Gaming

Making Sense of Zenless Zone Zero

The latest game from HoYoverse

Published

December 22, 2023

HoYoverse has a pretty well-rounded set of titles. Among its most popular ones are Genshin Impact and most recently, Honkai: Star Rail. The two titles offered something different. One is an open-world adventure while the other is an exciting turn-based game. Their latest, we would describe as an action RPG with some puzzle-like navigation. That’s Zenless Zone Zero.

Urban, Cyberpunk-ish aesthetic

HoYoverse has taken us from a high-fantasy world all the way to space. With Zenless Zone Zero, the setting is a little more grounded. The game is set in an urban city called New Eridu. But things are a little grim. It’s the last surviving civilization in a world destroyed by Hollows.

Hollows are sort of pocket dimensions that appear out of nowhere within New Eridu. Each Hollow is infested with monsters called Ethereals and The Corrupted.

The Ethereals are monsters from the get go but The Corrupted are regular people who were exposed too long inside the Hollow and have since converted into Ethereal-like monsters.

But the Hollows are also home to some choice resources that’s why there are Hollow Raiders and Proxies. This is what players will play as. The main characters you’ll choose from are the brother-sister pair that are famous Proxies who help guide Hollow Raiders.

Other than Ethereals, players will also encounter lawless thugs as well as Persons of Authorities inside the Hollows. It’s a mish-mash of people with similar goals resulting in inevitable conflict.

Hollow Raiders. Agents, and Proxies

Belle and Wise are the two main characters you’ll choose from. They run a video shop as a facade but in reality, they work as Proxies who aid Hollow Raiders. They guide the Hollow Raiders into the Hollows with what is called a Bangboo.

Bangboos are bunny-looking robot-like devices that were meant to help evacuate people from Hollows. It’s also essentially this game’s mascot.

The Hollow Raiders or Agents, meanwhile, are the ones you control in battle. They are also the characters you’ll pull once the Gacha mechanic kicks in. To start you get control of three of them: Anby, Billy, and Nicole.

Anby is a blade-wielder. She fights fast and fluidly. Billy is a gun-slinger and is great for fighting multiple enemies. Nicole is a… a bombshell. She hits enemies with a briefcase she carries which also happens to fire an exploding projectile. You’ll spend a big chunk of the early game with these three.

Blitzing combat

Easily the most entertaining part of Zenless Zone Zero is its combat. At first, it feels like your standard action game mixing light and heavy attacks with special moves that have cooldowns.

What elevates the combat is how each character handles and the flashy tag-team attacks they deploy. For instance, Anby’s blade attacks will give those who played SCARLET NEXUS flashbacks as her play-style feels a lot like the melee combat of Yuito Sumiragi. But then you get to Billy and Nicole who have totally different play styles.

Billy reminds me a lot of the comic book character Grifter of Wildcats. They’re both masked double pistol specialists. Billy’s tag-in attack is great with dealing with multiple enemies and, naturally, doing damage from a distance.

Nicole, meanwhile, is a mix of melee and projectile attacks. Her normal and heavy attacks have her swinging her weapon but her tag-in and special has her firing a bomb at your opponent.

We weren’t lucky enough to draw any new characters during my playthrough but we suspect they will all have their own unique flavor to them. We honestly can’t wait to try them out.

Exploration and maze/puzzle

The quieter parts of the game have you play as either of the MCs to roam around a safe part of New Eridu. Here you can freely walk around a small area and talk to its inhabitants.

The ramen shop gives you boosts for your next foray into the hollows. And the other areas are for weapons and what have you. This particular part gives off Persona 5 vibes.

And then there’s the part where you’re trying to make your way through a hollow. It’s presented in this puzzle/maze-like format where you have your bangboo move around CRT-like TVs. Each TV acts like a zone in the hollow. You have to cleverly make your way through to grab bonus items, avoid battle encounters (some you just can’t), and ultimately find spots where you can exit.

This, admittedly, was the part of the gameplay that felt slow at first. But over time, the puzzles and maze became a little more of a challenge. It turned into somewhat of a mini-game but it is, actually, a crucial part of ZZZ.

Performance and platforms

Zenless Zone Zero is available to play on PC, Android, and iOS. For the purposes of this preview, we played the PC build on a Legion Go. It ran perfectly fine on the handheld gaming PC. We experienced minor lags and stuttering during some segments of the game but that’s understandable since this isn’t the final build.

There were also a couple of instances when the game just flat out stopped functioning that we were forced to restart the Legion Go itself. But this was early on in the testing and never happened again.

The art style lends itself nicely to even lower graphics settings. If you’re playing, try to prioritize getting high frame rates as that becomes pretty crucial in the combat parts of the game.

Should you play Zenless Zone Zero?

How many Gacha/Live Service games can you fit in your life? With HoYoverse alone, there’s already plenty. But the particular setting and aesthetic of Zenless Zone Zero, it’s definitely worth giving a try.

The familiar Gacha elements are there except you’re in an entirely different setting compared to Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. We can also say that among the three, Zenless Zone Zero feels and looks the most different.

If cyberpunk, animé action is your thing, then you should definitely look out for this game when it officially launches.

Related Topics:HoYoverse Zenless Zone Zero

Accessories

Razer Raiju V3 Pro brings tournament-level control to PS5

Pro-ready wireless controller

Published

October 25, 2025

GadgetMatch

Razer is taking PS5 competition to the next level with the Raiju V3 Pro. Razer built its latest wireless esports controller for serious players, officially licensing it for PlayStation 5 to deliver lightning-fast response, pixel-perfect precision, and full customization. And it comes in a sleek, tournament-ready form.

Built for performance

The Raiju V3 Pro introduces TMR (Tension Magnetic Resistance) thumbsticks, offering consistent tension, anti-drift performance, and pinpoint control. Whether you’re lining up headshots or pulling off combos, these symmetrical sticks translate every subtle movement into clean, accurate inputs.

Razer also added Pro HyperTriggers, letting you switch between rapid-fire clicks and full analog travel. Through Synapse 4, you can fine-tune trigger actuation points to match your playstyle. Use hair-trigger speed for shooters or full-range control for racing and adventure games.

Every press feels deliberate thanks to Mecha-Tactile PBT action buttons and an 8-way floating D-pad, built from doubleshot PBT materials that resist wear and shine even after hours of intense play.

Control, comfort, and customization

Designed with both traditional and claw grip players in mind, the Raiju V3 Pro comes with four removable mouse-click back buttons and two claw bumpers, all remappable for personalized layouts. Each button uses the same ultra-responsive switches found in Razer’s top-tier gaming mice, giving every tap that satisfying, tactile snap.

The controller connects via Razer HyperSpeed Wireless, ensuring ultra-low latency and seamless performance on PS5. Players can adjust sensitivity, remap buttons, and save up to four onboard profiles using the Razer Mobile App or Synapse 4.

For travel and tournament play, it includes a premium carry case and a detachable 2 m USB-C cable.

Price and availability

The Razer Raiju V3 Pro is available now for EUR 209.99 / PHP12,990 at Razer.com, RazerStores, and select retailers worldwide.

Gaming

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is coming to the Switch 2

It will be available starting December 2.

Published

October 24, 2025

Luigi Leonardo

This early into the console’s life cycle, the Switch 2 is in that stage where Nintendo wants to flaunt how powerful its new hardware is. The most popular way of doing that is showcasing which modern games can be played on the console. Today, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is joining that list.

Ubisoft has announced that Assassin’s Creed Shadows is coming to the Switch 2 on December 2. The game, in its entirety, will drop on the new console. The only exception to the launch is the recent Claws of Awaji update, which added around ten hours of content to the base game.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the latest major entry to Ubisoft’s time-hopping RPG franchise. The game took players to medieval Japan in a quest for revenge and justice. It had a vast network of conspiracy and characters to interact with.

The Claws of Awaji update added a postscript for the story. It featured a new segment of the map and a new weapon. For now, Ubisoft will not add the expansion to the Switch 2 launch. However, a drop sometime in 2026 is already in the works.

In addition to the base game, the Switch 2 version will include touchscreen support to leverage the console’s capabilities. It will also feature new content, available on all platforms starting October 28, which will improve the parkour system, a new Animus activity called Corrupted Castles, and a new mission which sees Naoe try to learn Yasuke-specific abilities (and vice versa).

Gaming

Ninja Gaiden 4 helped me get a much needed sanity break

All that hacking and slashing on a quest to free Tokyo

Published

October 22, 2025

Gab Orlina

Sometimes playing action games allow people to relieve their stress from their day-to-day. Whether it’s the type to shoot weapons or wield swords to slay enemies, it’s always good to just mindlessly press buttons to get through a game. That much is true for the games within the Ninja Gaiden series dating all the way back to 1988.

However, Team Ninja didn’t simply stick with just having gruesome hack-and-slash games and instead gave it some lore fans will adore. Throughout the first three canonical games of the remade series starting in 2004, the ninja protagonists go on missions to deal with world-ending threats to maintain order. Much would be the same for the latest installment in the franchise: Ninja Gaiden 4.

Is this game something both new and older fans of the series will enjoy? Will it just be another generic hack-and-slash title with little plot points to hold it together? Judging by my playthrough, there’s a lot to uncover that will surely make it an interesting play.

Freeing Tokyo from the rain

Ninja Gaiden 4 follows the events of the 2012 release of Ninja Gaiden 3, as Ryu Hayabusa was unable to fully rid Tokyo of the evil that surrounds it. Even with the defeat of the Dark Dragon, the city plunged into a state fit for the undead due to the husk emitting cursed rain. As the years went by, a new protagonist in Yakumo aims to rid the city of the curse while defying authorities in the process.

As Yakumo goes about his mission to rid Tokyo of the Dark Dragon’s curse, he encounters unexpected allies and enemies in bizzare twists till the end. Despite all the setbacks and even a crucial betrayal at the end (you’ll just have to play to find out), he remains steadfast in his mission for redemption of his clan and the release of Tokyo from the darkness.

At first, I felt that the story seemed a lot quicker to get through and finish without focusing on the details. Because you spend a ton of the game fighting through waves of enemies, it felt like that became the priority over revealing every little piece of lore leading up to the big fights. In my opinion, the plot felt a bit rushed in its development even though it made a lot of sense in reference to its predecessor.

Button-mashing combat at its best

For the entirety of the game, hack-and-slash combat served as both your primary offense and defense against all your enemies. Early on, the tutorial for first timers proved to be useful when balancing light and strong attacks with proper blocking, parrying and dodging. Also, you have the choice to simply auto-lock into enemies or precisely take them down on your own through a series of combos.

As you progress deeper into the game, enemies come in bigger hordes and also become a lot tougher, so levelling up your skills and weapons are essential. In between several parts of a main chapter or stage, you have chances to learn or improve on certain skills at the cost of NinjaCoins you earn through combat. These are put in place between crucial points in the level, so best to take advantage of them.

When you put these together, you end up in combat sequences that are oozing with action and blood, of course. Racking up combos and pressing specific buttons also grant access to some of the sickest dismemberment animations that rivals gruesome fighting games. Honestly, you can’t go wrong with incredible combat mechanics like that!

Open world-esque environment

What’s interesting about Ninja Gaiden games is how immensely dense the overwolds can be, that these often encourage exploration. In Ninja Gaiden 4‘s case, each stage feels larger than life with how you interact with certain elements, especially for the movement tools between stages that you can use even in combat. As you progress further, there is a greater purpose in doing so — especially as you prepare for all the challenges ahead.

Exploration feels like an integral part when you do it to retrieve valuable items for all the fighting to be done. There were a ton of item chests within each stage that would give you healing or combat-boosting items that you will need to stock up on. In some cases, you will find these chests in high-up or obscure places that your advanced movement mechanics can reach, so explore as much as you can.

Also, in some stages, you will find these temple-like entrances to a place called Purgatory. In this place, you will basically go through waves of enemies to test your combat mastery and enemy crowd control. However, these gates are often found tucked into branching pathways that, again you will need to explore in a more open-world setting.

Is Ninja Gaiden 4 your GameMatch?

As far as standalone hack-and-slash games go, Ninja Gaiden 4 truly ranks high up on the list. Its battle mechanics blended in with simple exploration keeps the action flowing as smoothly as possible. Not once did I feel the need to take a break mid-fight to look up combos when button-mashing and auto-locking helped immensely.

With regards to it being a proper sequel to Ninja Gaiden 3, it felt more like a shorter epilogue for the former protagonist in Ryu than retribution for Yakumo and his clan. Honestly, you can breeze through the whole game and its story elements quickly given the intense combat. However, your focus doesn’t drift into the plot so much, leading to think that this wasn’t as heavily prioritized.

Even with this in mind, Ninja Gaiden 4 is still a great enough of a title to sit through and enjoy for both new and old fans of the series. Overall mechanics feel satisfying to master and play through when you just need to unwind and slash your way through enemies to let the stress go!

Verdict: It’s a Swipe Right!