Zenless Zone Zero, the upcoming gacha game from Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail developers, has nerfed the gore and suggestive animations in its new beta - a decision that’s stirred some fans in the community.
Zenless Zone Zero is the kind of gacha game that you’d expect from developer Hoyoverse, this time in an urban fantasy setting, and its second closed beta kicked off earlier today, November 24. The test gives players another early preview on PC and mobile, but the biggest discussion point so far centers on what’s changed since the last beta.
One shockingly controversial change comes from the game’s slightly less suggestive character animations. On Twitter, one player posted side-by-side clips showing how Nicole’s menu animations had been adjusted between betas. The camera no longer looks up at Nicole and the ‘jiggle’ physics are less pronounced than they once were.
- Zenless Zone Zero is still aggressively horny, but basically everything else has changed and now it's a much better action RPG with some legit roguelike sauce
- Following Black Myth: Wukong's success and hype for games like Phantom Blade, Japanese devs say Chinese games are winning thanks to "crazy" ideas that "would never get approved in Japan"
Characters Soldier 11 and Nekomata also saw some design changes, covering up a spare inch or two with extended shorts/lengthened tights. Again, the changes aren't dramatic, but some players were left irked anyway.
返して… pic.twitter.com/ee2LTq6GpCNovember 24, 2023
Those relatively minor changes left some players in shambles, with several Reddit posts criticizing the alleged censorship. ”Whose bright idea was it to change one of the major selling points?” reads one comment. “Why can’t we have nice things?” asks another Redditor.
The other (more understandable) criticism stems from changes made to the game’s kind-of-violent imagery. “Nicole’s tiddies aren’t the only thing that got censored,” reads one Reddit post that compares a cutscene from the first and second betas. Both screenshots show a character being ripped and twisted by a Black Hole-esque effect. The first beta’s depiction goes into slightly more detail, however, as you can see the character’s jaw come apart, while the second beta leaves out some graphic details.
Nicole’s tiddies aren’t the only thing that got censored from r/ZZZ_Official
Many players focused on Zenless Zone Zero’s 16+ age rating which promised a more mature gacha experience compared to Genshin Impact’s 12+. “The first [screenshot] looked so much cooler and if they were going to censor it, why did they even put the rating?” one player said on the subreddit.
Zenless Zone Zero initially received tons of attention thanks to its faster-paced combat, roguelike progression, unique setting, and, of course, those now-nerfed jiggle physics that were actually significantly dialed up from Genshin Impact’s. We’ll just need to wait until the full release sometime next year before the blood and boobs are set in stone, though.
Check out the games like Genshin Impact to play when you’re done with Hoyoverse’s multiple universes.
