Zenless zone zero gameplay: why are there sentient dumplings in my post-apocalyptic hackathon? 🕹️🍥💥 (spoiler: it’s glorious)

Zenless Zone Zero Gameplay: A Deep Dive into Its Most Glaring Flaws and Shortcomings

When “Zen” Meets “Why Is My Character Stuck in a Wall?”

Let’s start with the elephant in the post-apocalyptic cyber-dojo: the combat system thinks “fluidity” is a type of herbal tea. Sure, pulling off flashy combos *looks* cool—until your character decides to interpret your button mashing as a suggestion to hug a lamppost mid-air. The dodge mechanic? More like a *“guess which frame the game will acknowledge your existence”* mini-game. And don’t get us started on the enemies who clearly missed the memo that this is a *dystopian action RPG*, not a synchronized swimming audition.

The Camera: A Free-Spirited Wanderer (With a Vengeance)

The camera isn’t just bad—it’s actively malicious. Imagine a caffeinated squirrel holding a GoPro, and you’re halfway to understanding the chaos. During boss fights, it’ll either:

Zoom in on your character’s left nostril
Pan away to admire a dumpster across the map
Vibrate like it’s trying to escape the game itself

By the time it settles, you’ll have been KO’d by a trash mob named “Steve” who sells insurance in his spare time.

Progression: Grind, Cry, Repeat

The upgrade system is what happens when you let a philosophy major design an Excel spreadsheet. Need to level up? Farm 17,000 “Cyber-Tofu” drops from enemies who spawn once every lunar eclipse. Want to unlock a skill? Complete a quest chain that involves:

Collecting 10 identical cats (they’re clones, probably)
Defeating a boss by throwing rubber ducks at it
Meditating until the game remembers you exist

It’s less “progression” and more “existential crisis with a side of confetti.”

Dialogue Choices: Illusion of Free Will (Now With More Mime)

The dialogue system boasts “meaningful choices,” but let’s be real—your options are:

Nod stoically
Nod sarcastically
Nod while secretly questioning your life decisions

Every conversation feels like you’re trapped in a avant-garde mime performance where the only escape is accepting that “zen” is code for “we ran out of voice acting budget.”

Why Zenless Zone Zero’s Gameplay Loop Feels Stale: Repetitive Combat and Lack of Innovation Exposed

Combat: Where “Mash Button” is the Only Skill Tree

Let’s talk about Zenless Zone Zero’s combat, which somehow makes smacking interdimensional raccoons with a neon bat feel like folding laundry. Sure, the flashy animations dazzle at first—until you realize every encounter boils down to:

Button-mash until enemy health bar evaporates
Repeat for 10,000 hours (or until your thumb stages a mutiny)
Pretend the “combo system” isn’t just three moves in a trench coat

It’s like the devs watched a hamster wheel and thought, “Yes. This is gameplay.”

Innovation? Never Heard of Her

While other games are out here inventing rogue-lite baking simulators or letting players romance sentient toasters, ZZZ plays it safer than a VPN at a WiFi-enabled library. The “innovations” include:

A gacha system that’s 90% existential dread, 10% dopamine
Level designs copy-pasted with the enthusiasm of a kid tracing their homework
Enemy variety that’s just “Big Guy,” “Bigger Guy,” and “Guy Who Glows”

It’s less “bold new vision” and more “leftovers from 2018 reheated in a fancy microw—er, ‘quantum oven.’”

The Loop: Groundhog Day, But With More Rabbits

The gameplay loop hits a rhythm so predictable, you’ll start wondering if your character’s Vitality meter is just a metaphor for your will to live. Daily missions? More like:

Help Sad NPC #42 find their missing socks (again)
Farm resources in a dungeon that’s 95% gray corridors (now with 2% more gray!)
Battle a boss who’s just chewing gum you fought earlier, but with a hat

At this rate, even the NPCs are side-eyeing you like, “*sigh* Back so soon? We’re out of socks.”