Zenless Zone Zero's Producer Has A Refreshing Approach To Gacha Grind

The launch of looms large for gacha fans and invested players within the multiple HoYoverse offerings that dominate this space. As an «urban fantasy» game that focuses heavily on its presentation — that description came up fairly often while speaking to producer Zhenyu Li — it's taking a unique slant to the way its developer often presents its games, which feels pretty story- and character-first. While those elements are certainly present within based on its past closed betas, its city life and its environmental design are the standouts thus far.

Something that's not as obvious as the various streetwear, video game, and anime inspirations that litter the world of is what its approach will look like to the daily grind that either entices or plagues the gacha community. It's no exaggeration to say that dailies can make or break a game — and in our roundtable interview with Zhenyu Li during a media event, he gave a refreshing take on how the upcoming urban fantasy adventure has changed, and how it will approach such a vital element of its design:

«For daily grinding, we have a special design. Our game revolves around urban living, in contrast to for example, where players would need to do core combat [for dailies]. Our product is focused on urban living, so for example, you can have a coffee in the morning or do some urban-related activities, and you can complete daily grinding that way.»

Zenless Zone Zero is soon to be the latest member of the HoYoverse family of games, and it's also the most different. That's a good thing.

For those less familiar with the broader landscape of gacha games, Li's answer might not be all that interesting. After all, it's basically an indicator that if you need to, you can skip daily combat in favor of some urban lifestyle roleplay to receive the same rewards, and it's often difficult to explain just why that's so important to the people who play these games. Essentially, gacha gaming tends to necessitate daily logins to accumulate