguing about Paimon's voice, this urban sci-fi spinoff swaps floating islands for CRT television puzzles and replaces elemental reactions with robo-ramen bars. Imagine if Persona 5 and Devil May Cry had a baby that was raised by a malfunctioning arcade cabinet, and you’re halfway to understanding this fever-dream-turned-game.

A neon-lit street with robots serving ramen

Combat: When Hack-and-Slash Meets Gacha Ballet 🩰

The Proxy (your character) leads a squad of Agents into Hollows—alternate dimensions where physics took a vacation. Combat here feels less like Genshin's elemental chess and more like tap-dancing on a keyboard wired to fireworks. Perfect dodges trigger slow-mo counterattacks, parries send enemies flying like overcaffeinated ragdolls, and ultimate moves are so flashy they could give Dragon Ball Z animators an inferiority complex. Beta testers describe it as "trying to solve a Rubik's Cube while riding a rollercoaster."

Agents swap roles mid-fight like a boyband whose members keep stealing each other's microphones. Want to freeze enemies? Deploy icy sniper Lycaon. Prefer explosions? Let anarchist Neko toss grenades between guitar solos. It’s Genshin’s elemental system if it snorted energy drinks and joined a mosh pit.

TV Mode: Roguelike Puzzles for CRT Enthusiasts 📺

Here’s where Zenless Zone Zero becomes the gaming equivalent of eating ramen with a katana—unexpectedly methodical. Players navigate grid-based puzzles through retro TV screens, matching colors and dodging traps like a mouse in a laser-tag maze. Buffs and debuffs rain down like confetti at a robot wedding, making every run as predictable as a cat deciding whether to knock over your coffee. One wrong move, and suddenly your Agents are slower than a sloth carrying dumbbells.

Grid-based CRT puzzle interface

New Eridu: A Cyberpunk Playground That Out-Punks Persona 🎸

Genshin’s Teyvat is a sprawling fantasy buffet, but New Eridu is a single gourmet burger stuffed with absurd toppings. By day, you’ll chat with robot chefs at Ramen-chan 3000 or challenge NPCs to arcade games. By night, the city glows like a radioactive jellyfish, pulsating with synthwave beats. The artifact system? Replace Genshin’s magical trinkets with mixtapes bought from a record store run by a DJ who looks like he’s made of glitter and regret.

Story? What Story? 🌌

While Genshin spoon-feeds lore like a grandma force-feeding dumplings, Zenless Zone Zero’s narrative is currently as coherent as a conspiracy theorist’s whiteboard. The premise: fight interdimensional monsters called Ethereal. The deeper meaning? ¯\(ツ)/¯. Beta players joke that the plot is "assembled from fortune cookie messages." Yet, the lack of direction feels oddly fitting—like wandering through a city where every neon sign whispers cryptic poetry.

Final Thoughts: A Chaotic Omelette of Potential 🍳

Zenless Zone Zero isn’t Genshin 2.0—it’s the rebellious cousin who dyes their hair neon green and quotes Blade Runner at Thanksgiving. Its combat thrills like a theme park ride, its TV mode confounds like a math exam designed by a mad scientist, and its world oozes style thicker than robot-served ramen broth. But will it satisfy players craving Genshin’s epic storytelling? Or will it become the gaming equivalent of trying to catch smoke with a butterfly net?

Open-ended questions for the void:

  • Can a game thrive on vibes alone, like a concert where no one knows the lyrics?

  • Will Zenless Zone Zero’s CRT puzzles age as gracefully as Pong, or will they feel as outdated as dial-up internet?

  • If a robot serves ramen in a post-apocalyptic city, does it make a sound... or just play synthwave?