Six months is the rough time frame between my last foray into and my recent two-day immersion into the near-final build of the game. Back in December 2023, I joined the game’s and concluded that while it had a lot of flair, there were more than a couple of clunky mechanics that left me a little bored. Half a year isn’t a lot of development time, especially for a large game like this.
Yet HoYoverse has somehow managed to add fun where there was frustration, and depth where the game felt skin-deep. The only word I can use to sum up the entire current experience is satisfying – this is the game they wanted to make, and this is the game we’ve been waiting for. From snooze fest to seamless As mentioned in my previous preview, the traversal on the Hollow Deep Dive System (the “Board”) was one of my main pain points, as it felt uninspired, especially for a studio that has been creating immersive worlds in and .
The Board still remains but this time additional game modes are able to showcase how this system can actually be a fun experience. The build I played had the entire game unlocked, including additional modes of play aside from the main story question. One of the modes, called the Hollow Zero Investigation, cleverly takes advantage of the board game-esque play and introduces rogue-like elements.
fans who’ve played ’s Simulated Universe will find this one most similar as it involves players moving from space to space, and chancing random encounters with enemies, .