ZZZ removes the controversial “TV mode” for story missions starting with update 1.2

HoYoverse has announced that starting with Update 1.2, scheduled to be released on September 25, 2024, the controversial “TV Mode” will no longer be used in Zenless Zone Zero’s story missions. Instead, a series of story levels in 3D will be used to depict the events of the main storylines.

The debate surrounding ZZZ’s “TV Mode” has been going on for months, and actually started when parts of the public got their hands on the game during the first few playtests. Many players found “TV Mode” – an in-game representation of the proxy navigating the Hollows – not exciting enough, as it distracted too much from the actual combat gameplay. It looks like this faction might win the debate, as the developers have caved in to their opinion.

As mentioned in my ZZZ review, I really enjoyed the “TV Mode” sections in the main story as they were bursting with creativity and provided me with an immersive experience that allowed me to connect with Belle and Wise and really see things from their perspective. Personally, I’m sad that it was cut entirely as in my eyes it was a part of ZZZ’s core identity.

Since HoYoverse obviously has a lot of data that is not visible to outsiders, the feedback for the abolition of the “TV mode” must have been so overwhelming that the developers felt compelled to take this drastic step.

Fortunately, the “TV Mode” will not disappear completely from the game and will still be present in other content. The developers also confirmed that they will continue to improve the gameplay.

Aside from previously announced feature enhancements in Update 1.2, developers confirmed that dismantling W-Engines as well as purchasing a coffee in New Eridu will no longer incur a Denny cost, with the energy gained from drinking a coffee being increased from 60 to 80.

It looks like there might also be changes to the Decibel mechanic that allows Agents to use their Ultimates in combat – currently all Agents share the same Decibel pool, but this could change in the future. The developers are currently playing around with different solutions.

More Hollow Zero modes are also in development, as well as new ranking criteria for combat challenges in addition to time limits. Fans of character interactions will be happy to hear that something called “Agent Companion Mode” is in development, allowing players to walk around town accompanied by another character and unlock various interactions.

Finally, a client resource management feature is on the way that will allow players to reduce their package size – a great feature for anyone struggling with storage on their device. It looks like there are a lot of good updates in the pipeline right now.