Is Zenless Zone Zero Worth Playing in 2026?

If you're a fan of HoYoverse games, you've probably seen Zenless Zone Zero pop up in your social feeds from time to time. Does their newest action RPG really live up to the hype?

Despite the fact that Zenless Zone Zero is HoYoverse's latest gacha game, it's already been more than 2 years since its release in July 2024. The game has undergone some massive changes since launch, and if you haven't gotten the chance to play it yet, you might be wondering if Zenless Zone Zero is worth playing in 2026.

Let's take a look at and judge ZZZ in its current state of gameplay, story, visuals. and audio. Though, if a category was particularly much better or worse in a past update, I might also mention it to get a good comparison.

Zenless Zone Zero's Gameplay (Combat, Gacha, and Side Content)

Gameplay and content-wise, Zenless is in a great state right now. I don't know if I'd say it's currently at its best state since launch, but it's pretty close to peak condition at the moment. Here are the pros and cons I have for each aspect of ZZZ's gameplay content.

Combat

Pros:

• Zenless's combat system feels incredibly smooth, flashy, and satisfying. Defensive Assists, EX Special Attacks, and Ultimates all look fantastic, and it's exhilarating when you pull off the right string of attacks you're aiming for.
• New combat mechanics are being introduced almost every update. Whether it's a new element or role for Agents, a new type of interaction for new enemy attacks, or a new combat event featuring unique modifiers, ZZZ's combat is constantly being polished to keep things fresh and balanced.
• Older and weaker Agents get rebalanced for modern enemies and game modes. This is something they've only recently started doing, but they've been doing it pretty regularly. So Agents that were once power-crept, like Jane Doe, Koleda, and Alexandrina, are viable for high-level content again.
• Zenless Zone Zero has a low skill floor and high skill ceiling. Combat in some game modes, like the story and certain events, is very easy and fun to get into. And endgame challenges like Deadly Assault and Operation Bagel offer a decent amount of challenge for players who like to optimize character and team builds.

Cons:

• Power creep is still very much a thing despite their efforts to rebalance Agents. Maybe it's not as bad as other gacha games, but you can definitely still feel the weight of using older teams in endgame content.
• Zenless Zone Zero isn't great at introducing how new character combat mechanics work. The game throws so many new terms every time a new Agent is introduced that it's practically impossible to remember them all.
  
  There has to be a way to simplify the character combat tutorials to make it easier to understand without having to look up guides online.

Gacha

Pros:

• Zenless Zone Zero is known to be more generous with its premium currency (Polychromes) than other gacha games. As long as you accomplish your daily and weekly tasks and participate in limited-time events, you can gather enough Polychromes for your favorite Agents and their W-Engines... unless their banners are next to each other, that is.

Cons:

• The gacha system for Disc Drives (the equivalent to Artifacts in Genshin Impact) is infamously bad and is one of the biggest changes players have been asking for recently. Getting the right stats for your Discs is incredibly time- and resource-consuming, and there's currently no way to reroll stats.
• Zenless, as of right now, seems to have abandoned A-Rank Agents (the equivalent to 4-star characters in other gacha games). The last A-Rank Agent is Komano Manato, who was released in October 2025, and there are currently no known plans for any future A-Ranks.

Side Content (Non-Combat Events, Overworld Exploration, & Minigames)

Pros:

• There's a lot, and I mean A LOT of side content. Even though ZZZ isn't an open-world game like Genshin or Wuthering Waves, it makes up for it by being jam-packed with content. There's new stuff coming and going all the time with every update, and that's not even counting the standard daily and weekly tasks.
• Roscaelifer was introduced just a few months ago with Chapter 3, and it's a beautiful place to explore. It has tons of little nooks and crannies where you can find interesting stuff, so if exploration's your thing, now is the best time to hop on ZZZ.

Cons:

• Some of the events are too simple and boring. If you've seen the complaints for the new Wolverine game about how it babies the player too much, that's how some ZZZ events are.
  
  I get that the point of the events is to just be another way to get more Polychromes, but I'd honestly prefer it if they just gave it to you instead of having you play a minigame that feels like it's made for toddlers.
  
  Note that this is just for some events. Other events are surprisingly fun, deep, and/or challenging.
  
• Throughout its 2-year life, there are a lot of features that have been forgotten, sidelined, or are still in a state that could use improvement.
  
  One big example of this is Agent Stories, which are side missions that focus on one particular Agent, where you can get more information on their past and what they're like as a person. They're really clever ways of getting to know Agents more without forcing their backstories into the main story.
  
  The last Agent Story released is Lucia's "Tales of the Dreamless", which came out in update 2.3, in October 2025. An entire year without Agent Stories. And some characters could definitely use one. Agents like Nangong Yu and Promeia have incredibly intriguing backstories that are barely explored in the main story and could really benefit from an Agent Story.

Is Zenless Zone Zero's Story Any Good?

If you aren't playing for the gameplay, then you're probably playing for the story, and Zenless Zone Zero's story and writing are... pretty good, actually.

If you're completely unfamiliar with the game, here's a quick summary of its plot:

Zenless Zone Zero takes place in a post-apocalyptic world that has been ravaged by mysterious phenomena called Hollows that create monstrous creatures known as Ethereals. You play as either Wise or Belle, one of two "Proxies" whose job is to guide people through the Hollows as you aim to learn the truth behind the Hollows.

So, how's the story going so far? Well, as I said, it's pretty good.

In fact, some people would argue that the current state of the story in Chapter 3 is the best it's ever been. The new story events are exploring the lore of the first generation Void Hunters and Belle and Wise's pasts, which is all super interesting and are things that fans have been wondering about since launch.

It legitimately feels like the story is building up to something huge, which is a huge step up from a lot of the Chapter 2 storylines which at times felt slow and aimless.

Graphics, Animation, and Design - Flashy, Badass, and Mouthwateringly Smooth

Zenless Zone Zero's visual quality is where it objectively shines above all the other miHoYo games. It's not just good by HoYoverse and gacha game standards; it's one of the most visually appealing games out right now, full stop.

The animations are incredibly smooth, the character designs are gorgeous, and the overall aesthetic of the game feels unique among all the other popular gacha games.

The only time people ever had any big issues with the character design was during the Chapter 2 updates, where it seemed like every Agent was wearing the same outfit recolored, even though they weren't from the same faction.

Other than that, it's all been minor complaints like Miyabi's eyes being too far apart and Claret's hair highlights being too messy, and those complaints were quickly acknowledged and fixed, which is a good sign for things to come.

Audio Quality and Presentation - Oops! All Bangers

Zenless Zone Zero's audio quality and presentation are probably the aspect that's been consistently great since launch.

The OSTs are all bangers, the combat effects are crunchy and satisfying, and the voice acting is top-notch.

The only time I can think of when the audio quality was subpar was during Chapter 2, when some updates came without English voice acting for certain characters. So you'd play the story, and some characters were just completely silent for a few updates.

That issue's been fixed now though. So yeah, two thumbs up for ZZZ's audio quality and presentation.

Conclusion: Is Zenless Zone Zero Worth Getting Into Now?

Zenless is absolutely in great condition right now. It's not perfect, it's definitely still got some flaws that need ironing out, but all in all, it'sstill a great game.

However, whether or not you should start playing still depends on other factors, like what exactly you're looking for in a game.

But if all you're looking for is a fun action RPG gacha with amazing graphics, good writing, and tons of side content, then Zenless Zone Zero is definitely still worth playing in 2026.

Check Out HoYo Toys' Zenless Zone Zero Merch

If you decided to take the plunge and ended up loving Zenless Zone Zero, why not check back with us for some merch? HoYo Toys offers the best and latest official Zenless Zone Zero merch, as well as merch from other popular miHoYo games like Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and Honkai Impact 3rd.