Steam Gains Critically Acclaimed Free Open-World RPG After 2 Year Wait

Two years ago, Zenless Zone Zero landed on PC and PlayStation 5.

There was doubt as to whether miHoYo could capture lightning in a bottle twice following the immense success of Genshin Impact, but Zenless Zone Zero proved any doubters wrong.

One year after its launch, this free open-world action RPG landed on Xbox and now, after a lengthy wait, it has natively landed on Steam, previously having only been obtainable on PC via its own launcher.

The game is set within a world devastated by events known as “hollows”.

These hollows essentially function as dimensional anomalies, opening gateways through which terrifying monsters called ethereals have made their way to this world.

Zenless Zone Zero takes players to a city by the name of New Eridu in the wake of this disaster; it’s the last surviving city.

New Eridu’s residents must make use of technology in order to overcome the hollows and ethereals in what devs call “humanity’s final bastion of civilisation”.

“In New Eridu, you'll step into the role of a Proxy — a professional who provides guidance to those who need to venture into the dangerous Hollows for various reasons,” the synopsis reads.

“You'll embark on adventures with unique characters, exploring Hollows together, battling powerful enemies, completing commissions, and uncovering the secrets hidden within the city.”

Hoyoverse

In combat, players will be able to launch both basic attacks and special attacks as they counter enemy strikes in addition to dodging and blocking.

You can even chain attacks together to land a deadly finisher.

Of course, each enemy you face will boast their own strengths and weaknesses so you can’t use the same approach in every combat encounter.

“Seizing the right opportunity and responding with precision is key to controlling the battle,” devs note.

Players Have Hundreds Of Hours Under Their Belts In Zenless Zone Zero

There is a story that’ll unfold against all of the action involving the various factions of New Eridu.

You’ll be able to take jobs from the many factions, running errands to gain favour with more and more NPCs.

As mentioned, Zenless Zone Zero has been around for a couple of years outside of Steam. In fact, it boasts a very respectable score of 77 on Metacritic, marking it as ‘Generally Favourable’.

Twinfinite awarded a perfect score of 10, writing, “Zenless Zone Zero is without doubt the new best gacha action RPG out there, beating Wuthering Waves, Genshin, Tower of Fantasy, and the like by a mile. Its immersive world, unique mechanics, engaging gameplay, and compelling story have set a new standard of what a good ARPG should look like and are bound to appeal to almost everyone”

Eurogamer scored the title an eight, adding, “There's a deceptive depth to Zenless Zone Zero, even with its smaller scale, thanks to this dual focus on pleasing both casual players and those looking for a deeper challenge, mirroring its dedication to both chilled exploration and fast-paced combat.”

There’s no review consensus just yet for the new Steam version but there aren’t expected to be any changes so players should have a blast.

Zenless Zone Zero is completely free-to-play but that does mean that it will include in-game optional transactions.

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