The Waifei Peninsula mines are haunted. How else would you explain that every new Zenless Zone Zero patch of the second season starts with the miners getting into trouble, Version 2.4 included? That’s right, the new story begins with something happening in the mines (again) and honest workers needing the help of the Suibian Temple (once more).
Together, Phaethon and Ye Shunguang set off to the Hollow to save the workers and Banyue’s disciple that got into trouble together with them. Eventually, the duo groups up with Krampus’ Dialyn and Banyue himself, joining forces for this task and the goals ahead. But what started off as a simple rescue mission turned into a story of guilt, forgiveness, and forging a new path.
All the while, the Exaltist cult continues to deteriorate as Sarah remains the only character who actually wholeheartedly believes in the Creator. But is faith alone enough? The events of the patch indicate otherwise, despite her doggedly dragging Ye Shiyuan along.
Unlike the previous patch that spent quite a bit of time around and about before locking in, Version 2.4 dives into the main story almost immediately, focusing on Sarah, Ye Shiyuan, the Exaltists, and the Creator.
Along the way, Proxies will become witnesses to a few side-stories converging together: Krampus having their eyes set on Banyue, the martial arts school shifu’s complicated past, Dialyn’s unusual abilities, and Ye Shunguang’s connection with the Qingming Sword. Turns out, the blade has a mind of its own, enough to choose its own wielder, and the only thing currently keeping it and all the consequences its use brings at bay is the case created by Yixuan (who is very conveniently absent over the last couple of patches) and fortified by Xiao’Guang herself.
With the entire time of this latest patch spent on the characters as opposed to the heavy exposition of the previous version, we get to learn more about the main trio and even Zhao who has since stopped playing the role of a good Samaritan and reverted to her shrewd HR business shark type of personality.
Overall, Version 2.4 has a much better pacing, outside of a few moments which felt like they’re dragging on too long, there was a nice balance between time spent on the character development for the two new playable agents, the Ye siblings, Sarah, and the overall Exaltist plot that’s rapidly unraveling.
Banyue is everything you would expect him to be since his very first arrival: noble, steady, powerful, guilty, and quite self-sacrificial, perfectly hiding his shameful ‘merciless killing machine’ past. Despite Zenless’ recent fixation on the type of stories that goes along the lines of “and everyone died”, I actually found his sub-plot quite touching. In a way, it made me reconsider my stance on ZZZ being too heavy-handed with the Hollow Zero-related plots and just how destructive the catastrophe in Eridu actually was.
As I wrote in one of my previous impression pieces, introducing new playable characters and NPCs whose lives had been shaped by Hollow Zero in one way or another, gives it the feeling of a catastrophe still unfolding. With it only being 11 years since the fall of the old capital, you won’t find a person completely unaffected – even children who had been born after the disaster are likely related to or know someone who has suffered in the aftermath, just like the little boy Isolde visited in V2.2. In the big picture of things, 11 years are nothing at all for the world, perhaps enough to smooth some of the sharper edges and hurts, but barely enough to start recovering.
Banyue’s story as an Intelligent Construct from the war is a great addition to the story. However, there are still plenty of more obscure lore tidbits that need attention as well – we know that there are (or at least were) multiple relatively secluded settlements, such as Fufu’s Tiger Thiren clan or Lucia’s Nightwatchers. What happened during the Oni war? How are the Oni doing now? The only one we’d seen is Soukaku, and the only mention of the Oni war was in the Yanagi teaser.
Hopefully, over time we will see those as well – the world of Zenless needs to expand in depth, not only in width, but it is a great step in that direction and another stroke added to the TOPS portrayal.
Dialyn, the other playable agent introduced in V2.4, is my favorite type of character, a kind of sad clown. HoYoverse purposefully hid what goals Dialyn had and whose side she would end up taking, showing the more serious and somber behavior beneath the veneer of somewhat unhinged persona, teasing her interactions with Zhao, having her grow somewhat attached to Xiao’Guang, and then have a multitude of flashbacks surrounding Banyue.
Having started as another Sparkle-type character, Dialyn showed gleeful, teasing, sad, sympathetic and cold sides throughout the story, culminating in her passing judgement on Banyue’s actions and finishing her job of retrieving the TOPS’ killing machine… just not in the way her superiors and colleagues might have wanted or expected.
In a way, this girl managed to play all sides to her own benefit, and yet neither came to harm. She fulfilled her mission, Banyue got the closure he so desperately needed and a reason for existing, his student and Ye Shunguang learned of what happened when they were saved over a decade ago, and she’s befriended the legendary Phaethon… No wonder she’s Krampus’ very best community support agent!
With Zhao being next in the line, I hope we get to see a more ruthless side to Krampus and maybe learn a bit more about their mysterious boss. Much like Star Rail’s IPC, TOPS has been around since the beginning, but we still know so very little about it if you compare the two organizations.
Finally, the last big addition of V2.4 that will become playable soon: Ye Shunguang, our Void Hunter candidate and another cursed sword user. Alternative white-haired form, master swordswoman, problems with memories and senses…. Welcome back, Acheron.
In all seriousness, Ye Shunguang felt quite refreshing for your usual “incredibly powerful character” archetype. Usually this lot is serious, quiet and somewhat taciturn or detached, be it Miyabi and Yixuan, or the aforementioned Acheron. The Qingming Sword user, however, strikes a perfect balance between being spirited and free-willed, expressive, and responsible. And the last few seconds where we see her inner thoughts? Heartbreaking, must pull.
From the very beginning, it was obvious that Xiao’Guang will actually use the sword at a certain point to save her brother, the very outcome he’d tried to prevent. Everything telegraphs this outcome, almost screams it, and, as you go through the events of the patch, there’s this mildly impatient thought at the back of your mind “Is it now? Is it the time?”
Needless to say, when the moment of this self-fulfilling prophecy comes, it is glorious – and the game even keeps to its own charade long enough to fool you into complacency of the consequences before sucker-punching right in the feels with the scene of her writing in the journal.
I cannot lie, I’m still a bit put off by Zenless’ new approach to borderline magic – and by new, I mean that it had been intermittently becoming more obvious since Miyabi and Version 1.4, but at this point it’s basically all magic, despite the “It’s Totally Ether” explanation. Yes, this is about the second cursed sword (first being Miyabi’s Tailless) and the unlimited blade works Ye Shunguang commands in battle.
However, much like Genshin and its increased dip into technology since Fontaine that had not been really reversed over the course of Natlan and Nod-Krai, instead of the theme of this particular season, it feels more like a refined or changed approach to the setting chosen by the developers. At this point, all we can do as players is make our voices heard via surveys and decide whether it is a dealbreaker to play on.
For me personally, it is not a dealbreaker. But, much like the Proxies blurting out their secret identities during the first meeting with the new characters and personally setting out into the Hollows, it certainly makes the game feel less unique and more like any other gachas out there. What is a prime concern, however, is Sarah and Zenless antagonists in general… of which there are none.
I have already shared my mixed feelings on Sarah: I consider her to be an ineffective and underwhelming villain, and that Isolde could have been a way to solve some of the game’s problems in long term narrative. Despite being in the game for a year and a half, Sarah has not really achieved anything and simply failed and “all according to keikaku”-d her way to success. HoYoverse heavily underutilized her in the previous versions of the game, when the Exaltist cult still looked like a worthy opponent, and will likely dispatch of her now that it’s about to fall apart.
After all, it’s a mess – with Isolde’s passing, the cult is in shambles, only a few stragglers follow Sarah on her final quest to find the Creator. Not only that, but Sacrifices – nearly Boss enemies of the first season – are just about as widespread as your usual stronger Ethereals now, making facing the Exaltists even less exciting. Just to think that Koleda and Belobog Construction almost sacrificed their lives for the cause!
AND the Sacrifices can be reversed back to the human state, too, although they lose their memories in the process – which seems like quite the hint about how the things are going to go.
Sure, this last patch finally gave us a glimpse into Sarah’s past. She is allegedly – you guessed it! – the last survivor of her squad, keeping up with the tradition. Having been saved by the old Exaltist Overseer before Mevorakh, Sarah Floren of the Special Investigation Squad of HSO bought into the cult’s beliefs and ideas and changed her side. At least, this is the story the game is sticking with right now – who knows what will come in the following version? There was also an interesting shadow on one of the comic frames featuring younger Sarah, but we’ll return to it later.
If playing other HoYo games and ZZZ itself has taught me anything, we’re going to see a tragic backstory that will make everyone feel bad for Sarah, then she’ll get turned into an Ethereal and put down in a boss fight that will then make its way to Shiyu Defense and/or Deadly Assault. Maybe the knowledge of the Sacrifice-state being reversible can serve as a way to prevent her death, but she will still be likely out of commission as the game’s only returning antagonist, ineffective as she is, and the Exaltists and the Creator sub-plots will be gone along with her. And that’s a massive problem because the game currently has no other real antagonists and only the barest minimum of plot threads to pull on aside from the Exaltists.
Let’s compare ZZZ to other gachas and how they handle future plots: in Genshin, you always have Archons and the Fatui Harbingers to look forward to, regardless of the region. There are also the Hexenzirkel Witches, Dragon Sovereigns, Shades, and Celestia to watch out for – and you know that sooner or later the Heavenly Principles will wake up and things will get very real, very fast.
In HSR, Aeons and their Emanators’ influence are present on every planet we step our feet on, with the Destruction gang receiving some proper attention over the span of the current expansion. There are also organizations like the IPC, Xianzhou Generals and the Genius Society, just the name of which can make one excited about a character – be it Diamond and the rest of the Ten Stonehearts, Oswaldo Schneider, Polka Kakamond, Yaoguang, and so on.
All in all, there are things to look forward to, even if you don’t really know where the plot is going. Genshin players know that come Snezhnaya, we’re going to be facing the Traritsa and the remaining Harbingers. For HSR, just say the name of the Aeon that the planet is influenced by, and suddenly it is a source of information and excitement. Even WuWa knows that Fractcidus is far from done and there are other Sentinels and Threnodians to visit.
When it comes to Zenless, we don’t really know all that much about the world. What other parts of New Eridu are there that we can visit, and that would be exciting from the get-go? The only one I could think of is the Helios Academy lost somewhere in the Hollow, the place where Belle and Wise were raised by their teacher, Carole Arna – and the only real ongoing storyline that isn’t just Waifei-based.
It feels like unless you’re actively digging through the game and hyping yourself up for things that might be coming at some point, there is barely anything to look forward to. Maybe Angels of Delusion, if you’re into that, but I am not the target audience – and that’s more than alright. The new mysterious Bangboo and the mechanical sphere behind him, perhaps? Sure, if we actually had any hints about where it all leads.
Would you feel anything if Yixuan told the siblings that their next destination is the New Eridu’s Vulcan Quarter? It actually exists, too, we just don’t know anything about it besides it being an industrial sector. Many other parts of the game suffer from the same lack of information, especially if we’re talking about information that is easily available.
And the thing is, it doesn’t have to be that way. During the previous special program, the developers held a segment dedicated to lore. Among other things, they have mentioned that some of the Void Hunters shown in the “Where the Miracle Began” lore trailer are actually still alive. That’s great news – and they can be built up just like the Fatui Harbingers or the HSR Emanators, they don’t have to actually be present on-screen and being actively involved in the plot to work up hype around them.
The IPC in HSR managed to be both a more formidable enemy and a more resourceful ally at the same time when compared to TOPS. Things are starting to turn around with the presence of Krampus, and hopefully the developers stick to it. But, once again, this story needs time to cook, it is something that is only starting to unfold. And, for all we know, the story of TOPS might end up going on a hiatus once Zhao releases.
Similarly, other great AI like Fairy – Youkai, Ghost, and Jinie – are still at large. Could they have been awakened? Or are they lying dormant and just waiting for a chance to spring back? What are their real goals? That is for the future, and you’d only know if you were actively searching for this information.
Now, let’s return to the Void Hunters, Sarah and to the video above, did you notice anything? During the storyline, the flashback that featured Sarah’s past had a very particular, easy-to-recognize shadow. I’ll attach the screenshots below just in case you can’t watch it – Lieutenant Colonel Dan, one of the first seven original Void Hunters, abandoned Sarah to die in the Hollow for reasons unknown.
Perhaps, the plot of the surviving Void Hunters, Miyabi’s elder colleagues, are closer than we think? I certainly hope so, because Zenless desperately needs more exciting stories in the making and preferably some long-term antagonists that you can look forward to facing.
