Genshin Impact devs unveil their next stylish action RPG, Zenless Zone Zero

MiHoYo have announced their new action RPG follow-up to Genshin Impact, Zenless Zone Zero, with registration for its closed beta beginning today. This one veers away from Genshin’s more traditional fantasy world towards post-apocalyptic urban science-fantasy, set in the effortlessly cool city of New Eridu. MiHoYo say this is “the last shelter for urban civilization due to the calamity”. So far, so mysterious.

Zenless Zone Zero’s player-characters are referred to as Proxies, and apparently live “dual identities, two opposing personas”. Hmm, personas eh? That sounds familiar. MiHoYo call the weird voids threatening civilization ‘Hollows’ and your team will explore those, taking on enemies in “changing labyrinths”. Battling in the game looks fluid and extremely bad-ass judging from the first trailer, which you watch below. Again, hmm. There’s even a big-eyed mascot and an old-fashioned telly.

Dubbed a ‘Tuning Test’, the closed beta sign-up has begun and there’s a full FAQ detailing how to register for it at the Zenless Zone Zero site. The specs for the game shouldn’t tax your machine. MiHoYo recommend an Intel i5 or above and at least a GTX970 with 8GB RAM and 10GB minimum free in your game hole. There’s no date yet for when the registration window will close.

Genshin Impact’s been something of a phenomenon since it launched just over a year and a half ago. Our Graham seemed surprised to find he enjoyed the game as much as he did, even rating it one of the best of 2020. “I’ve already had enough enjoyment from Genshin Impact to recommend it to you, even if I never have another second of fun with it,” he said. “I’d recommend it even if you don’t like anime, and even if you don’t like JRPGs – and I don’t, particularly.” I do, so I’ll be lending Zenless Zone Zero a few moments of my time.

Registration for Zenless Zone Zero’s closed beta is open now but MiHoYo have yet to confirm a concrete start date. More details on the newest game in the HoYoverse can be perused on Zenless Zone Zero’s official site.