Zanki Zero is a very interesting mix of concepts and mechanics. As a Spike Chunsoft game, it has the expected visual novel style of storytelling, with a deep and mysterious plot. Eight people have awakened in a deserted island in a post-apocalyptic world, A recurring TV program tells them they are the last remains of humanity. As they explore this new and unknown world of ruins, they also come to realize they are human clones now, who can come back from the death retaining their memories, be reborn as their child selves, only to age back into adulthood and seniority within a few days, only to die and restart the cycle again. The game's chapters revolve around uncovering parts of the past of the group members, as they slowly come to learn more about what happened to the world.

The gameplay is where this game changes the most from what most are used in a Spike Chunsoft published title. The game controls in a grid-based map system, as an RPG styled game where resource and inventory management are key. Your party moves in first person across the maps, facing up against enemies who can mainly be hit at close distance, management of your space as you move is key into mastering the combat and exploration system. I will say, it took me a good amount of time to get fully adapted to it, the default controls are weird at first glance using a keyboard and mouse, you can plug in a controller but the game felt clunky with it, I picked KB&M to continue going. Once you do get the hang of the combat, it feels very rewarding.

Dying is actually a main mechanic in the game, there are countless ways to die, from different attacks of different enemies, while being affected by conditions, and so on. Depending on the way a character dies, after being "Extended", they will earn passive bonuses named "Shigabane", that will make them stronger in the future. You do drop your inventory on death, which is annoying at times, but it can be picked back up on the place you died at.

As you explore the many dungeons in the game, each has an unique way to present it's map, as well as puzzles along the way you must conquer and solve to progress, some are very clever, others confusing at times, overall most were good but there's a lack of explanation in a few instances, I had to look up guides to proceed.

I should add that this version of the game has a "Difficulty 1" setting, which pretty much removes every enemy besides bosses, though the former are defeated in 1 hit. I struggled a bit to get the full hang of the combat but I would encourage to play at the recommended Difficulty 3 setting. As you progress they allow you to amp it to 4 or 5 for more drops on items. I felt 3 was perfect for a decent challenge while playing the main story,

I tend to 100% games, but this time around I cut it short. In order to get all achievements, all possible Shigabane must be acquired, that is over 140 different ways of dying as all 8 characters. Completionists may want to rethink twice if they want to do everything in this game, as that process can be incredibly grindy, I chose not to do it for my sanity. However the game is filled with many side pieces of information that add to the world building on the long-gone world. The map gets filled as you progress through it, so empty spots on the grid that aren't surrounded by walls are clues for you to check a possible missed detail, I did enjoy going for these and discovering all the secrets.

Overall this game was an incredibly unique experience, I had no expectation or knowledge of it prior, besides the basic description, and after playing it I found an interesting and unique story, charming characters, and a very unique battle system to go along with the exploration. This game seems to be a bit on the unknown side but I can say it can almost stand to the side of some of the other popular titles published by Spike Chunsoft, if you are a fan of their games, I recommend you try this one out.