The player assumes the role of a Proxy (the protagonist known as Wise or Belle), a character who helps others explore alternate dimensions called Hollows.

Despite falling into the "futuristic" category, Zenless Zone Zero adopts a retro and analog aesthetic, which is explained by the notion that modern technology is susceptible to corruption from overexposure to Ether.

They operate a video rental shop called "Random Play" as a front for their undercover activities as Proxies; individuals who assist Hollow-raiding Agents in navigating the hazardous and ever-changing landscape of Hollows.

Their leader, Nicole, reaches out to Phaethon to locate the two Agents and escort them out of the Hollow, though the strongbox is lost in the process due to an attack by a powerful Ethereal.

Phaethon dumps their primary account information to the local authorities to force the hacker out, but in doing so they lose their navigation data, leaving them without a way to lead the Cunning Hares out of the Hollow.

In a desperate bid, the Proxy uploads the data contained in the strongbox to their avatar Bangboo, Eous, but the process knocks them unconscious.

Phaethon is contacted by a feline Thiren named Nekomata, who informs them that the Cunning Hares are trapped in the blast zone of a demolition project headed by Vision Corporation, as part of a larger effort to remove abandoned portions of Old Eridu's metro lines to further expansion of the city.

While searching the Dead End Hollow, the Cunning Hares stumble across a large community of survivors living in the supposedly "abandoned" metro ruins and realize that Vision, also aware of the population, intends to kill them to cover up their presence from the rest of the city.

Perlman's secretary, Sarah, reveals herself as the mastermind behind the plan and orders her gunmen to kill the civilians and the Cunning Hares, but Public Security, following an anonymous tip from Phaethon, arrives on the scene.

After subduing the machines, it is revealed that shortly before losing control, they received an encrypted transmission from deeper inside the Hollow, supposedly from Kohrs Belobog himself, and they were attempting to reach him.

With the help of Koleda at the controls of the prototype, Belobog and the Proxy are able to defeat the creature, and its remains are taken into custody by Public Security and Deputy Commander Bringer.

With the Proxy's help, the officers discover the recent EMP attacks in the city are part of a secret plot to steal the creature's remains before it arrives at HAND (Hollow Affairs & Neutralization Department) headquarters.

In the aftermath of the Vision Corporation's scandal, Nicole and the Cunning Hares intend to represent the survivors in the upcoming trial against Charles Perlman.

Nicole and the Cunning Hares are called away to board the airship taking them and Perlman to the courthouse, but Victoria Housekeeping agrees to accompany the Proxy in their continued investigation into Rain's whereabouts.

After rescuing Rain from her captors, Lyacon is able to jump aboard the airship and regain control, landing it safely on the roof and evacuating the passengers.

After waking up, however, Perlman, realizing that the mercenaries had been hired by Sarah to eliminate him as a loose end rather than secure his freedom, sneaks back aboard the airship and steals it, piloting it out of New Eridu.

In the "Outer Rim", a desert-like wasteland surrounding New Eridu, the biker gang "Sons of Calydon" consisting of the leader Caesar, her bodyguard/champion Lighter, second-in-command Lucy, truck driver Piper, and bartender Burnice find Perlman unconscious in the wreck of the airship he stole while fleeing the city.

Billy Kid, a former associate of Calydon, informs the siblings of the discovery and agrees to transport the Proxy to Blazewood, but while en route they are ambushed and forced to crash into a Hollow by Lucius, second-in-command of the rival biker gang, the Vanquishers.

Caesar informs Phaethon that Perlman is still unconscious, but agrees to look after him in exchange for working for them as Proxies during the "Tour De Inferno", a large motorcycle rally race through a Hollow, terminating at Cinderglow Lake where the winner confirms their victory by tossing an explosive Sparkstone into the lake to clear Ether corruption, allowing Cinderglow Lake to continue providing fuel from the Outer Rim and thus keeping the region independent of New Eridu's Ether-based fuels; the victor is also declared the de facto ruler of the Outer Rim, the current of which is Pompey, leader of the Vanquishers.

Despite numerous setbacks and incidents of sabotage carried out by Lucius, the Sons of Calydon successfully prepare for the Tour De Inferno with Phaethon's assistance.

Lucius then betrays Pompey, using a sabotaged Sparkstone to increase the ambient Ether activity with the intention of overwhelming Cinderglow with corruption to force the Outer Rim to become dependent upon New Eridu corporations for fuel.

Calydon defeats Pompey, and Caesar seemingly sacrifices herself to deliver an intact Sparkstone to the depths of Cinderglow to clear the corruption, but a hidden Hollow fissure allows her to escape back to the surface.

As the ones who successfully cleared Cinderglow Lake and Lucius having fled, the Sons of Calydon are declared the victors and new rulers of the Outer Rim.

Miyabi manages to calm Tailless down and regain control, but it is revealed that after the rally, Bringer is attempting to flee the city in the aftermath of the plan's failure.

Bringer is chased down and cornered within a Hollow, but he invokes an entity he calls the "Creator" and injects himself with a serum that mutates him into a massive Sacrifice creature - similar to the one that attacked Belobog.

With the combined efforts of the Cunning Hares, Belobog Heavy Industries, New Eridu Public Security, Victoria Housekeeping, Sons of Calydon, Sector 6, and Miyabi wielding a fully-powered Tailless, Bringer is defeated, though Sarah once again disappears.

[14] Random Play is a video store in New Eridu where Belle and Wise rent out VHS tapes while living on the second floor above their business.

They believed that HoYoverse had yet to encounter significant rivals in the action game category and that Zenless Zone Zero could "stabilize and expand the user market."

17173 also emphasized the game's strong stylized design and trendy visual elements, noting that it inherited HoYoverse's expertise in the action category while presenting a distinct and unique work.