I awoke to a rather pleasant surprise this morning – a notification from HoYoverse letting me know that the Zenless Zone Zero pre-download had finally arrived for the free-to-play game. Like a kid on Christmas (but far less spritely), I leaped from my bed to my PS5 to set the new ARPG to install. But as I loaded up the PS Store I was greeted with a less pleasant reminder that the ZZZ PS5 pre-load is paywalled behind a $9.99 bundle. Here we go again.
For the uninitiated, this isn’t the first time the ability to download one of HoYo’s free-to-play gacha-infused RPG games ahead of time has been upsold on PS5, as a similarly shoddy practice was deployed for Honkai Star Rail. I wouldn’t be particularly bothered if the Zenless Zone Zero bundle was a separate point-of-sale MTX option or if it offered early access to the game. But seeing as it does neither, and that PC and mobile players can immediately hop in when the servers go live for no extra cost is frustrating, to say the least. So what’s actually included in the bundle?
Well, for ten bucks you get a couple of pulls on the standard Zenless Zone Zero banner, 150k Denny (the equivalent of Mora and Credits in HoYo’s other games), and a selection of upgrade materials. Compared to what you get from the game’s battle pass – itself a $9.99 investment – you’re getting considerably less Bangboo for your buck, and you won’t even need to take advantage of the higher-level mats until later on. If you’re planning to toss a few coins to ZZZ, do yourself a favor and wait for the new PS5 game to launch.
For reference, here are the full ZZZ pre-order bundle contents as per the PS Store page:
- Senior Investigator Log ×20
- W-Engine Energy Module ×10
- Signal Search: Master Tape ×2
- General currency: Denny ×150,000
- Agent EXP Mats: Official Investigator Log ×80
- W-Engine EXP Mats: W-Engine Power Supply ×40
What should be a time of joy for PlayStation players – the ZZZ release date is the first in HoYo’s catalog to arrive simultaneously across platforms – has been somewhat soured for me. At the very least, when you do finally get to download the free game on launch day there is a shiny Zenless Zone Zero code for you to use for a free boost to your Polychrome (Primogem and Stellar Jade equivalent) count.
To help get you ready for the arrival of ZZZ, be sure to consult the Zenless Zone Zero tier list put together by our equally gacha-loving compadres over at PCGamesN. While I’m more of a waifu/husbando over meta kinda guy, it’s always good to know if there are characters that aren’t worth pulling for. Dehya enjoyers remember that pain.
