Zero IDLE
- October 20, 2020
- ZeroWorldwide
- 20h median play time
Get on SteamZero IDLE is an incremental (IDLE) game in which you can decide whether to make all of your way to the biggest number EVER by clicking, or by increasing your incremental production...or you can make the game to click for you...
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Reviews
- Fun and engaging idle game that offers a steady sense of progression.
- Easy to understand and complete, making it accessible for casual players.
- Free-to-play with no pay-to-win mechanics, allowing players to enjoy the game without spending money.
- Progression becomes excessively grindy and repetitive, especially in the later stages.
- Requires constant attention and clicking, which detracts from the idle experience.
- Stability issues and lag can significantly hinder gameplay, making it frustrating at times.
- grinding14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 79 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being excessively tedious and repetitive, particularly during the early and late stages of play. While some players find it manageable or even enjoyable after a certain point, many express frustration with the slow progression and the need for significant time investment, often requiring hours or days of idling to achieve minimal gains. Overall, the grind is seen as a major hurdle that can detract from the overall experience, despite some acknowledging its potential for time-wasting entertainment.
“It's a bit grindy at times, but it adds to the overall experience.”
“While it can feel a little grindy, the rewards make it worthwhile.”
“The grind can be long, but it really helps in building character progression.”
“The 'evolve' mechanic is tediously grindy.”
“You'll need a second life, maybe some macros, and a will to live for grinding.”
“After reaching 100% of the Steam achievements, I see little point to continue though as it all becomes very grindy at that point: (spoiler) when you reach 6th life, the penalty to CPS becomes so big that even buying all ruby upgrades doesn't help you progress past around evolution ~108/112 before getting hard stuck to the point that it'll take hours/days of idling just to get up one coin level.”
- gameplay14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a grindy "evolve" mechanic that leads to repetitive clicking and minimal progression, often requiring long idle periods for slight improvements. While it focuses heavily on gameplay over story, the pacing is poorly executed, resulting in a frustrating experience where players feel stuck in a cycle of repetitive actions without meaningful upgrades or automation. Overall, the game lacks innovation and depth, making it feel tedious and overly reliant on basic clicker mechanics.
“That's a good thing for incremental games, where some devs will attempt to stretch gameplay time to infinity just by making milestones go up by multiple factors of ten.”
“It has an idle vs active mechanic where it counts the clicks you do and this count vanishes after 60 seconds of idle time.”
“If 'click to progress' is to be the only mechanic to progress, it should maybe work similarly to idle wizards -- different reward rates for auto-click vs. manual.”
“The 'evolve' mechanic is tediously grindy.”
“The pacing is so poorly done that it feels like I’ll have to idle a year before I can feel like I progressed onto a new mechanic.”
“There is quite a bit of rinse and repeat in the late-game, which on top of the clicking mechanic, makes it a grind to reach the complete end of the game.”
- humor10 mentions
- 90 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players appreciating the funny upgrade names, memes, and quirky items that add a unique charm to the experience. While some find the humor enjoyable and a highlight of the game, others feel it can be hit-or-miss, with a few critics noting that certain aspects lack comedic impact. Overall, the game's humor contributes positively to its appeal, despite some mixed opinions.
“The funny memes and weird balance makes this game very interesting and a bit unique from the rest.”
“The progression is steady, rewarding and quite hilarious.”
“Zero Idle is a free game with a cool concept and art style, along with some stupid meme humor that's pretty enjoyable.”
“Just sucks, the beginning of every evolution is super slow and then the rest is way too fast. It's just not made well, to be honest, and not funny either.”
“The humor falls flat and feels forced, making it hard to enjoy the game.”
“I expected some clever jokes, but instead, it was just a series of tired clichés that didn't land.”
- story7 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely overshadowed by its gameplay, with many users noting that it lacks a compelling narrative. While some acknowledge that a story exists, it is minimal and not a central focus, leading to comparisons with other narratives that are deemed more engaging. Overall, the consensus is that the game prioritizes gameplay over storytelling.
“What story?”
“No story.”
“Only gameplay, doesn't include a story.”
- monetization3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with some users perceiving it as a potential cash grab targeting players who become quickly hooked, while others note a surprising absence of pay-to-win features, such as an auto-prestige option, which could have capitalized on the game's repetitive end-game mechanics. Overall, there is a sense that the monetization strategy lacks clarity and could benefit from refinement.
“Needs a lot of re-iteration and just seems like a quick cash grab on people who get hooked in the first few hours. A lot of potential, but don't play it!”
“Somehow, this abomination of an end-game prestige system -- this wall of monotonous, active clicking to repeatedly cycle through the first, second, and then third tiers of prestige over and over again -- is not a cash grab.”
“It easily could (should?) have been a cash grab by offering the player some sort of real money-exclusive auto-prestige feature to automate the end-game respect grind, but shockingly, no such feature exists.”
- graphics2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The graphics in Zero Idle are praised for their cool concept and art style, complemented by enjoyable meme humor. However, some users feel that improvements are needed before they can fully recommend the game.
“Zero Idle is a free game with a cool concept and art style, along with some enjoyable meme humor.”
“Zero Idle is a free game with a cool concept and art style, but the graphics need a few improvements before I would recommend it.”
“The graphics are underwhelming and don't do justice to the game's potential.”
“While the art style has promise, the overall graphics feel outdated and lack polish.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it generally runs smoothly and offers a satisfying sense of progression, users report occasional frame rate drops over time, suggesting potential coding issues in its development.
“On the positive side, it runs smoothly and has a nice feeling of progression throughout.”
“However, the only downside of this game is that the FPS will drop after some time, which is frustrating because it seems likely that there's some coding issue with the game's optimization.”
