The developers of Zenless Zone Zero discussed player feedback regarding the TV mode in an interview, which is now set to be widely removed as a result.
What was the feedback? In an interview on YouTube, developer “Y” spoke about the planned changes for Zenless Zone Zero. The developers created surveys and even reached out by phone to ask players for their opinions on the TV mode. It became clear what players disliked about the mode:
- The animations of the TV mode take too long
- The mode generally takes up too much time
- It interrupts the normal flow of battle
- The TV mode appears too often in the beginning of the game
Zenless Zone Zero has much action to offer as well:
What will change?
Will there be no more TV mode? The developers have removed the TV mode from the main story in the new update 1.2. In the future, the main story and other important missions are also expected to do without the TV mode. However, the mode will not completely disappear. It can still be found in other assignments.
Developer Y explained in the interview:
But that doesn’t mean we will completely forgo the TV mode in the future. We will continue to incorporate positive feedback from the past.
[…] Although there is considerable negative feedback in the community, we have also seen some players who really like the TV mode. We certainly won’t overhaul everything all at once. First and foremost, we will comprehensively address some issues with the design and implementation of the mode and make improvements.
Zenless Zone Zero developer Y via YouTube.com
What improvements can we expect? With the 1.2 update, a new feature called “Fairy Auto-Exploration Mode” was added. Once the player has completed an assignment for the first time, they can send the fairy to collect the missing rewards for them. This is intended to relieve players of the stress of having to fight through the TV mode to painstakingly search for all rewards themselves.
TV mode sparks discussions
Is the mode really that unpopular? There are ongoing discussions online about the TV mode. It stands out and makes the game unique. Comments on social networks indicate that players in Europe and the USA tend to appreciate the TV mode rather than condemn it. The negative feedback appears to come primarily from players in China:
- immowang attempts to clarify (via YouTube): “As a Chinese player, I can say that the TV mode received a lot of negative feedback mainly in China.”
- A user writes (via Reddit): “I understand that some people don’t like it, but this mode makes Zenless Zone Zero totally unique compared to the other games from Hoyo in my opinion. I feel like it gets too much unnecessary hate, that has to stop.”
- niyaak28 requests (via YouTube): “Please do not lose your identity. The TV mode should be improved, not removed.”
- clownbescary213, however, speaks out against the mode (via Reddit): “In my opinion, the biggest problem with the TV mode is that the flow is repeatedly interrupted by annoying and unnecessary stuff, which interrupts the exploration.”
How does MeinMMO author Nathalie Schnee evaluate the changes? Personally, I am very happy that the mode is being removed from the main story. It simply wasted my time and nerves. Now I can fully focus on the story without having to click through a thousand screens.
What do you think of the TV mode? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments! If you haven’t had enough of games like Zenless Zone Zero or Genshin Impact, check out our website on MeinMMO. We showcase some titles that you might like: 6 games like Genshin Impact.
