Zanki Zero: Last Beginning

 PlayStation 4
User Score
6.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 40 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 40
  3. Negative: 13 out of 40
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. VirgoCave
    Apr 27, 2019
    2
    As a fan of all works of spike chunksoft I really wanted to like this game but is tedious and boring.
    The survival aspect is tedious and repetivie, dungeon are nes level of lazyness. Just walk and press switches, nothing more. The story is interesting but not enough to go over this torture. Just gonna watch gameplays.
  2. tomvs123
    Nov 30, 2020
    2
    Only for those who like real-time first-person dungeon-crawlers and the writing in Danganronpa games.

    I wasn't able to finish the game, as neither of those apply to me. Here's my five-hour impressions of the game up to beating the first boss. If you like conspiracy theories, this game has you covered. It starts off strong with these and heads in the direction of things getting even    Only for those who like real-time first-person dungeon-crawlers and the writing in Danganronpa games.

    I wasn't able to finish the game, as neither of those apply to me. Here's my five-hour impressions of the game up to beating the first boss.

    If you like conspiracy theories, this game has you covered. It starts off strong with these and heads in the direction of things getting even weirder. But like Danganronpa, it sacrifices believability for the sake of weird things happening.

    The story seems to be built around the game mechanics rather than the other way around. For example, the game has its characters live for only 13 days before they die of old age and are reborn. While living through different age ranges (child, adult, middle-age, elderly) characters have different skills that activate based on their age. This is the main game mechanic and the story tries hard to justify that this is something that you should take seriously.

    Unfortunately, it doesn't pull it off for the more intelligent players with hobbies or careers in science. Don't expect the levels of believable science fiction that were in the first two Zero Escape games. The writing here is much worse in comparison.

    While I didn't get to spend a lot of time with the characters, they were mostly uninteresting, except for one particular amputee, who was obviously hiding a secret or big plot twist that will likely happen later on.

    As for the dungeon crawling, it might satisfy real-time dungeon crawler fans. I didn't find it as interesting or strategic as the last real-time first-person dungeon crawler I played (Legend of Grimrock). And it's definitely not up to par strategy-wise with turn-based games, such as Demon Gaze. The environments aren't very interesting and consist of mostly big open spaces. You have to manage your stress and pee levels, which isn't very fun. And managing your inventory is a pain, due to the limited weight you can carry.

    Combat strategy consists of having your four party members attack, back up (run away) until you can attack again, and then you repeat. The first boss is the same, except required many more attacks.

    So here's my partial review for the game. With its bad writing, believablitly issues, and uninteresting/unstrategic combat, I doubt I'll start this one up again.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

65
#65 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 26
  3. Negative: 1 out of 26
  1. The Digital Fix
    Jul 22, 2019
    70
    Zanki Zero: Last Beginning has a riveting and intriguing story; it’s a shame then that the rest of the game feels like a series of afterthoughts thrown in at random intervals in the game’s development, and both the story and gameplay feel like they stop the other getting much momentum.
    Read full review
  2. Gaming Age
    Jul 3, 2019
    67
    Even with its glaring flaws, no one could accuse Zanki Zero of lacking ideas. All the characters are constantly reborn clones, and their past (very brief) lives significantly impact what they do in their next lives. Plus, even though the storyline does nothing for me, it’s rare to see a game tackling themes like this head on, so I’m sure that should count for something.
    Read full review
  3. GameCritics
    Jun 11, 2019
    35
    Zanki Zero: Last Beginning is a bit of a disaster. It looks nice on its surface, but the initially-promising setup soon devolves into complete drudgery thanks to inferior dungeon crawling, poor combat and a cast I had no empathy for whatsoever. My interest in the overall mystery got snuffed out long before it was solved.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »