Zenless Zone Zero Version 1.3 First Impressions

ZZZ Version 1.3 is finally out, giving us the chance to explore the special episode the game has to offer, new events, a new permanent game mode, a new character to play as, a new UI to get used to, and much more. The version has been out for more than a day now, and I’ve been taking my time going through what new has been added while also making sure to note down my impressions of the update. Well, here they are!

Is the Story Good?

The new and second Special Episode [Virtual Revenge] was added in Version 1.3. The story featured a more in-depth look at the Section 6 characters, with the main focus being on Yanagi. Which was to be expected, given that she is also the character currently present on the rate-up banner. So, how was it? Well, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great either. It took me about an hour and a half to complete the whole thing, and as a person who’s gradually gotten tired of Genshin and Star Rail’s way of making their mandatory story content 5 hours long, I find that having an hour or two of story is just right for me. The story showed more info about all of the characters in Section 6, finally giving them more screen time to show off their unique traits. 

Apart from that, there wasn’t anything too special. It didn’t further the general plot in any way, but that was expected given that it’s a Special Episode rather than a full-blown chapter, so I cannot fault it at that. It was great that we got to experience playing as Yanagi, as it allows players to get a good grasp of the character before deciding if they want to pull for her or not. That being said, there was one part in the story that has been a pain for the whole community. It concerns a nasty bug on PC that freezes your game about 50% into the story, making it completely unplayable. The only workaround this is installing the game on either a mobile device or PS5, as those platforms are not affected by the gamebreaking bug. This is something that doesn’t usually happen in miHoYo’s games, so it was interesting to encounter it. If you don’t want to encounter that bug, I’d suggest waiting for a few days until it gets patched or installing the game on another device just so that you can get through the bugged part. After that, you can continue playing through the story on your PC. Now then, let’s move on!

How is Yanagi?

Honestly, I have to say that I’ve fallen in love with Yanagi’s playstyle. It’s fast, it’s snappy, and she’s strong. ZZZ has been putting an emphasis on Anomaly characters for quite some time now, and Yanagi is no different. She’s completely replaced my Anton, and her unique playstyles make me gravitate more towards using her on the field as opposed to any other Agent. I do realize that she’ll be powercrept in less than a few months, but I’m having fun with her as of now and plan on continuing for the foreseeable future.

How Is the New Permanent Game Mode?

The Endless Tower is honestly a ton of fun. This is a kind of mode that has been missing in Genshin and Star Rail, and it’s absolutely amazing to find it in Zenless Zone Zero, as the game feels like it was made specifically for a mode such as this. It brings memories of battling the towers in Mortal Kombat and gives me the same sense of urgency and difficulty that I experienced back when I was a child. The rewards seem a bit underwhelming, with a total of 600 Polychromes for the whole thing, but it is still a new way to obtain more rewards, so it’s welcome. Besides, I can definitely see them expanding the mode in the future by adding new zones with unique mechanics for each. So I’m quite hopeful for it.

How is the New UI?

The new UI adjustments have certainly been a learning curve for me. That being said, I love having the ability to see clearly how many days are left for the current Shiyu Defense cycle, as I’m more likely to not forget it. The addition of the Tactis menu is also nice, and it gives a bit more than 300 Polychromes, so that’s a good way to farm up.

Overall Impressions

Overall, I feel like Version 1.3 was mostly a quality-of-life update that fixed up a ton of things while also making the game feel smoother and helping players with navigating through the menus, generally making everything less of a chore. I believe that the addition of a new permanent game mode, tiles, and badges was a nice way to bring back players to the game while also artificially creating some competition among friends for who can reach the highest floor. The story was mid, but Yanagi is a great character to play around with.

All in all, I’m satisfied with the update, and apart from the nasty story bug that’s been going around on PC, I couldn’t have wanted more!