Zenless Zone Zero - Review (Austin)

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Zenless Zone Zero is the latest from Mihoyo, the studio and publisher that re-wrote the gacha game rule book in ways that the rest of the industry is trying to re-create. We've never reviewed a Mihoyo game here in the channel, and after spending 40 hours with ZZZ Austin can confirm that Mihoyo have set an incredibly high bar when it comes to presentation, combat and content, and almost all of that is accessible without having to spend a dime. Still, that gacha stuff is always tugging at you, gently inviting you to spend on things that will aleviate the grind. ZZZ is a solid and worthwhile game, but that gacha business model carries all sorts of question marks about the future, so many that anyone considering jumping into ZZZ should do so with caution.
Video written, voiced and edited by Austin B.
#Review #ZenlessZoneZero #Mihoyo
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[@SkillUp]

Thanks to Squarespace for sponsoring the video. If you want to set up your own website (and get a discount while doing it), hit this link for more info: www.squarespace.com/skillup

[@cheater00]

imagine being a reviewer and thinking grinding for lootboxes or having a pity system is innovative. what an uninformed review. this is not professional. i expect better.

[@Kegonte1]

So was the channel sponsored to make this review or you only received full account for testing? There is no disclosure in the video or description but i think you should clarify that. (Which normally you guys do in such situations so i wonder why you did not this time)

[@ogLenas]

@@Kegonte1 "In my pre-release version of the game I had them all unlocked so I got to try them all out." @ 13:54 Try watching the video.

[@jonny9464]

Friend of the channel squarespace! Do they make you say this phrase? Because if not please don't treat companies as individuals with human interactions like friendship. It's a known malicious advertising tactic to prompt people to be more sympathetic and trusting of corporate entities.

[@Kegonte1]

@@ogLenas i referred exactly to this moment in video in my comment man. No need to be ass here, as it still does not answer the question - Do they got only an account or was it sponsored with talking points? We can i think agree this impacts legitimacy of the review in a significant way

[@mitchellharder7670]

I like how Austin says "we" as if Ralph is the venom symbiote inside his head

[@plplplplplpl7336]

We Are SkillUp

[@jollyredgiant203]

It's nice that he acknowledges his side kick

[@popcornfilms1]

lol

[@DaddyDabberino]

Is he not?

[@mostlysobergaming]

I feel that way with my girlfriend, only she is the one that decides everything

[@statixfear]

It's so refreshing getting a review from content creators that are normally outside of the gacha sphere... bcz lord knows the gacha sphere feels a little problematic due to tribalism. That vocal minority fandom that keeps dunking on one game or another just bcz their favorite game is "better"

[@VierzheTsuu]

I wonder which A "good game" and "benevolent" devs that give out rewards for their ineptitude to fix bugs i wonder? An update has passed and yet the problem persists Varying performance on different devices but ofc the devs are so "attentive" They'll surely fix it soon Because the game is "NOT" button mashy at all no no no And the bosses aren't bullet sponges Don't mind the timer stages those can be cleared with "skills" The combat is so "great" you need to spam animation cancelling so that the buff timer won't run out... For sure nobody knows what this game is /S

[@DogginsFroggins]

I'm kinda sad gatcha is bleeding into traditional gaming spaces, it feels like a plauge that is spreading.

[@fahikan]

​@@VierzheTsuu ah wuwastan

[@doommaker4000]

@@VierzheTsuu Haters everywhere I swear. I mean you brother. You're a hoyo knigh

[@TerkoizRHG]

@@VierzheTsuu Atleast you can jump and do mid air attack there

[@refinedcactus5688]

Arkane Austin got shut down but Skill Up Austin is prospering.

[@sooprfrek12]

Don't remind me.. I'm still sad about that

[@ultragamer4465]

@@sooprfrek12 WE FOUND HIM. THE REDFALL FAN

[@bananajoe8087]

The 1 Redfall fan

[@sooprfrek12]

@@bananajoe8087 fan of dishonored

[@whitecomet98]

Strange time in gaming, when other devs paywall dungeons and content behind seasonal passes only to later take away access to those dlc's to test if players will tolerate their bullshit. Then comes along the worst monetization model around, but the game has no paywalls, with free updates every 40 days, and with a balance that lets you play through endgame on the freebie normie-tier characters with ease. I'm guilty of playing both, destiny 2 and Genshin Impact, but the amount of dosh i've thrown at destiny is in the triple figures while i'm still f2p in genshin getting to experience all the content it has xd

[@TheBmann10]

Yea as someone who has played and liked both I gotta say anyone who thinks Destiny’s monetization is acceptable but Gatcha games are not is crazy to me. Both are not good but Destiny has to be the most cash grab thing I’ve ever played.

[@gopalarora9997]

Yea that's the thing, you never need to pay for hoyoverse game to absolutely love them and do everything in the game. In genshin I got dozens of characters I've never even used and I've never paid a cent. The experience I've had with the game so far easily deserves 60 bucks, and I wouldn't mind paying that at all. And I'm still not done with it because I wanna finish the story, and every new nation is like a completely different game.

[@karonuva]

I've never liked destiny's monetization ever since the lootbox crap at the tail end of D1, got back into D2 around Beyond Light and the fact paid expansions were left broken or even entirely inaccessible was completely unacceptable to me.

[@thecupofarts3789]

One of the best comments under this video!

[@BadgerOff32]

I used to love Destiny 1, but I finally quit Destiny 2 years ago when it went free-to-play and the monetization got out of hand. I've tried going back a couple of times since out of pure nostalgia, and just for me to be at par with where the game is right now, I'd need to spend well over £100 on DLCs, and I'm just not prepared to do it. Especially when it's the kind of game where you pretty much NEED other people to do the harder stuff like Nightfalls and raids, and all of my friends have long since quit too. I don't really want to spend loads of money to have to team up with elitist, judgmental randoms who will hate me for being under-levelled and out of the loop, just so I can get into a raid lol

[@CactusProductionGame]

Back in the day I played Genshin at launch and discovered it just because one friend told me about it. Did I like it? Maybe, but its gatcha component was too much to bear for me in the long term. I've invested 20 hours approximately, unlocked Diluc thanks to a lucky drop, and enjoyed playing with him; maybe that was the main reason I've stayed so much. I loved the art style and the music, but the combat and variety weren't just enough for me as a player. Skipping to the present I downloaded zzz out of curiosity with zero expectations but it just liked immediately with the top-notch animations, cinematography of combat, roguelite elements and light-earthed narrative. It was a shock for me personally to realize I was really enjoying a gatcha game. Wow. Surely the game as Austin said is not perfect, it has continuous transitions and low paced dialogue system but overall it all blends together in a well-crafted experience. Lastly, I think I'm the only one appreciating the grid movement system between combat sections. I think it's a really cool and unique way of presenting progression in an action gatcha game: I love roaming around in open worlds with lots of activities but when I played Genshin I got bored pretty quickly of navigating these blank spaces. Then zzz came with this new approach which makes the navigation of a menu genuinely fun even if it has a very clean presentation and no gorgeous sunsets over collapsed societies, and I'm a Level Designer! Finally, the flow of the combats are really something worth trying in the game even for a couple hours. Thanks for reaching the end and reading me, appreciated :)

[@vinniegret4841]

Glad you are having fun! Too much complaining everywhere nowadays, and most of it either asks one thing to be another. Or be the amalgamation of all of the mainstream things someone likes and didnt found here. Lying about things for more hate and outrage. Or just lack of attention span at all. Wich is just weird.

[@CactusProductionGame]

@@vinniegret4841 same for me. It's a gatcha with slightly different mechanics? Fine for me who don't play the genre so much, too bad for all the people who have the urge to make comparisons and can't enjoy little things anymore

[@ianwagstaff2371]

“A cool game built on a shitty business model.” Yeah, that sums up everything they make.

[@MikeBuckleyBBOYS2231]

Playing this super casually without engaging in the gacha aspect monetarily. Seems pretty good!

[@yapp2yapp2]

Wait till you hit level 30

[@MrArrow54]

@@yapp2yapp2 After 100 free pulls plus the events and ingame rewards if you still don't have a team you can do content with comfortably your just not doing it right.

[@BreakyOnline]

​@@MrArrow54 personally I think ZZZ could do with a little bit more tuning, as it is a bit hard to get a "team I can comfortably do content with" this early into launch

[@TheCloudhopper]

@@MrArrow54 Or really unlucky. But there is always the option to reroll

[@MrArrow54]

​@@BreakyOnline I would probably ask them to make the 5 star selector thing activate much sooner then 300 pulls so people can pick one that complements what they want to do. I got lucky and hit on grace which isn't who i wanted but she works well with anby so no complaints. But unless your really unlucky you should get one good attacker you can craft a team around. Between anby and ben you have stun covered tho i'm not a big ben fan. Nicole or Soukaku has you covered for support. The only real issue is corin and robot dude whos name i always forget as attacker. Unless your trying to fill a meta team you should be able to throw something together that's enjoyable if not optimal.

[@Space-lxy]

In my opinion the best way to get into this type of games is avoiding the fandom and content creators that will push you to spend money into the game because is really toxic

[@theofficialpollo]

Or avoid all of that by not playing a game plagued with predatory monetary systems.

[@vinniegret4841]

@@theofficialpollo I enjoy it. And i enjoyed the fk out of genshin in its peak before dendro and sumeru. And im about to enjoy natlan. I sponsored ZZZ by paying a 5 💵sub since 2020. And i plan on not spending at all on zzz, even the sub. Even tho its world and the lore teaser is way more appealing. Never interacted with anyone online narelly at all. No regrets, who cares. Just detract yourself from online discussion if you want wholely, subjectively enjoy something. Fucking tired of your doom and gloom.

[@theofficialpollo]

@@vinniegret4841 ?

[@chipsleftwing]

HEAVY agree, gacha game fan bases are terrifying

[@Metranomix]

@@theofficialpollo People play what they find fun, some games just aren't for you.

[@michaelmemory6938]

When the SkillUp channel is doing a gacha review, you KNOW it’s a dry month.

[@n91312]

It's not tho first descendant and once human are huge releases

[@queenmarsia]

i mean he coulda reviewed first descendant or Smt5 vengeance lol

[@rohit_boga]

Not all gachas are equal

[@jmako979]

why dismiss the game just because it's a gatcha?

[@supertoaster123]

Its a big release mihoyo is well known

[@darrylaz3570]

Coming from a gacha player circa 2013, its absolutely fair to say to proceed with caution with any gacha game. The reason that industry grow is one part economic demand, where players from generally developing Asian countries would rather play free games/unable to pay paid games on the go via portable means, and one part greed, because of course they would. It's like making a deal with devil, he'll give you access to everything but there's a cost from taking too many and lose control. Play smart, and the only thing you waste is time spend and storage. Maybe give the devs a couple bucks change if you like them and want to support them, but never go full whale. Once a free-to-player, try to stay that way.

[@MyNameIsNurf]

Fuck man. I have been playing this and enjoying the hell out of it. I GENUINELY wish Mihoyo would give us an MMO in this universe. It's literally BEGGING to be its own ARPG Looter Shooter/Battler. Imagine being able to make you own custom proxy and run around would your friends doing combos off each other and fighting bosses. This art style and combat + Destiny/Diablo like activities and gear would be a dream game.

[@nailinthefashion]

But that would take actual design and balancing

[@Kazimo7]

There are rumors that Mihoyo is working on 2 new games, a Animal Crossing-like gacha game, and a mmo.

[@leesasuki]

well most if not every MMO game that let you create your own hero and run around famous heroes from MCU or DCU is kinda... fail

[@1621lionheart]

Their philosophy (?) is everyone kind of wins, so single player only or some coop but not competitive. Competitive games are much harder to balance and people will exploit things.

[@nguyen.tien.phat1310]

That's not gonna happen amytime soon. Because in SP games, you don't need to compete with anyone so f2p will still enjoy the game. But if it's a MP with gacha element, f2p will not survive agaisnt whales. Not to mention the balance nightmare. I wish MHY won't do what you want for the sake of human sanity

[@thegreatbadabinski4290]

i’ve unironically loved playing through this one, despite the gacha mechanics, the core is solid and addictive, once you can come to terms with the bilious business model, there is genuine talent in hoyoverse’s teams

[@marcusclark1339]

which means so little in the long run

[@MarsOnGod]

I dont get the appeal. Just go play a regular action game?

[@yvindvego9404]

@@MarsOnGod not a lot of good anime action games

[@Justplanecrazy25]

If there's one thing hoyo has, it's heart. You can tell how much love was put into the story of these games. The animation and sheer art in zzz has been astounding. Props to the devs. Yeah the business model sucks at times, but you can get by f2p if you want. You have a decent chance of getting characters you want if your just willing to wait a bit.

[@LoliconSamalik]

@@MarsOnGod that's a premium and action games that require some fast moment to moment level of thought don't come out very often. I love DMC5 but I know it'll get stale after 500 hours of non-stop play.

[@tonkatuff]

Hoyo games really are "tragically free to play." They could be releasing legendary premium games but there's so much money to be made off of whales. Why make a finite amount of money when you could instead make infinite money?

[@FlowKom]

if this was a true and good character action games i'd pay 60€ in a heartbeat. the arttstyle, character design and animations are so incredibly good, its sad that all of this needs to rot in a dumbed down gacha game

[@SoundSaxon]

Great point. I've felt the same for a time now. How awesome a game like this would be without the GACHA rubbish

[@yvindvego9404]

its also because the main market is china, where not as many people have pc's or consoles. i also doubt the same amount of people would buy the 1.0 version of a gacha game for 60 dollars on mobile.

[@Drstrange3000]

"Tragic F2P" is a really good word for these games. All their games have extremely high moments with tons of polish, animation quality, Godly music, and some parts of the gameplay, but it is bogged down due to all the gacha systems with ruins the pacing and drags everything so thin. There were moments in HSR that rivals the Final Fantasy games for me in terms of production value and quality, but they are so rare and saved only for the hypest moments. You can go dozens of hours of mostly fetch quests and TONS of talking and busywork before you get to more exciting parts. It gets exhausting at a point,

[@Exccentrik]

Then the game it is wouldn't be possible, these games only work on the gacha model

[@MarcoMeatball]

I genuinely love this game

[@jasonwitte3642]

Eww

[@Lavi____]

@@jasonwitte3642 lol

[@user-lz5vh9bb5w]

Why? It's just gacha trash.

[@yapp2yapp2]

Just you wait till you hit level 30. No more free pulls. No more new characters for you. Genuinely regret the time i put into the game 0/10 stars

[@anonisnoone6125]

@@jasonwitte3642 y do people respond to comments in stupid ways like this? Tf do u mean ew?

[@lopez3486]

Austin more like Australian

[@ptrcrispy]

Austin more like Austin Powers

[@wtfpwnish]

Funnier than it deserves to be, you son of a bitch.

[@Eletilohlor]

Got him good

[@morbillionaire]

GOTTEM

[@BillNyeGuy]

Wow that’s the most dad joke I’ve ever seen.

[@spice2688]

It's refreshing to see someone talk about this game who is not otherwise in the gacha game community. There is a lot of blind hate being thrown this games way from a lot of gacha players right now, that I feel is very undeserved. ZZZ has a lot to love when it comes to style, combat, excellent music, and even some of the story moments. I'm glad to see these things acknowledged. Hearing someone actually talk about the gacha model and acknowledge it's bad, and *specifically why* it's bad is nice too. Too often in this space I hear people talking about how "This gacha game is so generous with rewards vs this gacha game!!" completely forgetting the fact they are all predatory and stingy with rewards at some level. As someone who plays Genshin, Star Rail, ZZZ, and other gacha games, I would say it's very fair to say "proceed with caution". There's no denying the insane level of quality you get from Hoyoverse games, but if you are someone who is susceptible to FOMO then it's probably not for you. However, if you have self control and recognize these games are designed to be more than easily completely cleared at the highest level F2P, then you are in for a great experience with consistent updates for free. Even though I have spent money on all these games, I find I have still spent less money on each one individually than something like Destiny 2 due to the free update model. As a whole, coming from a "gacha gamer" perspective I think this review could not have done a better job of hitting the nail on the head in regards to ZZZ, and even other Hoyo games by extension.

[@kip_c]

Is it blind hate if the problems are so front and center?

[@darrylaz3570]

@@kip_c If the problem is purely monetization, then I hate break it to ya, but you should have the same energy when Overwatch asks you to pay $20 for a skin. It's not justifiable criticism, its bias. Both business models are bad but somehow the lootbox method gets more flak while the other method can be just as vile and greedy and nobody bats an eye as much because you've been desensitized by it.

[@kip_c]

@@darrylaz3570 i do though?

[@darrylaz3570]

@@kip_c Unfortunately, most don't see that way. The Gacha monetization system was hated because BF2 put it on the map for most Western players, meanwhile Asian players already regulate the system as far back as 2010. It's no different than any other existing predatory monetization system yet one was hated more than the other because "it was newer (to western playerbase)."

[@spice2688]

@kip_c I meant blind hate from others in the gacha community, if you want to hate it because it's gacha that's fine. It's predatory in the same way any other f2p game is

[@savant4646]

There is no sentence that could describe the slight disappointment I felt being unable to jump nor air juggle

[@NneonNTJ]

Why?

[@tyyamnitz8408]

I hate when games do that. I felt the same way about helldivers not being able to jump

[@chipperdrewski]

My disappointment was not slight.

[@bonsaiboi]

It's a hilarious holdover from being mobile games. They have a much tighter input limit because you can only fit so many buttons on a touch screen and what would be a jump in Genshin is reserved for an attack. They'd need to drop mobile or further restrict combat options.

[@ignatoseg4664]

Wait, you can air juggle, tho you need to break their toughness first

[@BadgerOff32]

As someone who's played A LOT of Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail, I would highly recommend trying this. Hoyoverse games are really good. The one piece of advice I would give though is, learn to exercise patience. Character banners will go away after a few weeks, but they'll always get a rerun again later on, so you'll never truly miss out on getting a character you want as long as you're patient and save up for them. Don't rush to try and get every single character, just prioritize which ones you are most interested in and save up for them. In only a few days of playing you'll have more characters than you can use at once anyway, and Hoyo games can always be 'beaten' with just the starter characters, so there's no need or rush to get the latest 5-star/S-rank characters.

[@kirbot]

Sounds like a big commitment. I’m sure the gameplay is fun but having to wait 1-2 weeks just to use a character that I want just isn’t my cup of tea. I rather play something like elden ring where I can play the play style I want when I want.

[@BadgerOff32]

@@kirbot Not really. It's just being patient. Playing the game normally, but holding off from spending one specific currency if there is a character you like the look of later down the line. I mean, character banners last 3 weeks each, minimum. So you'd have to wait weeks or even months for a character you're interested in to even be released anyway. That's just standard for these sorts of Hoyo gatcha games. They don't give you access to everything on day one. These games are meant to be more of a long-term thing than something like Elden Ring. Hell, I've been playing Genshin for four years, now! It just keeps getting bigger and better.

[@3xchrisx3]

@@kirbot Same. I genuinely don't get how or why some people are ok with parts of a game superficially being withheld from them until they either save for long periods of time through grinding or logging in every single day for months or spending more and more actual money. Like do they not know sales exists for some really long games if all they care about is getting their moneys worth lol

[@goofygoober875]

I love your first paragraph, it reads like "As someone who has been a poker player for a long time, I definitely recommend blackjack". Yeah no wonder

[@epiccontrolzx2291]

Having played Genshin, the biggest issue with ZZZ is how little time you spend with the characters you pull for. After the story, you mostly only see them for very short bursts in the combat sections and that's it. I took this for granted in Genshin, but yeah, seems pretty fundamental for a *character gacha* game

[@chillax319]

That's why I hope they will add, later on, additional mini-hub areas for each faction. So you can actually interact with the characters or even switch to them for their hubs and such. That's my biggest complain at the moment because characters look and move greatly but in the heat of battle you can't enjoy them in peace.

[@MrArrow54]

Did u miss the whole video archive section? Each of the s rank characters have a movie you can select that gives you 3 character quests similar to the 1 you get for genshin s ranks. Voiced quests with decent length. I've only played the soldier 11 and nekomata ones but they have tapes for every character plus blank one that say they will be added later i assume for the banner characters.

[@jerm7741]

​@@MrArrow54 the game is about the combat not which waifu you drool over while moving the camera into suggested places

[@tsundude4320]

​@@MrArrow54can't idolize my characters if there's nothing I can idolize

[@hoangyamides1403]

they did btw, the date system (hangout) only show up in like lv30 or something

[@speedracer2please]

A really healthy take on gachas in general. There are some great times out there to be had. But for a select few people, just one can ruin your life. There really needs to be some legislation.

[@SwedishSword]

THANK YOU for defending the depth of the combat system. The onboarding phase of this game takes too long, but it's been really misrepresented as a fundamentally easy game when we are literally a week into its lifespan. The controls are accessible and the telegraphs are very clear, but there's no reason to believe this will be the status quo forever. There are already enemies who feint by triggering their parry telegraphs far earlier than the attack itself, or ones that don't have them at all for some of their moves and ask you to actually watch their animations. The controls and flow are made to be clear and accessible, but this is merely going to be a framework for better encounters in the future.

[@lordlubu3029]

Yea this was an incredibly fair review, really like Skillup.

[@electricant55]

the classic "it gets good after 30/60/100 hours"

[@VierzheTsuu]

Which is fine As most jrpg is like this Final fantasy is the same Kingdom hearts as well And others but i can't name em all​@@electricant55

[@trevordavis6830]

@@electricant55 In this case though its very true. Its not like the first 15 hours are plagued with bad mechanics that lack depth, its just that the game is so easy that it does nothing to incentivize or push the player into exploring those aspects of the combat system. The fundamentals are great and feel/look even better, the game's just too easy early on for those fundamentals to matter all that much.

[@themagictoaster2472]

@@SwedishSword it’s exactly as Austin described. Fun, fair and stylish. Easy to get into but with a lot of depth if you want to engage in it.

[@disorderedfm6502]

"Character Action Game after all, a genre not concerned with difficulty" Uh, what? Ninja Gaiden? DMC3? God Hand? This was the difficult genre before Souls came along.

[@OtakuUnderground92]

Sounds like a clown a drunk the FromSoft koolaid to me. Smh 🤦‍♂️ 🤡

[@justsomeguywithsunglasses8418]

FILL YOUR PANTS!!!

[@ARStudios2000]

Nice to see GodHand mentioned here!

[@vinniegret4841]

its like 4 out of hundreds. The style was always first (of combat). Hi-fi, DMCV, now ZZZ

[@nakadashi902]

remember guys play this game like you run marathon not sprint, just take your time, enjoy the game, you don't need shiny S rank unit to beat the story missions

[@nithin6969]

Gacha games are about the S rank characters coz the S rank characters are way more fun to play. You are missing the point altogether

[@gopalarora9997]

@@nithin6969 S ranks are easy to get if you're playing the game, hard to get if you're grinding or paying for them. Just play the game and stop worrying about what you got, because you can have fun and do everything with any build, and you'll make your S rank team in no time.

[@nithin6969]

@@gopalarora9997 i kw tht, i never said you can’t, I was just saying characters are the main focus of gacha games, not story 🗿

[@JeanneDGames]

@@nithin6969 One of the best characters in the game right now is an A-Rank you get at the very start of the game. The S-Rankers are neat, but right now most of them are just "here's more damage", and damage is not a concern pretty much anywhere but endgame right now. If you're complaining about endgame, you're already 40~60 hours deep, so the complaints about gacha are moot.

[@nithin6969]

@@JeanneDGames nah i disagree, the shark girl is the most fun character, and at the end of the day liking character playstyles is a preference

[@truedps8]

Really here is the thing with gacha games. If you have self control then most are fine to play. In most gacha games you can pretty easily do all the content in the game without spending a dime and you can obtain most characters that you want as long as you are a bit smart with how you spend your rolls. If you do not have strong self control then do not play these games. It is completely fine to admit that you can't stop yourself from spending money on these games, they are designed to get you to do that after all.

[@darrylaz3570]

There's a reason the free-to-play mantra still holds strong. Have self-control, and the only thing you'll waste once the game shuts down is time spend. Only spend when you want to support the devs, not supporting yourself in having that little inch of extra power.

[@Ashtarte3D]

I agree with the ability to experience them without spending money for the most part, but I think the difference with MiHoYo games is they offer you good gameplay to keep you going. Games like Nikke or FEH are amazingly shallow gameplay experiences and far more predatory. I'd liken it to Helldivers 2 versus Fortnite. Both have battle passes and cosmetics but one is clearly a better version of it than the other.

[@darrylaz3570]

@@Ashtarte3D Not just Mihoyo tbh, devs like Kuro Games, Yostar, or Manjuu also did good while offering decent experiences depending on what you're looking for. It's just a matter of finding that gem in the rough and see what clicks for you.

[@zztzgza]

Nobody that plays these types of gatcha/f2p games has self control. Even the people that claim to play these games for free keep coming back to them because of the gambling mechanics that give them the dopamine hits.

[@gunnarschlichting9886]

@@zztzgza ? We are talking about self-control in the form of not spending money here, so if you're f2p then obviously you have the self-control we are talking about.

[@omegaXjammur]

"Proceed with caution" is a fair statement. It's too bad this game isn't a full retail release. Otherwise I might have gave it a try. Edit: I'm not saying ZZZ isn't a fun game. I'm not saying that I've never enjoyed F2P games in the past. If you're someone who likes ZZZ, continue to play it. Hopefully it gets better as more updates roll out. What I will say is that as consumers, _you are allowed to change your preferences._ What works for someone else isn't always going to work for me. When looking into a F2P game, I put into consideration what that game offers when compared to retail games of the same genre. I'm more willing to spend $60 on a game where I have to earn my drops through combat and exploration, as well as unlocking the entire character roster through story progression. That train of thought doesn't work for everyone and that's okay. I believe Austin gave a very good and fair review, especially during a time where the trust in reviewers who work for big publication websites is at an all-time low. He detailed what he could accomplish without paying for in-game currency and what the current end-game content looks like. My biggest take-away is that ZZZ is off to a good start, but it isn't worth my time.

[@electricant55]

then just spend 60 bucks and no more, what's the problem

[@diamondhamster4320]

@@electricant55 Well, you the problem is that gamers are not the sharpest tools in the shed and have weird spectral quirks.

[@icravedeath.1200]

​@@electricant55the problem is it's gambling, once you get there you'll never stop.

[@Alteredfrenzy]

@@electricant55 These games prey on people who can't resist the temptation to spend more, even if they can't afford it. Glad you've found joy without losing your savings to it, but that won't be true for others.

[@MrArrow54]

It's worth a look. Its a fun game and its free to check out. You'd only fall victim to the monetization if you got hooked and even then it would probably cost you less then a retail priced game experience unless you totally whale out.

[@kanna2746]

Finally an actual reviewer reviewing the game bro the discourse around this game has been so borked

[@n91312]

@@kanna2746 gacha trash should not be reviewed "bro"

[@KingKrouch]

​@alargecorgi2199how different is Gacha really from trading cards? The difference is that there's no pity system for trading cards. You can buy entire deck packs for $60 and still miss cards that you're looking for. Most Gacha games live and die by the Gacha rates and the pity system.

[@LightCrib2]

@@n91312 ??? review does not always mean endorsement lol

[@josephyecla4746]

​@@n91312"YOUR NOT ALLOWED TO TALK ABOUT THINGS I HATE.....UHHHH BECAUSE I SAID SO OK?!?!?"

[@thepeoplesXD]

​@alargecorgi2199gacha games are slot machines, no matter what extra bits are attached. This coming from someone who loves hsr and zzz

[@judojon2216]

I am happy that you reviewed this. Seeing a review from outside the gacha community is refreshing; I feel like gacha content creators get a bit too caught up in the reaction of the community, and commenting on other people's opinions which leads to exhausting drama.

[@dumunna]

17:37 The buffs appear as a circle symbol under your health bar. You can notice it in some of the clips

[@sweetncleanabi998]

He’s talking about W engine effects or roguelike pickup effect. None of that stuff is displayed to the player effectively because it’s all stat based information.

[@williamthatsmyname]

​@@sweetncleanabi998 no, he is actually speaking about Chipotle

[@joaopedromorais4711]

Thank you for this review, I was curious about this game and your informed and competent opinion helps a lot

[@ark14700]

One thing that can be mentioned is that these hoyo gacha games get a lot of updates and added content, even to a point where it is overwhelming

[@SwobyJ]

Kept up on everything but top endgame stage/cycles in Star Rail until 2.1 (its now 2.3), now falling behind in a gacha again and missed a few event exclusive rewards or minor events entirely, shucks.

[@ark14700]

@@SwobyJ I'm still in Inazuma in Genshin

[@fantasythinkerfan]

Once the free pulls dry up, expect to have to complete daily, weekly, and monthly tasks for enough currency to pull 1 limited S-rank (typically the best characters) every 2 months or so. Most of the 100 free pulls Austin mentioned are for standard charactes, not the limited ones that are highlighted each patch. Being free to play in a gacha (especially a Hoyoverse game) is a commitment. If you log in casually, you'll rarely pull anyone.

[@RobABankWithABagel]

That's the point when I quit them lol I have my fun and then I quit when the fun becomes work.

[@MrArrow54]

That's true but if you wanna play with one of the 5-6 free characters you get plus whatever people you get with what pulls they give you its still a fun game. Beware of fomo tho for sure

[@javierinDeutschland4155]

but lets be real, the commitment in HSR is 5 min a day at most, except endgame content and events which you are supposed to enjoy anyway. ZZZ dailies seems even more streamlined than Honkai.

[@3xchrisx3]

@@javierinDeutschland4155 Somebody get this man to a clinic, he's showing signs of Hoyo addiction

[@MyNameIsSalo]

Then you quit. It's free to play, you can leave whenever and not feel like any money has been lost. Play until the grind gets too much

[@criccode2993]

This is a really good review. I really liked that you covered both aspects, the game itself and the gacha. Great work

[@iannordin5250]

To be honest, at what point do we have to approach games like ZZZ or Genshin or Wuthering Waves or any of the other big-money gacha games and concede that they simply offer better value and overall production than most AAA live service games?

[@hunterlurvey698]

It's unfortunately true. I've been playing honkai star rail since It came out, about a year and a half at this point? And I've probably spent 300+ dollars on it. Not a fact that I'm proud about mind you, but I will say I have had bigger regrets, spending less on full prince triple A games. I'll never spend on a dime on overwatch 2 or apex, I feel more comfortable spending it on a game where i enjoy the story, characters, and gameplay.

[@DiamondPugs]

We have to have a serious talk when Chinese gacha games are way more fun, way more polished, and overall better value than anything Ubisoft, Activision, or EA has made in past decade.

[@MrSilverDrag0n]

At no point. Endles chashgrab, story without an end, power creep and mountin of RNG. No tnx im good with old and indi game.

[@HungPhamVan-ir6dt]

As someone who has followed this channel since Warframe days, I never expected to see ZZZ review here 💀.

[@Ziggyvu]

July be looking kind of dead if they reviewing this game

[@dreamysun]

Why not?

[@Jabberwokee]

It’s a videogame - it’s popular - it’s a growing trend/style of monetization As a channel that prides itself on honest, forthright reviews, it’s more surprising they haven’t covered a Gatcha game up until now considering the BILLIONS they cumulatively make each year

[@Alex.Holland]

For those who want to know what they are getting in to, this game will likely give about 100 pulls per month for free (roughly 90 weapons, 10 a rank characters or weapons, and 1-2 s ranks) and the way the game is balanced, all content, especially story content, will be able to be done no matter how weak your account is, however they will release a constant stream of hard challenge activities that will favor the new current character. You don't need to do this challenge mode content, and if you do want to do it, you don't need the new characters or to have any s rank characters at all, or to have duplicates of them, but all that stuff helps get a 3 star ranking on even the most challenging fights. Even on these challenge mode activities, the rewards are typically front loaded so even weaker accounts get most of the rewards from this stuff. Its fun to be able to bash your head against the hard stuff occasionally, but the meat of the mihoyo games are the story modes, fun mini games, side activities, etc etc, all of which is 100% free to play, in fact the game is so expensive to buy in that at least for me it actively repulses me from wanting to spend a dime (its like 20 bucks for 10 pulls, which wont get you jack shit, min maxing an s rank character is like 1500 bucks for 1 character!) I never ever recommend star rail (or this game) to anyone ever, because of the monetization, like gambling it can ruin lives, but if you are not susceptible to that, and you like the vibe of one of these games, they offer an absolutely great game you can play for free that will get a constant stream of wildly creative fun content.

[@maxwelljohnson5388]

This is a perfect summary

[@karonuva]

Keep in mind too after you've max refined all your blues through dupes, or even from the get go, you have to kinda consider every 10 pulls as only being 1 useful thing on average since that's the guarantee for a purple.

[@TGPinoyPride]

100 pulls/month?? Where'd you get this info? Probably if you're paying $$$ but if you're f2p like totally f2p you'll probably amass 20-40 pulls a month and that's already generous that you complete end game content with max score. It looks like it's generous now cause it's the honeymoon period.

[@marcusclark1339]

don't fall for the gacha trap people if you aren't already addicted don't start, its never worth it

[@Alex.Holland]

@@TGPinoyPride No, I am assuming it will be like star rail, which gives a bit over 110 pulls per patch, which is 40 days. I have been playing star rail, f2p, since a few weeks after its release like 14 months ago, and I have pulled 20 s rank characters and 6 s rank weapons. Which apparently puts me in the bottom 10% for luck, mine is piss poor.

[@jonatanrobledo9812]

Gacha pull comes from the gacha machines. Where you would pay a few cents to a few bucks to pull a random item/toy. Its not from the casino pull. Still gambling tho. And in regards of the story, its honestly better than a lot of modern AAA sh*tshows and I really liked it fir what it is.

[@LoliconSamalik]

But in more modern gacha games, the so-called "gambling" part is reduced due to pity systems guaranteeing the character you want. So more realistically you come in with a set currency to spend and get the item you want on the dime or earlier.

[@mach3wgamer]

Gacha is short for "gotcha" or "got ya" When you pull for the character

[@suluhwidyotomo7942]

I still dream of the day Mihoyo/Hoyoverse releasing a full priced game. Which will never came obviously

[@kai-jf2vd]

tbf most full price game nowadays especially AAA comes with even more predatory monetization but I trust in capcom to give me good value for the 60$ I spend not sure about other publishers.

[@restinginn9906]

Great review. One of the only mostly positive ones haha. Agreed that the story and animations are pretty fun. Combat is easy but hopefully more challenging in the future. You should do Wuthering Waves next!

[@Mat0Gato]

My rule of thumb is if the free to play keeps me playing for 60 hours I'm okay spending 60$ on whatever is in the store front, but hey that's just me. You do you compa.

[@alexlyster3459]

Yeah I get that. I'll pay as much as I would have for a paid upfront version of the game.

[@max543]

This is honestly a great rule of thumb. This is my first Mihoyo game and i have been loving it, i have around 15h in and its great

[@TheOrangeHeadhunter]

You are still a part of the whale ecosystem, so even if you pay or not they are getting value from you.

[@kaizerlock8287]

Been playing FGO for almost 7 years (JP server) and never spent a single YEN on it. Game that not entirely tied MAJOR mechanic to their gameplay/ actual generous gacha system can keep you playing for while, like FGO and GFL (which you don't really notice the gacha system, because it's 100% cosmetic).

[@yapp2yapp2]

60 dollars gets you nothing in this game FYI save your money, mihoyo transactions are for the whales only

[@GachaGamerYouTube]

this game looks nice, i might try it

[@Mjolnir106Exit13]

I appreciate the review. Having played ZZZ for a little while I definitely recommend anyone who plays it to play it free to play. There will be FOMO there will be things that they do to try to bait you into spending money. But almost every character that shows up in Gacha will rerun and so long as you’re not trying to chase your tail and plan accordingly, these games are so much fun.

[@spartanB0292]

The jiggle physics are more... apparent than I expected, as someone who played Genshin..

[@electricant55]

definitely the sole positive surprise in this game

[@LloydDunamis]

I say it's quite modest already, especially that they've made it to 16+ rating, thankfully enough. It's been reportedly said that it's also already been toned down from the beta tests. I'm alright with this.

[@razrinex4407]

havent played honkai impact, have you?

[@itol2201]

​@@razrinex4407 Most people weren't, sadly. I have to refrain from letting my elitism slip when people don't mention it 😂

[@kokosan09]

yeah, even with a lower bust size, there's just way too movement. guess the setting doesn't feature bras.

[@atsuidesune]

Very fair review and I agree with most of these points. Personally playing it casually and it does feel very refreshing from what I've played of Star Rail or Genshin so far. Oddly, it reminded me of feelings when I play Soulslike, in that the structure of some of the features in game felt very similar to their past games and every times there's a new feature introduced I would instantly go "Oh this is this game's Traces, or Relics, etc" which lends it some kind of reassuring familiarity somewhat. It meant that I didn't need to wrap my head around how the upgrades and other features worked and I could just play the game as casually as I do the others.

[@TheBmann10]

Crazy how when someone actually does some research on the intricacies of the combat system and makes it to more than the first section of the campaign they get a positive impression of the game. Most negative opinions of the game I’m finding are from people who aren’t even past chapter 2. Like you can criticize the game for giving a bad first impression for sure but acting like it’s just button mashing or ignoring the fact you can skip the story and fast forward the tv parts just show you are either purposefully making the game worse for yourself or just have no clue what you are talking about.

[@boyo357]

If the initial impressions are bad impressions that is on the game though. Considering the pace of the game I was done with Chapter two like yesterday and I stated at launch casually. I don't mind it much but just an hour or two at best is what people take as their impressions of a game and if those aren't good it's perfectly fair to say they don't like it we don't need to bring back the "it gets good after 30 hours" kind of stuff cause that's unreasonable. The game should pace and show itself off better.

[@Drstrange3000]

The first part is so LOOOOONG and filled with constant interruptions and very limited autonomy. I think it should be these game's responsibility to better get people past the tutorial stages that are a lot more engaging without wasting hours upon hours upon HOURS of busy work. I never found these slow burn tutorials to be helpful at all. In fact, I think it makes things worse.

[@kisame886]

The classic it gets good after 30 hours. I would give that pass to an mmo, not action DMC-like game

[@qorpse]

"Fast forward the parts you don't like" is such a dumb excuse. It's the game's job to impress me within 30 minutes to an hour, not mine. If your excuse as to why people are dropping the game early is that your story/dialogue/certain sections are incredibly dull to get through, that's on you.

[@Ssecave]

Even if the gameplay is better with more mechanics 20-30 hours later, it's still bad. I don't need 20+ hours to finally have fun. The core gameplay loop is not great. You spend the majority of your time *watching* your characters do cool stuff. You don't play as them. I just finished the 1st big boss in the story (the one you launch a train at the face) and it's STILL button mashing like crazy. spam SPACE or LM, sometimes dodges. The gameplay is def the worst part of the game (aside from monetisation ofc).

[@Savage-Destiny]

The style hasn't been done by much other than Jet Set Radio, and Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, and so I've been loving the vibes. The music is so good. We'll see if I get bored by the grind at high level, but I've been enjoying it.

[@Drstrange3000]

Scarlet Nexus, Astral Chain, Neo: The World Ends With You, and Persona have this style.

[@LoliconSamalik]

Harajuku-kei is an entire visual genre, ya know

[@zeromailss]

Thank you for the more level headed review A lot of people are on the extreme side. Of course they are entitled to their own opinion but I don't think it is healthy to ignore both the good and the bad of a game as it lead to a very one dimensional conversation on a complex topic I know that Gacha game can be very toxic to some people but being able to play a game of this quality for free and have fun for a week or two then leave with no string attached is something that a lot of people could appreciate and take advantage of. I'm no longer a student and could afford to spend money for b2p game but even those are riddled with microtransaction and bullshit DLC, early access, game breaking bug and incomplete launch At this point I don't really care about the monetization type of a game and more concerned about my experience with the specific game instead

[@DStein22]

Mihoyo popularized this type of monetization model but it existed and had always been prevalent in the gacha community, even before Genshin.

[@chromiiayt3044]

Haven’t spent a single cent in ZZZ and I’m having a great time

[@truittwilson7803]

Great review Austin! Thanks for the responsible writing and the comprehensive review. As a ZZZ player, I 100% agree with everything you said here.

[@damiengrief]

I don't mind gacha games if the gameplay is good enough and you can still easily play f2p withing missing out on too much. ZZZ is pretty good in that regard and honestly, I'm loving the new setting. It's unique for these kinds of games from what I can tell.

[@donvoltonus8898]

The reason Mihoyo is better than most is that you can play the whole thing. There's rarely content that requires a certain character, and in ZZZ you just get a free trial instead of locking it until you pull the characters you need

[@duifr]

I hate how we are in an era of gaming where "You can still play the game without spending cash" is seen as good in a game

[@Exccentrik]

for a gacha game that is good

[@furbyonsteroids]

Huh? You always spend cash. Either upfront or in f2p titles (or many AAA titles additionally to the upfront cost) with mtx. There are very few genuine free games.

[@NneonNTJ]

By far the most based review of this game, good job Austin! Game is great, lets wait if the gacha makes it implode or not in the long run.

[@pendantblade6361]

Looks fun, but I am anti-gacha and will not be playing this game despite my love for Character Action game. No download for me.

[@s1mp_licity38]

If you're not able to spend actual thousands upon thousands, there is almost no value for your money. The only options you have are the battle pass and the $5 subscription. Buying straight currency is incredibly inefficient and requires you to be a true whale for it to be useful to your account at all. Don't spend any money outside of those two things if you aren't willing and able to spend thousands on direct pulls

[@LloydDunamis]

@@s1mp_licity38 Indeed. Somehow I don't get how alot of people I see opt for the instant, when they (assumedly) are going to play the game or atleast login daily. ...except for emergency purposes where, if you have the goal of getting someone limited that the $5 monthly sub wouldn't reach (which then drives FOMO), you'd have to spend enough for the needed rolls. Still, that's how they get people...

[@Player-re9mo]

I DID NOT expect you to make a review about Mihoyo games. I play some gacha, but only as a low spender. They are a fun experience as long as you don't become obsessed with unlocking every character. More and more western games include micro transactions and battle passes. So gacha games don't seem that much worse in comparison.

[@pcdeltalink036]

I gave it a shot this morning after watching this review. So far I love it. Thank you.

[@i037]

I've played plenty of $60-$70 that aren't anywhere near as polished or have as much content as ZZZ. I've found the gatcha game business model gives me much better bang for my buck. As long as you have the will power to not be a whale, then I'd say try it out.

[@shonenhikada9254]

Clearly paid Hoyo actor. Easy to spot.

[@Exccentrik]

@@shonenhikada9254 Clearly born without a brain. Easy to spot.

[@Nobreza0804]

Honestly, I wish people would take the "ew, gacha" goggles before playing certain games that end up having storytelling and soundtrack on par with console/pc games, hell, one of BG3's devs praised Arknights' Lone Trail event for its story and how it nailed the "Nasa-punk" aesthetic better than Starfield did.

[@Lavi____]

I find it sad how many people write off really good games just because they don't like the business model. At the end of the day, the developer has to make money somehow, and the more they make, the longer the game has dev support.

[@Nobreza0804]

@@Lavi____ Even if it was through a visual novel format, I think I spent more time with Avalon le Fae than some of the AAA releases last year. People downplay the genre due to its business model which IS shitty, but as time passes and more "AAA-looking" gachas show up, there'll be more people seeing them as actual games.

[@marcuskane1040]

Not really a good game to talk about story-telling bud

[@lynharth9947]

...and the BG3 dev proceeded to get flak for just stating that opinion. Such a shame...

[@DogginsFroggins]

Yeah no, Gatcha is automatically a no, and lets be real its an anime game, its probably got a garbage story, the standard in anime is so low that anime fans will tout anything that isn't horrible as "pretty good".

[@potatoeOnRooftop]

Absolutely love this game. I'm very cautious with the mtx. I bought the season pass for ten bucks after 15 hours of gameplay as nod to the devs. The gameplay is super fun and the anime vibe is just so good. It mixes persona with devil may cry for me and I'm utterly in love. This won't mean I will put in hundreds of dollars but I will play as long as this has it's claws in me.

[@kirbot]

Be careful though, it’s been proven that the hardest purchase for you to do psychologically is the first purchase. After that you mentally are more ok with spending money in a game.

[@potatoeOnRooftop]

@@kirbot thanks ❤️ I do know that it is dangerous but it's far from the only game I play. It's important for me to show appreciation though if the game is good and provides me with entertainment

[@goofygoober875]

​@@potatoeOnRooftopstopping lying to yourself buddy, you are hiding under "show appreciation to devs" to excuse your poor impulse control

[@potatoeOnRooftop]

@@goofygoober875 because I pay 10 bucks for 20 hours of fun? I don't think so mum

[@quietpandora4855]

​@@goofygoober875Stop projecting

[@yiraw]

There's one thing I'd like to say about an early comment made that Mihoyo games seem to have better monetization compared to other gacha titles. They're actually pretty bad on that front, locking key aspects of characters behind many dupes behind compared to many other titles. Where they stand out is presentation, monetization is not an area where they're great.

[@Entro9]

Value FOR that monetization also *sucks* Out side of the monthly passes, trying to directly pay for more pulls is a really, really bad rate.

[@n91312]

@@Entro9 their games also aren't even close to industry standards in terms of gameplay so giving them anything above 7/10 is straight up shilling

[@SerdeCosmo]

@@n91312 Hmm, I think Honkai as a turn based squad building game is really really high end if niche on the gameplay front. I haven't fallen in love with this one yet, but Honkai really has an addictive squad building system and several good places to test them out. Nothing more satisfying than a simulated universe run that goes to plan.

[@courtney6816]

I also feel like a lot of newcomers to Hoyo games have similar views of the monetization as this video posits, because the games definitely feel more generous in the early game/early patches. Once the grind really kicks in and the characters just keep coming, it becomes apparent how rough the monetization actually is for someone interested in getting a lot of the new characters, even just for one copy of them.

[@lordlubu3029]

I disagree, it depends what you mean by monetization. If we are talking about being able to play as a F2P player and getting through all the content Mihoyo is BY FAR the best in the industry. Mihoyo games are all pretty much built so that you DON'T NEED the bells and whistles to play the games, you can just use the free characters and free currency and you will be able to progress to and participate in endgame easily. The monetization model is moreso predatory on people who want to roll for premium units and gear because it's shiny and new. A lot of gacha games require you to roll for new characters to progress easily, Mihoyo does not

[@cakeguy]

There’s an option to turn off the damage numbers in the settings. Great for me since I feel like they’re too much

[@HH-mf8qz]

Damn, great video, Austin Especially the ending

[@Sumatakso]

Usually a gacha game are not really require you to pull a meta character (at least 3 hoyoverse gacha games). It's about the artifact grind (in a game with artifact, rune, etc) except Reverse:1999 afaik. Yes those S rank have more potential or easier to build but you can clear almost all content if you know what you're doing. UNLESS you're pick a competitive PvP gacha game and you can control your spending I recommended go try them and support them as you wish if you think they deserve it.

[@Road_to_Dawn]

I really appreciate this review! I mostly just play mobile gacha games while I’m at work to keep me occupied during downtime, but I’ve not been able to find anything that’s much more demanding than pressing a single button every few seconds with limited effect during mostly-automated battles. The best one I’ve found is Nikke, but that’s still just dragging your finger around the screen to aim in rail-shooter-esque combat. I’ve been playing it a few months now, haven’t spent a dime on it, been pretty generously rewarded, and generally enjoying it well enough, but I still wish the combat was more exciting and involved. ZZZ looks like what I’ve been looking for! As with Nikke, I’ll make a point to refrain from spending on it, but I appreciate that it looks like a relatively generous system that’ll let me do that and still be comfortably caught up. I just hope my phone can run it (and that it doesn’t drain the battery TOO badly…)

[@SwobyJ]

I have a late 2020 phone model that runs ZZZ mostly fine, and better than the previous two big Hoyo games. Besides some startup issues (takes too long, doing some process more often than it probably should), I'm finally enjoying being out on trips/breaks and playing a game. Star Rail is too auto based so I prefer it on a PC tab though I do play on mobile a bit, and Genshin is heavily manual but too taxing on this phone.

[@Road_to_Dawn]

@@SwobyJ Yeah, I’ve got an iPhone SE - the guy at the shop was really trying to upsell me to the 15, but I had just come off my old iPhone 8 and the SE was basically the same thing but newer, and that was what I really wanted. The guy was like “the 15 has a bigger screen, better camera, and much faster processor”, and I was like, “yeah, I really don’t need all that” I was never expecting to want to download something so graphically impressive, but turns out ZZZ actually works really well on this thing! The only real problem is that it drains the battery pretty hard, but TBH it’s not too much worse than Nikke does, and I never go anywhere without my portable charger anyway. Though yeah, it definitely does take a little long to start up too. I have to say though, while I’m not too far into the game yet, I’m loving it. It’s still early so I’m of course riding off of the early-adoption deals and new user bonuses, but it’s been pretty generous so far. I’ve already gotten 4 characters beyond the three you start with, and I’m pretty loaded with weapons and exp resources. Combat is pretty awesome, I actually really like the CRT-screen map thing, and the story is much easier for me to follow and get invested in than HSR lol. Also, holy shit I can’t believe how good the presentation is and that it still runs this well on my phone!

[@statesminds]

ZZZ is super fun, looks amazing and people saying the combat isnt good is silly. It starts button mashy but later you definitely have to be on top of things and its deeper than you think. But yes mobile gacha games will never be as deep as full price games. In Honkai Star Rail i never spend money and do great. Just about playing steadily and luck ofc

[@LloydDunamis]

Actually great & reasonably positive review of ZZZ for once. Thank you very much!

[@DrPlonk]

That overdesigned UI clutter makes my brain instantly turn off. I hate that shit.

[@ark14700]

A lot of the ui in zzz is actually well designed and has a 'Splatoon' esque style that's aesthetically nice to look at

[@vinniegret4841]

If you saw it once you saw them all. Its not that bad. Try mmos like BDO UI.

[@Drunkencrono]

I have to admit, having played a gacha or two in the past, as he described the combat and went over "switching between characters" and "using specific characters for specific encounters" I kind of bristled; This is exactly what every other gacha does with their archetypes and elemental systems so that while you can get through the game at first with a roster of whatever you like, eventually you're going to be dumping lots of time and resources into secondary or tertiary teams to tackle a wider variety of content. It's the kind of thing that would be a fun system in a game that wasn't a gacha - you can for example point at existing games like FFX where switching in characters to target enemy weaknesses is a core mechanic - but IN a gacha it's only there to facilitate the slow daily grind designed to strangle you for drops of dopamine and hopefully make you whip out the credit card. Or you know, just wait for the dailies to keep coming back so you can slowly build up the team over a few years...Keeping you invested in those characters as they start dangling new and improved ones in front of you.

[@craigwilliford2228]

Why is the bar *lowered* for a gacha game? Is the argument that that one can enjoy this as a good video game without spending money, even if the monetization model & game design is fundamentally egregious? Then I expect a similar standard applied to overwatch/halo/apex/diablo. This review is fine. But I do think it tries to have its cake and eat it too. Austin’s says I’m justified in never touching the gacha model. Then recommends it & insists I can ignore all the predatory incentives. Which is it? Last thing - y’all are great reviewers. But I do think it’s naive to not make the connection for how gambling design from games like this absolutely influence shareholders across the industry. So many of the worst parts of them have infiltrated triple a gaming & I think that why that should be stressed

[@nh-wq6sw]

What I like about ZZZ is the story, world, and characters are compelling enough to be happy with what you have and excited about what you get. Removing the open world aspect helped keep things interesting IMO.

[@CanadianMaveric]

Great review Austin. Glad to see you fully dive into this title even with your initial distaste for the gacha business model.

[@BasementMinions]

Beautifully stated review Austin. I remember being blown away by genshin impact when it first came out but then the monetization under pinning it made itself feel known and I felt gross playing it. From everything you've said this game looks to be very similar in that respect. I'll probably hop on and enjoy it for a good few hours and then jump off when it starts to ask for too much time or money. I just still feel uncomfortable knowing the game is praying on people to let users like me enjoy it for free.

[@Ssecave]

As much as I enjoy the vibe of the game and the quality of in-game cinematics, it's still a casino that is aimed at children/young ppl. Wich is a scumbag move. Don't forget about FOMO, wich there are plenty of here. Still it's nice to see it (more or less) adressed in the video. It's a cool looking game, with a good vibe and in-game cinematic are top notch, same for the voice acting in english (f*ck the cat girl tho, that voice reminded me of paimon). Fighting gameplay is there I guess ? Super shallow and mega repetitive. You watch your characters play the game instead of you 70% of the time, you really play 30% of the time. The "day to day" life (remind me of persona) is really fun, huge change from the generic "let's save the city/world/etc...".

[@fleducation001]

The stylish combat and awesome sound track got me in the door. But surprisingly, the sidequests and the lively game world that changes the more you play. As a F2P player on chapter 2, I think its pretty chill. A-rank characters are not inferior by any means. I realized they are pretty essential to team comp. But yeah, i think this is an arcade fighter disguised as a gacha game.

[@aaronko3480]

Don’t know if it’s possible but when you review a f2p game in the future, ask to play with a basic account, the same as any new player would. They gave you a maxed out account to hide the worst aspects of this game and the only way to have a truly know how bad it gets is to play as any new player would; from scratch.

[@Dok179]

They do it so that they can try out every character, the assumption is that they're not complete morons who can't figure out how progression and gacha work (barely changed from GI or HSR).

[@IinesySankka]

I love Hoyo and all their games so frikin' much, I hope they keep slaying. Had months and months worth of top tier entertainment for little to no money from these guys.

[@JzpHenry]

The truth is that people complain about console games prices, but dont take a minute to calculate the money needed to max out 1 character on a game like that.

[@rolrof1]

Yeah always baffled me. One one reddit page you see people screaming about overpriced 60$ game and on the other subreddit people easily justify spending 400$ to guarantee one character they want

[@JzpHenry]

@@rolrof1 exactly! Its just crazy insanely expensive, and nothing garanteed.

[@yukumoblood6292]

its free game and you can get that character free too, that's why ppl didn't care about it. Just like how necrit boycot overpriced ahri skin, failed complain about it but he still playing gacha games genshin/hsr after couples videos. Basically poker/blackjack in gambling is bad but you can play poker without gambling (money), who care ppl gamble lot of money, some its their hobby (similar to free corn,OF) there's nothing we can do about it.

[@384vh5mw]

I think Azur Lane has a pretty healthy monetisation structure as far as gacha games are concerned. Most of the monetisation is centred around cosmetic skins, training slots and dock expansion (the number of characters you can have in your collection). They're extremely generous with their gacha currency and pull rates (compared to many other poular gacha) meaning it's pretty easy to play f2p consistently and get the characters you want, as long as you put in an hour or so each day to farm the currency, and don't pull on standard banners.

[@sleepiestofall]

I'm so happy to see a fairly positive review. I think of the four major Hoyo gachas, this might personally be my favorite.

[@kirbot]

God I can’t imagine what it’s like to juggle 4 gacha games, all begging for you to spend money. Sounds like a nightmare for me, but you do you.

[@sleepiestofall]

@@kirbot Oh hell nah I'm not doing all four at once. I dropped Genshin and Star Rail a good while back. Barely touched Honkai I just meant that of the four, I'm enjoying ZZZ the most.

[@pogito3113]

I love this game. Giving me Dreamcast feels with jet set radio + marvel v capcom2 + shenmue vibes wrapped in a platinum games parry game

[@thesixth2330]

I Love Austin, What a great edition to the Channel! Thank Shill Up!!!

[@NathanGrawesh]

It's always great to see a review from the real mastermind responsible for the success of this guy's "shillup" channel.

[@Jmantheomega]

Lmaooooo

[@on10n64]

If you’ve played a hoyo game you know what you’re in for. I’m having a good time with it. Genuinely surprised by the negative sentiment online.

[@lordlubu3029]

From what I've seen its a vocal minority, which is expected since Mihoyo gets a lot of hate online. The game itself has already hit 50 million downloads and is #1 in like every app store so I'd say the launch was extremely successful

[@MrArrow54]

Losing on a 50/50 can lead to intense hatred. I'd imagine mihoyo has quite a few salty ex fans waiting for any chance to attack them online. There was also a weird shadow conflict between genshin fans and the new wuthering waves games. Some of that might have spilled into the zzz launch.

[@TheSkaOreo]

It's a couple of things: I think a lot of the hate is largely from people who are anti-Gacha in general. I think some of it is from people who expected the open world nature of both Genshin and Star Rail. The problem is is that their clearly needed to be compromises to get this game running on mobile, especially if you're playing on an Iphone 13 (which I am). The size of this thing would have ballooned if they tried incorporating an open world component.

[@AssAssinAtorYT]

Idk i liked genshin and starrail. This game just doesnt do it for me. While flashy, The combat is very basic (spam 2 buttons and the game basically plays itself). You can get hit many times and barely take dmg. There is no risk. The TV segments bore me and really put me off. Story is also watever. Characters are cool, I like the aesthetic of the game.

[@BreakyOnline]

​@@AssAssinAtorYT I said this when the game was first announced, and I'll say it again: ZZZ is more along the lines of HI3rd in terms of concepts than it is to Genshin or HSR

[@Zlyde007]

13:50 wrong, 1 dps is enough because the DPS requires to be on-field, and you can only control 1 on-field character at a time. Stunners to get the enemy in prime position for beatdowns, Supports for buffs to help the DPS hit harder, or Off-field damage like Lucy.

[@Shahorable]

This made me want a SkillUp Warframe return for 2024

[@analogicparadox]

Considering their recent glow-up with the new heirloom program, it would be good to show people what monetization should be. Gatcha shouldn't even have a platform.

[@darcksector123321]

Absolute blast, every review is on POINT Personally, loving the aesthetics of ZZZ, it is enough for me to keep playing on my off time between SF6 matches haha

[@puellabella3580]

I think its funny how everyone in the 2010s acted like gacha was gonna kill the gaming industry but instead they just kept getting better over time and AAA games killed themselves.

[@dzed5579]

My favorite Mihoyo game to date. The polish is so amazing and I love the combat. Simple, but more challening than Genshin and way more engaging than Star Rail. The music, environments, animations, characters, and world is extremely well thought out and interesting. And there are positives taken from Star Rail and Genshin with much more end game content.

[@senpafl4405]

I'm roughly as far into the game as Austin is and aside from sharing many of his sentiments, I have to say, I have NEVER been more disappointed in my life that a video game is a live service. What Mihoyo has created here is a top solid foundation for a great single player video game and they had to go and turn what could have been a fantastic 8-9/10 game into a gacha game. Smh...

[@Alex.Holland]

I used to feel the same way, but I am a year in to star rail, and the constant stream of really high quality content really justifies the live service aspect to me.

[@RandomPinoyGamer]

its the closest thing to a realtime spectacle fighter persona game we'll ever have and the quality is top notch in every respect. everything except the monetization. but yeah. just enjoy what youll have for the time being just dont spend anything on the store! even if fomo is a real thing lol.

[@SwedishSword]

The amount of money hoyoverse rakes in with their business model is unfortunately what also leads to their extremely consistent update schedule. There is no other developer in the world that can keep up with their 6 week update cadence across multiple games, and at the same bar of quality and polish. These games do not have glaring bugs and have content drops that generally are well-timed for people's work schedules. There's definitely some tradeoffs and ethical discussions to be had about the gacha model, but I truly can't name another company that maintains a live-service this well with art and gameplay production to the bar that they have.

[@1621lionheart]

Gacha game is much more profitable, it is what it is. If i were to be their employee i would also like to make more money. They also have great animation/artist/music studio that can sustain the development of their games.

[@electricant55]

where do you think they get the money to develop games of this scope and polish?

[@XxWolfxWaRioRxX]

Genshin had good lore and world exploration but toddler level combat and they decided to make another causal combat game but this time without the World 😂 The only thing keeping this game alive are Hoyo fanboys and the people who look at the characters on certain sites, if you want a decent combat gacha game just play Wuthering waves instead

[@Venoseth]

18:24 - this is what actually prevents me from playing these games. The difficulty seems "not too bad", but that's not the case. There isn't any real difficulty (you can say it's accessible, if you prefer) until the very end-game, where the difficulty ramps to the point that you need to acquire additional copies of characters, very rare characters that break the game in certain ways, or worse...extra copies of very rare characters. The game isn't truly built to challenge you, it's built to get you hooked on a loop until you make it to the endgame and are invested enough to pull the slot machine. I played Genshin Impact for 200~ hours when it came out and the "endgame experience" was a disappointing grind-fest that was almost entirely carried by the inertia of sinking time into the cotton-candy (no real challenge/substance) of the early game.

[@roarsack503]

I think people often exaggerate the predatory aspect of Mihoyo games. Like here you said you need to obtain multiple copies of a character to "ascend" and max them out. First off, "ascending" is the wrong term here. Obtaining multiple copies is actually referred to as "cinema" (and constellations in Genshin), while "ascending" is when you increase your characters level cap, which is done with freely obtainable materials. Now, while it's true that obtaining multiple copies of a character is how you unlock their maximum potential, it's by no means meant to be an integral part of the level up process. It's mainly meant to work as compensation for receiving a character you already have. Sure, it also works as whale bait for those who are perfectionists, but not having multiple copies of a character in no way means that the character is useless until you do. Usually maxing out the copies just makes your character insanely overpowered, which is never required to clear the challenges of the game. To be clear, I've never once felt like I'm missing out on something by not having multiple copies of a character.

[@StarComrade26]

Realize that this is still early days where the power creep isn't as evident. Every single gacha under the sun is always susceptible to endless power creep to the point where whaling is almost a necessity just to have certain characters be relevant, lest you be stuck in an earlier part of the game. People that don't realize this and bank on gachas not having insane power creep are incredibly naive.

[@f2pkeqing]

As someone who has followed this channel since Warframe days, I never expected to see ZZZ review here 💀

[@n91312]

For a serious "journalist" it's ridiculous to promote these trash games but I guess KZbinrs have no integrity anyway

[@Ahboon03]

@@n91312 To be fair, these types of games rake in a lot more revenue than the typical AAA games. That much money comes from a huge playerbase, hence views.

[@kevinwelchhhh]

@@n91312a) I don’t think Ralph or Austin claim to be “journalists,” let alone serious journalists. b) as Austin said within the first 90 seconds of this video, “[these] games are too big to ignore.” In that regard, if they did claim themselves to be serious journalists, they’d actually have somewhat of a duty to cover a game like this.

[@maineman5757]

I've been here since Nier Automata

[@grados3060]

@@n91312 why are you angry about game reviewer channel reviewing games

[@dreamingacacia]

ZZZ need a lot more characters in order to make every possible builds. Especially the tier A characters which you'll get every 10 rolls. These characters are rather simple, but they provided much needed auxiliary in teams in order to give your main damage dealer the best possible dps.

[@neighborofthedevil]

Really appreciate this review. I've been aware of gacha games for a while but never played one as I was never sure of whether the actual game would be any good. I think this was a very well considered review balancing the game itself against the business model that underpins it. At least now I can consider playing it with my eyes open as to what to expect.

[@Eardil]

I played Genshin Impact base game when it first came out. I didn't spend a dime but I kinda felt like I should. I kept hearing a lot of people dismissing it because "BOTW ripoff", but honestly it felt like quality. They didn't do much NEW stuff, but the systems worked beautifully (like the elemental interactions not only between different spells but also the environment). The story was well written, music was good, even dubbed voice acting was nice. Battles felt well planned (not just throwing enemies at you), boss battles felt interesting, and exploration felt rewarding. I got a good 15-20 hours of good fun for free and it felt more complete than other $60 games. I get that the monetization is predatory, but there's also something about being honest with it. Just straight out releasing a gatcha game for free instead of selling a half-assed game with a season pass for full price.

[@tastykimchiOFDOOM]

22:07 was the most cringe thing I've ever seen especially in a review format video and speaking as if you were experienced with the game and the monetization model. I can't believe you converted your premium currency into 14 standard pulls as if it was the most normal thing to do.

[@Tyler7P7]

Explain ?

[@tastykimchiOFDOOM]

@@Tyler7P7 There's is no good reason why you should ever convert currency into standard pulls as that banner is always fixed and everything you can obtain there can also be found in limited banners. It is a noob trap and the only time you'll see it happen is early in a game's lifespan from whales (happened with Genshin and HSR).

[@Tyler7P7]

@@tastykimchiOFDOOM thanks

[@Luxius1509]

great review as always, I played Honkai Impact 3 a few years ago, I'm still playing Genshin Impact occasionally. I confidently saying that: you can play Mihoyo's games completely FREE, even the end game stuff (Honkai is more rough), yes there're urges, there are great benefits if you pay, but if you are just a causal gamer, hop in for maybe 30 ~ 1 hours a day then move on with other games, it's fine. About the fomo, to miss some S rank characters, don't worry, they will come back in future's rotations, you can save the guarantee system for the character you like.