One of the gameplay elements that makes Chaos Zero Nightmare (CZN) standout from the crowd is its endgame system. On the surface CZN looks like any other turn based live service gacha. But the developers have a very clever and interesting endgame system that sets a new standard for the genre. This article will examine what makes the CZN endgame different. If you are interested in a review of the game, check out this article or for a beginners’ guide click here.
Endgame
The endgame allows you to craft unique builds. This sounds like a basic concept but it’s essential to increasing the longevity and re-playability of a title. So many live service games miss this essential concept. CZN is a deck building turned based game. Each character comes with a set of cards. Combine a team of 3 units to form your deck. In CZN there is a mode called Chaos. This mode allows the player to obtain gear and cards to create unique builds. In Chaos mode, you progress through various areas. Any given area may contain fights, rest stops and other random encounters. Each area allows you to gain currency (to use in the shop for items/cards) or acquire neutral/seasonal gear/cards or receive other buffs. If you fail during a run it ends immediately. There is no restart. The further you progress the more opportunity to develop your build. This is the only mode that allows you to do so. By engaging in this mode you can customize and create a unique kit for your team.
Essential Elements of the System
1. It’s challenging and rewarding. You want to make it as far as you can to get the right gear and cards. This makes each battle meaningful with high stakes and significant rewards.
2. Seasons add new items and therefore allow new builds. This keeps things interesting and gives players an actual reason to look at continuing to play as new builds are possible with seasonal items.
3. Variety in builds and team composition. The system allows players to create a variety of builds . Build diversity is essential. Humans are innately creative and offering this form of expression in builds and play style allows players to customize and strategize. When this is done right, it’s very satisfying because it allows for creative problem solving, which is deeply satisfying.
4. No auto battle option in Chaos mode. This forces the player to actually play the game. It shouldn’t come as a surprise but this makes it like a regular non-live service game. As the player is active, they become more invested and immersed in the scenario and the outcomes.
5. Choice. Chaos mode allows for a lot of choice. You begin by selecting a buff/perk that will apply throughout the run. You’ll also come across various scenarios that allow you to choose to acquire different items (card epiphanies, gear, neutral cards etc). You can also select which areas you’d like to visit. All these choices give the player a sense of agency. Allowing them to adapt to the build they are developing depending on what happens during a run and to adjust the difficulty during the process.
All these elements work together to create an interesting end game scenario. The core components of the system makes it dynamic. You don’t know exactly what type of build you’ll end up with in the end. Depending on what you get (e.g. different card epiphanies will significantly alter a character’s kit), you may create builds you never thought of. Combined with the ability for players to pursue builds they want and be creative in the process makes for a satisfying experience.
Challenges
Not everything is perfect, as building endgame content is not easy. The main challenge will be keeping players engaged after they’ve experienced several seasons. Players will get accustomed to having a variety of teams and builds and at that point the developer will need to continually innovate and introduce new content and new elements to the game. Often many gacha games get caught up in creating new characters. At first new characters are appealing as players are just starting the game and need more units. However, there is usually a saturation point where new units are no longer as enticing as players accumulate more. This can be a massive drop off point where the gacha game actually makes its own offering less desirable because it saturated itself with too many new units. Going back to traditional game design you need to have actual content not just characters and to keep things interesting that content needs to be interesting and meaningful to the player. This generally entails continually innovation.
Closing Thoughts
Altogether CZN offers an interesting endgame system. This is accomplished by allowing players to customize a build, offering new build possibilities with new seasons and doing this through challenging encounters that are also rewarding. So many live service games miss out on how important it is to allow this type of customization and creative problem solving. We need more developers in the free to play space to continue to innovate and work towards creating more interesting systems that bring more fulfilling experiences to the live service arena.
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