I didn't have super concrete expectations when I got access to the latest beta for Zenless Zone Zero, the next game from Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail developer Hoyoverse. But as someone who plays Genshin every day and really enjoyed Star Rail for several months, I had high hopes. One thing I did expect, I think quite reasonably, was for this action roguelike to be about action. That is not the case. I don't know what this game is primarily about but most of it isn't very fun, even if it is astonishingly well-animated. Without enormous changes that don't seem very likely, Zenless Zone Zero is unquestionably dead on arrival for me.
It makes a good first impression, I'll give it that. I speak no hyperbole when I say this game looks like a Pixar film at times, and I'm talking all-cylinders Pixar. The way some characters move and emote reminds me specifically of The Incredibles. There's a wonderfully exaggerated elasticity to movements that gives even simple gestures a sense of energy and style rarely seen in games, or even animation. Elsewhere, the lavishly decorated hub space reminds me of the almost tactile joys of Splatoon's cities. But slick character designs – that are noticeably more mature compared to previous Hoyo games – and sterling animations don't do much for gameplay, and that's where ZZZ drops like a stone in a lake.
