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"20 to NEP, in pursuit of a black BMW M8!"
-New Eridu Police pursuiting a BMW M8 that is driven by the Undercover Drifter in the Teaser Trailer
Need for Speed Zenless (NFS: ZEN) is open world racing game in the long-running Need for Speed franchise that is the first game to be developed by Hawke Gaming Industries, miHoYo/Hoyoverse, Neo Ghost (formed by former devs of EA Black Box and Ghost Games) and Kuro Games alongside Criterion and published by Electronic Arts for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S with the Nintendo Switch 2 came later.
The game takes place in a open-world metropolis that combines Seattle, Atlantic City and New Eridu City from Zenless Zone Zero surrounded by various biomes and enviroments. It features gameplay based on the driving physics of Need For Speed: Unbound and Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2005) and massively improves upon the day & night cycle race system from Need For Speed: Heat alongside various elements returning from previous games, mainly installments from Black Box and Ghost Games.
The premise of Zenless is about a street racer known only as the Drifter who rises through New Eridu City's illegal street racing scene only to be betrayed and thrown into jail for unknown reasons, and sets out for revenge upon release. Five years later, The Drifter was released and they find themselves summoned by the FBI and Eve Torres (returning from Heat) to become a undercover agent for a single purpose: Eliminate the crews that are going to race in the next upcoming Zenless Racing War at night while unaware that the entire people affilated with street racing about the true meaning of the Zenless Racing Wars and the crews plus finding the real reason why they were betrayed in the first place.
Presented with a unique real-world meets anime aesthetic, the visual style teams the realistic look of the featured cars with customisable flair of Anime-style games from Hoyoverse.
The story itself will be written by Jason Hawke.
Story Premise[]
"Racing in the day, going undercover in the night."
-The Drifter
The player (known as the Drifter by NPCs), driving a modified BMW M4 (G82) rose through the ranks of the illegal street racing league under their joint codename Phaethon, to become one of the only mass-recognised Zenless Racer on the league, garnering them a reputation of being "the best of the best". While on the middle of the Zenless Racing War for the Cunning Hares crew, they encounter a mysterious racing duo that led to the Cunning Hares for then unknown reasons, betrays The Drifter in the middle of the race. After the betrayal by the Cunning Hares crew, the unknown driver makes clear that the Drifter will be the scapegoat, and crashes into the cliff. The Drifter, surviving their injuries, gets charged and then sentenced to 20 years in the Northern Line Prison. The Drifter however, feeling betrayed, wants to take revenge and spends their time in prison by setting up plans for the ultimate retaliation.
5 years later, they were released early and remained wandering the streets of New Eridu waiting for Kathryn Cabanos, who is due to pick them up after receiving a email. Upon their arrival, The Drifter and Kathryn meet with Kouki Hirogami and two seemingly FBI agents, who leads them further. The Drifter is brought to the interrogation room that the Drifter then learns that they been summoned by Eve Torres and the FBI to become a undercover agent into taking down the entire crews that are going to participate in the next Zenless Racing War and finding out the truth behind the scenes.
The Drifter, since they know that they betrayed by the crews and has been planning since in their prison time, agrees, thus becoming as a undercover agent for the FBI, starting afresh again after visiting the garage belonging to Ravindra "Rav" Chaudhry (returning from Payback) and acquring their first car, thus determined to get back in the road once more by joining in the legal sanctioned racing festival founded by Rydell, Tyler Morgan and Lucas Riveria on the day before heading into the night, building up their own crew and going up against the various street racing crews that they used race against prior the betrayal.
However, The Drifter quickly realise that the crews of the next upcoming Zenless Racing War in the night is more drastic (and creatively more dangerous) than what they used to race together five years ago. Hey, Kathryn said you wanted back into the feet. You got it!
Gameplay[]
At its core, Need for Speed Zenless can be considered as a fusion of both Black Box (mainly Most Wanted 2005, Carbon, ProStreet and Undercover) and Ghost Games (Rivals, Need For Speed 2015, Payback and Heat) era games alongside Need For Speed: Unbound with new features mixed in. Like in those games, the overall objective of the game revolves around the player's character racing on the legal sanctioned racing on the day to get attention for showdown race against the leagues and later racing icons while taking control of the city back from various illegal street racing gangs in illegal street racing in the night, while tending to the attempts of the police to take them down.
Despite featuring similar gameplay principles, the game introduces new gameplay elements that make it stand out from most games. These are most notable in the career progression. In order to challenge each of the region's controlling crews, the player must accumulate a certain amount of Bounty Points, which can be accrued after completion of night-time races, evasion of pursuits, and completion of events in the revamped Challenge Series, a separate game mode not featured since 2011's Need for Speed: The Run at night while at the day to challenge the Festival Leagues and their masters, the player must accumulate a certain amount of Speed Points, which can be acquired when winning races and completing side bets. Additional new gameplay elements include participating in "Turf Challenge" races in order to maintain control of a region after attaining it at night, and the inclusion of Ananta Special Road Corps, a vigilante group of police officers posing as street racers and inflitrating certain events.
Players can highly customize any vehicle they own with vast assortments of visual and performance upgrades. However, they should keep in mind that certain upgrades are unlocked for use only after completion of select Challenge Series events. The game features the ability to layer vinyls over each other and the return of Autosculpt, a component-altering means of customization last seen in 2008's Need for Speed: Undercover.
Each event has a recommended performance level and optimal handling profile before entering as well as an Autolog recommendation from either a friend or a rival. Players can also swap their vehicle before entering an event.
Crew[]
Returning from Carbon. The player can create a crew and recruit up to three members. They are distinguished by role and speciality, which grants the player various bonuses.
Crew members can be used in most race events in both day and night but not available on certain racing types.
Roles[]
- Blocker - Blockers take out a targeted vehicle of an opponent by ramming and forcing them to stop. Only one rival can be blocked at one time.
- Drafter - The role of a Drafter is to give their crew member more speed by letting them slipstream off of them. It is exactly like slipstreaming albeit in a more exaggerated form.
- Scout - Scouts locate and take shortcuts along a track. Shortcuts they take are highlighted on the minimap by dotted green lines.
Specialties[]
- Fabricator - Autosculpt parts become available for customisation, when a fabricator is added to the crew of the player.
- Fixer - Fixers add funds to the player's cash prize when winning and lessen the police activity after every race.
- Mechanic - Mechanics are responsible for increasing Nitrous' potency, longevity of the Speedbreaker, and car or parts discounts.
Racing Festival[]
During the day cycle of the game, The Drifter and their crew participate in street-legal, racing festival that is founded by Rydell, Tyler Morgan and Lucas Riveria as the successor to the Speedhunters Showdown. The Drifter can enter the hub where the player can activate races anywhere on the map, as well as various festival details across the map, like flags and billboards and blimps. The idea of the day cycle will revolve around a championship, where the drifter need to complete races and climb the ranks in order to move up in the league, with the goal of winning them all and facing against all of the icons.
- The championship is divided into different genres of events, like typical racing, drifting, off-road, drag, etc, which you can all approach individually and complete however you want.
- While most races are available with others being opened as you climb the ranks, the various championships are progressed through specific races. The chosen races have set difficulties that you need to overcome, and various checkpoints where you need to duel the class champ in order to proceed to the next vehicle class.
- There are illegal races during the day called “outskirt races” which take place outside of the city where the police can’t see. These are usually off-road or drag races.
- There are no restrictions on the player chosen car to partake in events regardless of tier and performance.
- The police are present here, but they are lighter than they would be during the night. They most definitely based on Most Wanted (2012).
Festival Events[]
Each event in the racing festival has a optimal performance rating before entering as well as an Autolog recommendation from either a friend or a rivals. Players can also swap their vehicle in the hub before the event.
During the day, players earn bank from participating in events hosted by Rydell & Riveria's Showdown.
- Grip - Players race with up to fifteen other racers on a course with a set number of laps.
- Grip Class - Up to Sixteen racers take part in a race split into two teams with different performance classes with each having four racers.
- Showdown - Up to Sixteen racers take part in a race split into four sectors with points awarded based their time through each section.
- Time Attack - Players with up to seven other racers each attempt to achieve the fastest lap time on a closed race course with a set number of laps.
- Speed Challenge - Players race with up to fifteen other racers on a A to B course. The courses are generally designed for players to hit very high speeds.
- Top Speed Run - Players race with up to seven other racers on a A to B course. Several checkpoints along the route record each driver's speed.
- Drag - Racers face off against each other in a knock-out tournament. Two racers at a time race against each other to see who can complete either a 1/4 or 1/2 mile straight course in the quickest time. Drag events require the use of manual gear changes.
- Wheelie Competition - Racers face off against each other in a knock-out tournament. Two racers at a time race against each other to see who can perform the longest distance wheelie.
- Drift Trial - Players take it in turns to see who can earn the most points from successfully sliding their car around a series of corners along a set course.
- Off-Road - Players race with up to fifteen other racers on a off-road course with a set number of laps.
- Speedcross - Players race with up to fifteen other racers on off-road A to B course. The off-road courses are generally designed for players to hit very high speeds.
- Gymkhana - Beat the target score within the time limit. Points are earned by performing drifts and jumps.
- Crew Battle - Players and their crew race up against the another crew in a series of event types.
- Icon Battle - Players must take on a showdown against the Racing Icon.
Sidebet[]
A side bet is an optional wager that can be placed at the beginning of an event. For example, the side bet may require the player to destroy a certain number of objects or reach speeds of at least 100 mph (160 km/h).
Accepting a bet has a stake that has to be paid, and beating its requirements will reward the player with additional cash to their race winnings based on the odds offered for the bet. Failing to beat the bet's requirements will result in forfeiture of the additional cash.
Racing Leagues[]
Racing Leagues are the racing festival crews that can be found across New Eridu during the day.
Each has their own skill level, racing discipline, style, and crew boss. Defeating them is important in making it to the face the racing icons.
Racing Icons[]
A feature returned from Need For Speed (2015) and available in the day time of the racing festivals, Racing Icons in Need for Speed: Zenless comprise of highly talented racers. Earning reputation for a certain driving style and beating the Racing Leagues will allow the player to participate in showdown events associated with a distinct driving icon.
Earning speed points for a certain driving style will allow the player to participate in events and later showdown races associated with a distinct driving icon.
The Racing Icons in Zenless are:
- Speed: Galbrena is the speed icon and drives a custom Lamborghini Revuelto.
- Drift: Brant is the drifitng icon and drives a custom Lamborghini Huracan RWD.
- Build: Lupa is the build icon and drives a custom Porsche 911 Carrera "Stella Artois" that was once belonged to Akira Nakai after events of Need For Speed (2015).
- Grip: Ray Krieger (returning from ProStreet) is the grip icon and drives a custom BMW M4 (F82).
- Drag: Valerie is the drag icon and drives a custom Dodge Challenger SRT Demon.
- Off-Road: Faith Jones (returning from Payback) is the off-road icon and drives her own Ford F-150 Raptor.
- Crew: The Carbon Crew is the crew icon made up of the crew from Palmont (returning from Carbon) comprised of Sal, Samson, Yumi and Colin. Their unique modification work has been encapsulated to create a unique Audi R8.
- Speedcross: Sean "Mac" McAlister (from Payback) is the Speedcross icon and drives a custom Chevrolet Bel-Air.
Zenless Underground Racing[]
During the night cycle, the championship and festival drops to the typical late-night street racing led by the Zenless Underground League, the main cornerstone of New Eridu's illegal street racing scene and the main target for the Drifter's revenge. Instead of daytime’s routine of climbing the ranks and completing specific races facing against racers of the crew to move up in a championship line, you just need to keep winning races to build up your rep, then join more challenging races as your heat rises.
- Rather than the festival hub, there are multiple different “hangouts” like in Unbound owned by various crews, like some abandoned sewer drain or a secret hideaway around New Eridu, where you can activate races and stuff. This is also where the player initiate the high-heat races. the player can still activate races whenever you come across them on the map.
- There are different categories of races here as well, like normal street races, drift challenges, drift races , drag races, etc.
- Once get enough rep, the player can join high-stakes races, where you need to pay a certain amount to attend in the first place. The higher you pay, the higher the payout if you win. If you lose, you leave with nothing.
- When you defeat leader of the crew during the championship races, they will be available for the player to “challenge” at the hangouts, where you can put your car on the line in a duel. If you win, you get a massive payout and get to keep the champ’s car, but if you lose…they take your car, return to the championship, and you have to beat them again.
- Cops are tough here, much tougher than during the day. However, they stay away from the hangouts, which means they can act like safe spaces when you’re out and about. Plus, different cops for different terrains, so if you're getting chased by faster pursuit cars, you can lose them better if you go off-road.
Racing during the night will attract the attention of a police task force that patrols the streets of New Eridu. They're tasked with bust any illegal street racers in New Eridu, which can lead players to risk their earned rep against the police or lose their earnings in handcuffs.
Driving at night will result in the player being noticed by the NEPS's task force and will result in their vehicle being allocated a heat level. Reaching higher heat levels from engaging with the police will act as a multiplier for earned rep during the current night session, and can only be earned by reaching a safehouse or owned garage.
Zenless Crews[]
Main Article: Need For Speed: Zenless/Zenless Crew
The main objective that the Drifter has to take down and disband them whatever means necessary, retake the city under their own crew in their quest of revenge before the next big Zenless Racing War begins. These crews are made up of several members, including one leader and many subordinates. Each crew's leader controls a respective territory and can only be challenged for that territory in "Turf Series" events. At the same time, most of each crew's subordinates will challenge the player in "Turf Challenge" events in an attempt to either acquire more territory or take a territory back from the player for their leader to control.
Each Zenless Crew has their own skill level, racing discipline, style, and crew boss and events like the Street Leagues in Payback. Defeating their members is important in making it to the face the leaders in the series of showdown races. To unlock the boss's car for the Drifter, players must complete their showdown races successfully and take the boss leader down in extreme prejudice.
Zenless Underground Racing Events[]
The events in the night are accessed through the various Crew-affilated Meetup locations across New Eridu. During the night, the selection of events available at Crew-affilated Meetup locations differs in depending on the player's current week and day. Events offered at Meetups may have unique conditions applied to them, which can allow for easier or more restrictive entry unlike the day time Showdown races.
Each Zenless Crew's events has a performance tier requirement will scale the selection of cars to within certain performance tiers or a range of various tiers unlike in the Showdown races at the day where events can be partake regardless of tier and performance.
- Corner King - A Corner King event is a circuit or sprint event with a checkpointed route featuring multiple tight or successive corners.
- Drift Event - A Drift Event is a checkpointed circuit event in which participants earn points by drifting their vehicle.
- Drift Train - Beat the target score by drifting in line with other racers.
- Endurance - An Endurance event is a circuit or sprint event with an excessively long distance checkpointed route.
- Speed Race - A Speed Race event is a circuit or sprint event with a checkpointed route outlined for a high top speed.
- Street Race - A Street Race event is a circuit or sprint event with a checkpointed route along urban roads.
- Cop Battle - A Cop Battle event that It requires the player to immobilise a specific number of police vehicles within a certain time during a Pursuit.
- Cost to State - A Cost to State event is a event that the player needs to achieve a target cost to state, during a police pursuit within a given amount of time.
- Speed Trap - The racer with the highest total speed recorded combined across all points by the end of the event is the winner.
- Takeover - A checkpointed circuit event in which participants earn points by performing stunts using their vehicle. Up to four participants compete against each other with individual turns along the route to earn points. The winner is the racer that earns the most amount of points from their run of the route. They award points the player based on their driving skill, style, destruction, and skill chaining. Participants compete against each for points on along an enclosed course by reaching checkpoints, performing stunts, and completing skill sections. As participants earn points along the route, they can increase a point multiplier by performing multiple point earning skills as quickly as possible in a row.
- Highway Battle - Based off Tokyo Xtreme Racer/Shutoku Battle. Highway Battles are battles which take place on long stretches of highway/motorway that start at 80 MPH (128 KMH) with the goal of getting to 200 MPH (321 KMH) quicker than your opponent. whoever reaches 200 MPH (321 KMH) first wins.
- Canyon Duel - A Canyon Duel is a event take place along the canyon routes. The first phase of the event starts with one player tailing their opponent at the start of the canyon route. That player will have to stay behind their opponent throughout the event in order to earn points, with more points being awarded the closer they are to their opponent without colliding with their vehicle. The chasing player can automatically win if they pass their opponent and stay ahead for 10 seconds.
- Outrun Battle - A Outrun Battle is a player versus player event between two racers. To win, the racer must stay in the lead for a specific amount of time.
- Turf Battle - A series of races that feature only the player and the leader of a crew that controls a territory. If the player wins all the races in the series, the player takes control of that territory away from their opponent. The number of races in the Turf Series increases from two to four as the player progresses through the career. Turf Series' events always feature a combination of circuit and sprint races.
- Turf Challenge - An event where the player is challenged by members of various street crews for control of the player's territory. Winning a Turf Challenge will allow the player to retain control of said territory; losing one will allow the winning crew to repossess said territory. This event begins to occur once the player acquires a territory and will occur more frequently as the player controls more territories. Turf Challenges are almost always circuit races.
- Free-Roam Challenge - An event where the player is randomly challenged to an open-route sprint race by an independent racer if he/she sits idle or cruises the city long enough. In this event, players can set the race length and choose their own finish line. The player wins the challenge if he/she reaches point B from Point A in first place. There is a chance for multiple racers to challenge the player in this event.
- Touge - A point to point player versus player event type along a route set out with checkpoints. All participants compete against each other to earn points towards their drift total. The player with the highest total drift score after crossing the finish line is the winner.
Buy-Ins and Gaining Conditions[]
Unlike Showdown races in the day, the buy-in for events may be rescinded, to allow easier entry; or prohibitively increased, to create a high stakes event.
- Easy Fame - An event with a free entry and no buy-in requirement, but a comparatively small rep and bank reward.
- Big Fame - An event with an excessive buy-in requirement but a comparatively large rep and bank reward.
Undercover Missions[]
There are certain missions outside of street racing with the Zenless Crew where the Drifter has to do some missions as a Undercover while evading the police and the Mob. Some undercover missions requires a use of a four-door car (i.e BMW M5)
- Escape! - A Escape event is a event that the player to must escape a police/mob pursuit within a given amount of time.
- Bait Crate - Find a hidden crate and reach the escape point before time runs out without being busted.
- Abandoned - Find a hidden car and drive it to Rav's without being busted.
- Zenless Takedown - Takedown the Zenless crew member with extreme prejudice. Unlocked after winning the races from the said crew
- Courier - Reach all targets before time runs out.
Sidestories[]
Each member of the crew that Drifter originally join will give you various side missions depending on what type of racer they’re supposed to represent. These missions swap between day and night, and provide special rewards, like extra money, specialty parts, etc. Completing their entire mission line provides you with a specialty car fine-tuned for the genre.
Customisable Garages[]
There are multiple garages/hideouts across the map, and each of them has their own styling. For example, the inner-city garage looks more like the garage from Need For Speed (2015), while the garage by the shore looks like the one from Heat. The player can set the background to be a specific garage, or to change depending on which garage you entered last and the player can even pose around the garage in Snapshot. Also, the player can do the same for changing whether it is day or night while the player is in the garage.
Weaponry[]
Due to being on the role of a undercover agent once again and returning from Rivals, The Drifter will be capable of using weaponry against drivers and the police. The available weapons with each being upgradable as the player progresses through the game.
| Weapon | Description |
|---|---|
| EMP | An EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse) is a form of energy that can be fired from a device. The Device requires a successful targeting lock before it can be fired. An EMP hit interrupts and damages vehicle equipment as well as temporarily disabling it. |
| Electrostatic Field | An ESF (Electro Static Field) is an electronic device that generates a charge through the body of a vehicle. A vehicle that collides with a car generating an ESF will temporarily lose control alongside being damaged and repelled away. ESFs will also protect a vehicle from Stun Mines and EMP targeting once activated. |
| Jammer | A Jammer forcibly interferes with radar guidance and communications of both NEPS as well as racer vehicles by saturating nearby radio receivers with noise or false information. They function for a short amount of time before deactivating and can disable an EMP targeting system. |
| Shockwave | Shockwave emits a burst of energy from a vehicle that can forcibly repel and damage vehicles that are close to the epicentre. Higher level shockwaves can repel vehicles with such force that they can rebound and strike additional players. |
| Stun Mine | The stun mine is deployed behind the vehicle and it temporarily disables the electrical systems of any vehicle driving over it. The device's electrical charge can be spread amongst several vehicles if they are within a close vicinity of each other. |
| Turbo Boost | Turbo Boost is an uninterruptible supply of a potent nitrous to a vehicle's engine. The chemical compound combusts more effectively than regular nitrous resulting in a harsher increase of acceleration and a higher top speed. Colliding against a strong opposing force will deactivate any level of turbo boost. |
NEPS[]
The New Eridu Police Sector is the main law enforcement agency for New Eridu and one of the many forces attempting to impede the Drifter's progress in Need for Speed: Zenless. Despite appearing as being connected to them on the surface, the NEPS is ultimately a separate entity from ASRC and the FBI.
The NEPS's system is a mixture of those from Need for Speed: Undercover, Need for Speed: Carbon, Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2012) and Need For Speed: Payack. Specifically, they are like the former in that they will engage in pursuits if rammed by the player and like the latter in terms of overall aggressiveness but has weaker health (one or two shunts will take a cop car down). However, like the ASRC, they are capable of utilizing certain special tactics and increased aggressive manuevers in order to take the player down.
Heat Levels[]
Competing in an event during the night will add an associated gain in heat towards the player and put them at a greater risk of gaining the attention of NEPS. As the player progresses to the next day, the heat associated with the player is reset.
Heat is tied to the player and is retained regardless of their choice in vehicle.
(NOTE: In heat levels 2 & 5, the bolded vehicle represents the primary Pursuit Unit. The italicized vehicle represents the secondary Pursuit Unit)
| Heat Level | Pursuit Unit(s) | Roadblocks | Behaviours | Pursuit Tactics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford Taurus Interceptor (Civic Unit) | N/A |
|
P.I.T. |
| 2 | Ford Taurus Interceptor (Civic Unit)
BMW M5 (G90) (Highway Patrol) Rivian R1T (Off-Road Unit) |
BMW M5 (G90) |
|
P.I.T.
Roadblocks |
| 3 | BMW M5 (G90) (Highway Patrol)
Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing (State Patrol) Rivian R1T (Off-Road Unit) Genesis G70 (Level I Specialised Tech) |
Ford Bronco Wildtrak 4-Door |
|
P.I.T.
Roadblocks Spike Strip (Level I) EMP (Level I) Electrostatic Field (Level I) Shock Ram (Level I) Head-On Collisions (Bronco) |
| 4 | Chevrolet Corvette C7 Grand Sport (Federal Unit)
Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat (K9 Unit) Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat (Undercover) Maserati Ghibli (Level II Specialised Tech) |
Ford Bronco Wildtrak 4-Door |
|
P.I.T.
Roadblocks Spike Strip (Level II) EMP (Level II) Electrostatic Field (Level II) Shock Ram (Level II) Head-On Collisions (Bronco) |
| 5 | Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk (Off-Road)
Chevrolet Corvette C7 Grand Sport (Federal Unit) Porsche 911 GT2 RS (VRT) Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat (K9 Unit) Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat (Undercover) Audi RS 6 Avant (Level III Specialsied Tech) |
Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk |
|
P.I.T.
Roadblocks Spike Strip (Level III) EMP (Level III) Electrostatic Field (Level III) Shock Ram (Level III) Head-On Collisions (Trackhawk)
|
| 6 | Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk (Off-Road)
Chevrolet Corvette C7 Grand Sport (Federal Unit) Porsche 911 GT2 RS (VRT) Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat (K9 Unit) Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat (Undercover) Audi RS 6 (Level III Specialsied Tech) Koenigsegg Jesko (Bardiel) Terradyne Gurkha LAPV (Rhino) ASRC Unit |
Terradyne Gurkha LAPV | Same as Heat 5 but adding in the ASRC unit and the most powerful unit, Bardiels | P.I.T.
Roadblocks Spike Strip (Level III) EMP (Level III) Electrostatic Field (Level III) Shock Ram (Level III) Head-On Collisions (Gurkha) |
Busted[]
The busted system is similar to that of Most Wanted (2005) and Carbon. Players will be busted when their bright red busted meter is filled. This meter will start to fill if the player is not moving and has police units trapping their vehicle.
However, Zenless's busted system comes with a slightly different gameplay mechanic. If the player is busted the first three times in their career, they have the option to either pay a fine and receive an impound strike on their vehicle or use one "AntiCrime" marker, which absolves the player of these penalties. Any subsequent bust after these markers are used will result in the player receiving a fine and a strike, earning three strikes results of the vehicle receiving a impound strike. If the player receives three impound strikes, their vehicle will be seized indefinitely by the NEPS. If all of the player's vehicles are impounded, the player will have to start from the beginning of the game again.
Cooldown[]
The cooldown system returns and is the same as that of Most Wanted (2005) and Carbon. Players begin filling the blue cooldown meter by escaping from the police and by driving to hiding spots, which are scattered throughout the city. Each hiding spot fills up the cooldown meter faster.
Challenges[]
Challenges are objective targets associated with the player's progression through single-player and multiplayer, with each challenge having a specific objective, target, and reward.
Objectives are either Story, Skill, Activity, or Collectible based, and Progress towards objectives can be tied to single-player, multiplayer, or both.
Rewards include cash, driver poses, Tags, Samples, or cars.
New Eridu[]
Known in game as "a city of two leagues", New Eridu is based off the city of the same name from Zenless Zone Zero, and the open world setting of Need for Speed: Zenless which is much larger than most open-world locations in Ghost Games installments.
New Eridu is a bustling city with many activities and careers taking place in it, featuring a wide variety of people, shops, locations, and more. Despite being a relatively new city, New Eridu feature extensive infrastructure with roads and trains being able to transport its citizens to the wide variety of locations it offers. The technology in the city appears to be a blend of both retro and futuristic technology, such as advanced computer systems running on arrays of CRT televisions for its display, as well as music record players and VHS tapes being the medium of choice for entertainment for most residents despite the presence of data file storage devices, streaming services and other high-tech gadgets unlike other cities in the previous installments.
The open world location places New Eridu surrounded into the landscape regions inspired by various places around the world, and can be explored during the day or night. A dynamic weather system can change the driving conditions from dry to wet through differing amounts of rain, as well as snow.
Regions/Territories[]
Aside from New Eridu being cornerstone of street racing for Zenless Underground League. There are various regions and territories surrounding the main city, each has their own environment and biomes which includes:
- Inazuma Peaks - The mountainous northwest side of New Eridu, where drifters and tuners reign. The elevation of this borough is the highest among all 9 of them.
- Snezhnaya Tundra - The snowy northern portion of the map, rather adjacent to Inazuma Peaks, where snow rally cars reign and blizzards affect racers.
- Mondstadt Village - A rural area with lots of plains and houses as far as the eye can see. Located on the northeast. Dominated by supercars and muscles. Also has a Fall-themed section.
- Natlan Scenic View - A forest and jungle biome that is ruled by SUVs and offroaders. Located at the west of the map rather adjacent to Inazuma Peaks
- Sumeru Canyon - The Desert map. Located in the east of New Eridu. Dominated by muscles and offroaders.
- Jarillo Beach CIty - Ruled by supercars and offroaders, a seaside borough. The Sumeru Canyons' easternmost desert area is extended to this borough. Located in the southeast and easternmost part.
- Belobog Industrial City - An SUV/Muscle dominated borough. This industrial district is located in the South of New Eridu.
- Nod-Krai Tech City - A cyberpunk city and the most technologically advanced district, ruled by hybrids and electrics. Located in the southwest.
Dealerships[]
Dealerships can be found across New Eridu with each having a rotating availability of stock and each specialising in types of cars. Purchasing a car from a specific dealer will place it within that dealership's car type. For example, Muscle cars had to be purchased from the Muscle car dealership.
Tuning Shops[]
A Tune-Up-Shop is a parts shop and they can be found across New Eridu. They allow for performance parts to be purchased and equipped to cars from Sport to Ultimate tiers.
Gas Stations[]
Gas Stations can be found across New Eridu and act as cheaper fast travel locations. While you get a set number of free repairs every time you go out, but once you use them up, you need to pay a set amount of money every time you drive by to get repairs at the Gas Station, which grows according to your vehicle class, current level of damage, and the amount of times you’ve repaired today/tonight. For example, it costs $100 to repair your car the first time, maybe it costs $150 or $200 the second time, etc.
Activities[]
Each individual activity location has a 3-star rating attached to it, which has three targets the player can surpass to earn stars. All three targets for an activity location are shown as a star rating, with each subsequently higher rating increasing in difficulty towards its completion.
Beating a star rating will reward the player with rep and bank. The amount of reputation and bank awarded to the player depends on the star rating they have beaten, and beating a personal best will always reward the same amount.
Having the High Roller Perk will add an extra 5% bank and reputation reward to all target rewards.
- Drift Zone - Nearby Drift Zones will be shown on the player's mini-map and can be triggered at either day or night, but its location isn't recorded on their map unless they pass near either start point of a Drift Zone. Driving through a start point will initiate the player's attempt to beat that zone's score target. Beating each of the three star rating targets will reward the player with cash. Beating all three star rating targets will allow the player to earn additional cash by beating their personal best score for a zone. When in a Drift Zone, a score multiplier will increase the amount of points a player can earn whilst drifting. The multiplier starts at a base times one, but chaining multiple drifts together in quick succession will increase the multiplayer to a cap of times four.
- Hot Lap - Nearby Hot Laps will be shown on the player's mini-map and can be triggered at either day or night, but its location isn't recorded on their map unless they pass near the start point of a Hot Lap. Driving through a start point will initiate the player's attempt to beat that lap's time targets. Beating each of the three star rating targets will reward the player with cash. Beating all three star rating targets will allow the player to earn additional cash by beating their personal best score for a zone. When in a Hot Lap, the player is shown the time of their last attempt and their personal best.
- Long Jump - Nearby Long Jumps will be shown on the player's mini-map and can be triggered at either day or night, but its location isn't recorded on their map unless they pass near that Long Jump. Driving through a Long Jump start point will initiate the player's attempt to beat that jump's target. Beating each of the three star rating targets will reward the player with cash. Beating all three star rating targets will allow the player to earn additional cash by beating their personal best distance for a Long Jump.
- Speed Trap - Nearby Speed Traps will be shown on the player's mini-map and can be triggered at either day or night, but its location isn't recorded on their map unless they pass near that Speed Trap. Driving through a Speed Trap will record the player's current rate of speed past that camera and compare it to its target speeds. Beating each of the three star rating targets will reward the player with cash.
- Speed Run - Nearby Speed Runs will be shown on the player's mini-map and can be triggered at either day or night, but its location isn't recorded on their map unless they pass near that Speed Trap. Driving through a Speed Run will record the player's current rate of speed between two cameras and compare it to its target speeds. Beating each of the three star rating targets will reward the player with cash.
Stars are awarded to the player by beating rating targets of the multiple activity locations, with each offering up to three stars by beating its 3-star target.
Beating a 1-star target will award a single star, beating the 2-star rating will award 2 stars and beating the 3-star rating will award 3 stars. Players will not be awarded additional stars from beating a personal best set above a 3-star or by continually beating targets they've already completed.
Earning all 3-star ratings for activities will unlock various vehicles for purchase from the dealership, various decals for the player apply to their vehicles, tyre smoke colour vanity items for the player to apply to their vehicles, poses for the character and horns.
Collectible[]
Collectibles can be found across New Eridu and the surrounding areas. Each individual collectible has its own location that isn't shown on the player's map until they've driven near an undiscovered collectible.
Successfully collecting a collectible will reward the player with rep and bank but collecting street art and "changa" pictures will only reward the decal collected and "changa" images in the gallery respectively. The amount of reputation and bank awarded to the player depends on the collectible they have collected.
- Billboards - Billboards are older advertisements scattered around New Eridu that can be driven through. Nearby billboards are highlighted to the player, and smashed billboards are shown with a "collected" stamped across them. They are highlighted by an icon of a billboard.
- VHS Tapes - VHS Tapes are collectible tapes that can be found hidden across New Eridu. Nearby tapes are not highlighted to the player, but found tapes are recorded on the player's map. They are highlighted by an icon of a VHS tape.
- Flamingos - Flamingos are collectible neon-light statues of Flamingos that can be found across New Eridu. They are highlighted by an icon of a flamingo. Driving nearby a flamingo will telegraph its proximity to the player, as well as having its location be recorded on the player's map
- Bear Champs - Bear Champs are collectible statues of Bear Champs that can be found across New Eridu. They are highlighted by an icon of a bear. Driving nearby a bear champ will telegraph its proximity to the player, as well as having its location be recorded on the player's map
- Street Art - Street Arts are collectible arts that can be found across New Eridu. They are highlighted by an icon of a spray paint can. Driving nearby street art will telegraph its proximity to the player, as well as having its location be recorded on the player's map. Collected street art locations are added as a wrap editor decal to the player's decal collection and can not be recollected from their location.
- Urbex Spots - Urbex Spots require the player to reach a unique urban artwork and capture an image of the area. They are highlighted by an icon of a Camera. Driving nearby a Urbex Spot will telegraph its proximity to the player, as well as having its location be recorded on the player's map
- Donut Spots - Donut Spots require the player to perform a donut stunt within a square defined by four flares. They are highlighted by an icon of Skid Marks. Driving nearby a Donut Spot will telegraph its proximity to the player, as well as having its location be recorded on the player's map
- "Changa" Pictures - "Changa" Pictures are collectible images comprising of midriffs close ups belonging to various female models in both Festival and Underground races that do not play a role here and can be found really hidden across New Eridu. Nearby pictures are not highlighted to the player, but found pictures are recorded on the player's map. They are highlighted by an icon of a question mark. Collected pictures are added in the dedicated tab of the gallery and can not be recollected from their location.
Collecting all collectibles of a certain type will unlock various vehicles for purchase from the dealership, various decals for the player apply to their vehicles, tyre smoke colour vanity items for the player to apply to their vehicles, poses for the character, and underglow vanity items for the player to apply to their vehicles with the exception of the "Changa" pictures which unlocks special customisable items and poses for the character.
Ananta Special Road Corps[]
Ananta Special Road Corps are a vigilante group of Interpol police officers that take to the streets of New Eridu, and the biggest form of opposition to the drifter.
Posing as high speed street racers and appearing unconnected to the NEPS on the surface, the collective aims to shut down other street racers themselves including the player, infiltrating certain events and pursuits to do so. They have also been known to take down NEPS units in the way of their objective, further highlighting their status as a separate force.
The Ananta Special Road Corps also have separate "police chatter" from the NEPS, with theirs being a lot more coarse than the former's. In this regard, they are similar to the Palm City Police Department (at night) from Need for Speed Heat, the Seacrest County Police Department and Redview Police Department from Need For Speed Rivals.
Cars[]
Main article: Need for Speed: Zenless/Cars
Cars are given a performance rating from 100 to 400, which is further split into five performance tiers: B, A, A+, S, and S+. Cars are given a class which splits into: Street, Pro, Racer, Super, Ultimate and Dirt.
Unlocked cars are made available for purchase through a dealership using cash, though unlocking cars can be done through a tree system that can be spent with Rep as the player progresses through.
Handling[]
Heavyweight handling model based off of The Run, with some tweaks made to better handle slower speeds, and urban racing
- Tight (very easy to control, agile cars, ex: Abarth 500, Lotus Exige)
- Normal (your standard handling car, ex: Toyota Supra (A80), BMW M3 (E92))
- Dirt (dirt cars, ex: Ford F-150 Raptor, Jeep Wrangler (JL))
- Difficult (performance cars, ex: Nissan GT-R, Audi R8)
- Heavy (heavier cars, muscle cars, luxury sedans, ex: Porsche Panamera Turbo S, Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing)
- Very Difficult (intermediate between Difficult and Expert, ex: Jaguar XKR-S (2012), Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C8))
- Expert (race cars, ex: Ford GT (2006), Saleen S7 Twin Turbo, RUF CTR3)
Style (Visual Customisation)[]
Main article: Need for Speed: Zenless/Style
Style, the visual customisation section for cars, allows players to customise with visual components, wraps, and visual flair with over 10,000 options.
Aftermarket Brands[]
Much like Need For Speed (2015), Zenless include various real world manufacturers and their components for players to modify their cars with. Some manufacturers may only have parts bespoke to certain car brands or certain models, whilst some feature various components that can alter a car to look like another of similar trim or feature geographical differences.
- 5ZIGEN
- Abflug
- Addictive Desert Designs
- Advance
- Aimgain
- Powerhouse Amuse
- APR Performance
- Arios
- Artisan Spirits
- Autokonexion
- BBS
- Bee*R
- BenSopra
- Bisimoto
- Blitz
- BN Sports
- Bomex
- Brembo
- Buddyclub
- Car Shop Glow
- Chargespeed
- Circuit Garage
- Cosmis Racing Wheels
- C-West
- DAMD
- Darwin Pro
- DTM Fiberwerkz
- Duke Dynamics
- EMS - Energy Motorsport
- Endless
- Enkei
- Falken
- Farmofminds (Tevex)
- Fatlace
- Fifteen52
- Forge Motorsport
- FI Exhaust
- Garage Mak
- Garage Vary
- Gialla
- GReddy
- Hankook
- HKS
- Hotwheels
- Hoyo Customs (fictional)
- HRE Wheels
- Hugo Da Silva
- idlers
- ings +1
- J's Racing
- JUN
- K.S. Bodyworks
- Kahn Design
- Kakimoto Racing
- KM4SH
- Kuhl
- Kumho Tires
- Liberty Walk
- LOMA
- Mansory
- Mazdaspeed
- M2-Motoring
- Mugen
- Nankang Rubber Tire Corp. Ltd
- Need For Speed Originals (includes all of the fictional parts like Chidori)
- Origin Lab
- Overtake
- Prior Design
- Rauh-Welt Begriff
- Rays
- RE Amemiya
- Rocket Bunny
- Rotiform Wheels
- RouteKS
- Rowen
- RTR
- Run Free
- Seibon
- Seidoworks
- Speedhunters
- Spirit-Rei
- Spoon Sports
- SSR Wheels
- StopTech
- Streetfighter LA
- Sunline Racing
- Tamon Design
- TCP Magic
- Tex Modify
- Total Car produce
- Toyo Tires
- Toyota Gazoo Racing
- Trial
- TRD
- Urban Outlaw
- Valenti
- Varis
- Veilside
- Vertex
- Voltex
- Vörsteiner
- Vossen Wheels
- Watanabe
- Weds
- Wilwood
- Wings West
- Work
Performance[]
Main article: Need for Speed: Zenless/Performance
Performance allows players to improve the performance and handling of their cars through upgrades.
Burst Nitrous[]
Burst Nitrous allows the player to tap the nitrous button to deliver short and quick injections of increased performance without activating a full nitrous shot.
Bursts can be earned by getting airtime, grip turning, near missing, drifting, drafting, and taking down racers or cops, but can only be held for a short period of time.
Character[]
Main article: Need for Speed: Zenless/Drifter
The character (The Drifter) is an avatar players can select to represent themselves in-game as their driver.
Soundtrack[]
Main article: Need for Speed: Zenless/Soundtrack
The music in Need For Speed: Zenless will be varying and have different "music sets" for various music tastes. "Heavy Set" for metal enthusiasts, "Techno Set" for techno/future-rap fans, "Festival Set" for people who actually enjoy the modern music as well as an original score by Hoyo-MiX. Plus, you can select different sets and mix them, or just cherry-pick specific songs.
Cast[]
Main article: Need for Speed: Zenless/Cast
Trivia[]
- This is the first NFS game made by Hoyoverse, Kuro Games and Hawke Gaming Industries.
- The theme for Zenless is the HOYO-MIX remix of Nine Thou (Superstars Remix) by Styles of Behind.
- If upgraded enough, all old muscle cars (and some newer ones like the Challenger SRT Hellcat) will wheelie at the start of races and when nitro is activated.
- It is not possible for the player to drive as an NEPS police unit.
- The police chatter for NEPS is modeled after that of Need for Speed: Undercover, Need For Speed: Rivals and Need for Speed Heat (during the day).
- The voice actors for the NEPS police chatter are voiced by various English voice actors in Japanese-made games
- The various racers in the Showdown races that the Drifter face are the racers from Need For Speed: Unbound, Honkai Star Rail, Genshin Impact, Wuthering Waves, Punishing Gray Raven, Tower of Fantasy and Aether Gazer.
- The various nicknames for ASRC are named after the Angels from Neon Genesis Evangelion with the exception of four (Cross, F8, Linh and Mercer).
- The regions surrounding New Eridu are named after the locations in various Hoyoverse games.
- The ASRC characters are going to be from Honkai Impact 3rd and Path To Nowhere with the exception of Cross, F8, Sachiel (Cop Player in Hot Pursuit 2010), Mercer and Chase Linh.
- The "Changa" collectible pictures are a nod to the infamous loading screens in the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii versions and the background images of the Challenge Series in Need For Speed: Undercover plus the various female model extras that do not play a role in Fast & Furious movies.
- The Thiren characters, who appeared in ZZZ will re-imagined as Humans here.
- Thirty Seconds To Mars' Edge Of The World (the theme of Hot Pursuit 2010) plays for the finale mission where the Drifter goes up against "UNKNOWN" (driving the heavily modified Porsche 911 Carrera RSR, based on the RSR when upgraded to the max in the Ghost Games-era)
- The various independent racers in Free-Roam Challenges and daytime showdown races are going to be various characters from pop-culture that Jason Hawke likes.