From GachaGo! we have had access to the definitive version of Infinity Nikki, the new open world gacha from Infold Games. In this article we will describe our general impressions about the game, what has caught our attention and the reasons why you should play it.
As a short introduction, Infinity Nikki is an ambitious open world gacha game where we will enjoy obtaining outfits for our character, we will collect stars after deciphering and completing challenges that we will find in the world of Miraland. It is an experience focused on the details, to enjoy the world they have created for us and get carried away by curiosity in a relaxed way.
Infinity Nikki will be available from December 5 for PC, PS5, iOS and Android as well as being available in multiple languages.
Infinity Nikki Review
Infinity Nikki is a cozy open world game where we will explore Miraland, a land where stylists craft their own dresses to unleash new powers and face the enemy that attacks their world. We will control Nikki, a newly arrived stylist under certain circumstances, accompanied by her companion Momo as they search for the Miraculous Outfits to face The Dark.
Interactive world
In Infinity Nikki we find ourselves in front of a cozy open world that can remind us of other titles of the same genre such as Genshin Impact, Wuthering Waves or Tower of Fantasy.
During your journey through the world of Miraland, while you advance with the main story, you will end up getting lost in the secrets that the interactive map has for you: novel and entertaining mini-games, hidden chests after small tests of cunning, get materials in different ways to make our costumes, characters to interact with to discover hidden stories and even unmarked dungeons where we will find fun puzzles.
Although we have said that the initial impact when playing Infinity Nikki can remind us of games of the same genre, when we go a little deeper we can discover that it is a world created to lose yourself in it. At no point in the game do you feel pressure to advance or fall behind (in part to the unnecessary combat as we will discuss later), so it helps you relax and take the time you need to discover and interact with your surroundings. On several occasions while playing we wanted to perform the main mission and without realizing it, we ended up completely away from the main objective by simply reacting to what the open world had prepared for us, small details that spun between each other to get lost exploring.
Because we will only control Nikki as a character during our adventure (and sometimes Momo for certain mini-games), the interaction with the map in many occasions becomes more fluid. The costumes that we will be making will allow us to obtain different interactions with the map, being able to unlock areas or puzzles previously blocked thanks to them. In addition to the specific costumes, we will also have a small dash and the ability to double jump to glide for a short period of time, without the need for gadgets, so the world is ready for us to figure out how to overcome the puzzles and riddles by ourselves without the need for specific characters. It is also possible to interact with certain momentary vehicles that will help us to enjoy the path we travel for a short period of time as a bicycle or a aerostatic balloon.
Story
The Nikki franchise is globally known for its dress-up games, where they focus mainly on creating a satisfying experience for their audience in terms of clothing and accessories for our characters, but their stories are not given the importance they deserve.
In this Infinity Nikki review we won’t go into specific details about the game’s main story, but it’s worth paying attention to it. Our protagonist Nikki, along with her companion Momo, is transported to the world of Miraland, where she must gather the Miracle Outfits to confront the darkness that is gradually making its way into her world. Thanks to the power of the Heart of Infinity, Nikki will strengthen her dormant powers thanks to the Whimstars. But this is not all that the game has prepared for us.
During the main adventure, we will share time with different characters perfectly built to sympathize with them and their personal situations. Also while exploring the world of Miraland, we will be able to discover small fragments of past and present history by interacting with books, notes, posters or even characters to further feed our knowledge about the world in which we find ourselves and the situation in which it is or secondary missions that will allow us to delve deeper into different characters or plots, such as the inclusion of several groups of stylites apart from the Stylist’s Guild, each with different objectives and that we will discover information about the factions themselves and their members through exploration and interaction with the map, eliminating the idea of a linear story and being able to approach it from different points of view.
Graphic quality
One of the most attractive details of Infinity Nikki is its graphics. Regardless of if you like dress up games or cozy games, the game’s graphic section catches your attention with a simple view.
The graphical details of the open world show Infold Games‘ dedication to creating a world that exceeds the expectations of its players. At no point does the world feel empty or dull, quite the opposite. You are looking forward to explore and see what you will find as you travel around the map, noticing the smallest details such as the reflection of the sun on the water, the textures of the small animals, the depth of the vegetation, as well as finding great panoramic views of the world you are visiting in various locations made specifically to enjoy that little moment of relaxation. Although the map seems large at first, at no time do you feel that it has been designed in a broad way simply to fill, but each place has dedication and affection in its implementation.
On the other hand, as usual in the franchise, Infinity Nikki also shows a lot of love and attention in the modeling of the characters, and above all, their outfits. Being the central theme of the game, the level of graphic detail of the clothes and accessories that we get is very difficult to beat, making each piece unique and different, giving players a wide variety of choices when it comes to dress.
Finally, the game’s cinematic scenes are attractive and well cared for, with a great voice acting and a level of graphic care at the level of the game in general, being scenes fluid and fun to watch, as well as the transitions between some minigame or change of scenery.
Interface and gameplay
An important aspect in any open world game is the interface, which facilitates continuous interaction with the map in the most natural and fluid way possible. In Infinity Nikki we have a comfortable and fast to use interface.
One of the menus that has been incorporated is the visual customization of the character. In this menu we will be able to select among all the costumes and accessories that we have, being able to change our hairstyle, accessories and mix pieces of different costumes to create the combinations that we like the most.
On the main screen where we play we have a lot of shortcuts to speed up the main menus as in other games of the same genre, but we also have a button to quickly switch between four previously saved outfits along with another to quickly switch between our special interactive action dress (fishing, animal grooming, bug hunting…) making it easy to switch according to the needs of the map.
The gameplay and exploration of the map is quite enjoyable from the player’s point of view. Having only one character, we can plane, fight and interact with the map with the same assigned button sequence. Interacting with the map and its resources will be essential to make our costumes and improve them so it was necessary that it was something simple and enjoyable as it is in Infinity Nikki.
They have also made it easier to know where to get specific resources through the minimap, selecting the resource we want to obtain in a small list so that its area of obtaining is marked, being able to be improved to more specific locations if we collect knowledge points of that resource or Momo’s vision to warn us of where the marvel stars are located.
The mini-games and challenges that we find throughout our adventure are very different from what we are currently used to, providing a breath of fresh air in the genre prioritizing menus such as photos, posing or interaction with other characters that you will meet over popular systems such as combat, making Infinity Nikki a special and unique game in its genre.
Combat and progress
As previously mentioned, the combat in Infinity Nikki is not something significant unlike most games of the same genre. This is what makes it different because at no time do you feel the need to fight beyond solving puzzles, being something simple and purely aesthetic or with argumentative reasons, since we will only have a skill called purification and an attack to the ground if we are in the air floating.
The progression in Infinity Nikki could be divided into different sections.
First, as we advance in the main story and perform actions with our special costumes such as fighting, fishing, hunting insects or grooming animals, we will unlock different improvements in the Heart of Infinity, encouraging us to interact continuously around the map organically to get new upgrades and costumes for these actions.
On the other hand, each costume will have different statistics divided into 5: Elegance, Fresh, Sweet, Sexy and Cool. These statistics can be improved by leveling up our costumes and each costume will have strengths and weaknesses, being necessary to perform fashion combats where we will be asked to highlight certain statistics in particular to get the best rewards. To improve a suit level we will have to obtain threads and materials consuming energy that regenerates daily in the Warp Spires.
Finally, the game has an achievement system that will qualify our ranking as a stylist according to the ones we complete, being necessary a certain rank for some missions.
Monetization
We must not forget that the most important aspect of the Nikki franchise is that they are dress up games and Infinity Nikki incorporates a gacha system in which we can obtain complete outfits and separate parts with which to combine the rest of our complements.
The coins of the game are divided in three:
- Bling: The gold of the game. It is used for free spins in the gacha of the city, manufacture of costumes, purchase of materials, etc.
- Diamond: The in-game currency with which you can buy materials in the store and crystals for free spins in the gacha. They are obtained through quests, daily quests, mini-games, etc.
Stellarite: The payment currency of the game. Available only through real money payment. With it is possible to access to costumes and purely aesthetic premium items.
Different daily, weekly and monthly packs are also available, as well as a daily connection blessing and a free and paid battle pass.
Rules of the pulls
The pulls are divided between a permanent banner in which we will use Resonite Crystal and a temporary banner in which we will use Revelation Crystal. Each banner will have at least one 5* outfit in which we will have to obtain all its parts (usually 8) to get the complete outfit. In the permanent banner it is possible to select which 5* outfit we want to obtain when shooting, prioritizing this outfit over the rest.
The pulls guarantee certain benefits:
- One 4* item every 10 pulls.
- One 5* item every 20 pulls.
This means that every 180 spins you get a full 5* outfit on a guaranteed basis, plus certain bonuses depending on the spins you make on each banner, from different make-up pieces of the 5* outfits to custom outfits for Momo.
The roll rates are as follows:
- 5* set piece – 1.5% pull rate.
- 4* set piece – 3.29% pull rate.
Finally it is important to mention that it is not necessary to obtain duplicates in this set to get better benefits, but it is necessary to obtain twice complete the same 4* or 5* outfit to unlock an alternate look of the same outfit.
Final conclusions
When I was offered the opportunity to review Infinity Nikki I had certain preconceptions. For me, a combat system has always been necessary to enjoy an open world game of this type, so I didn’t think it was going to captivate me, and I was wrong.
Infinity Nikki is a game that delivers what it promises and possibly exceeds it. You can see the love and dedication put into creating a world with a living map that feels natural. Most of the time you will be exploring while playing mini-games one after another almost without realizing it, enjoying the scenery and the calm that transmits its graphics and music.
The progression system I think is rewarding for the player, you want to discover and unlock things with some impatience, there were times when I forgot that it was a test account prior to launch and could not stop looking to progress and enrich my character.
If I have to highlight something negative, I think it would be the gacha system. Being something merely aesthetic I think it is quite limited and can become frustrating because the chances of you get a complete costume that you like are not high and unlike other gacha that if you are lucky and you get a 5* character in advance you can save many rolls, here requires you to get 8 pieces minimum to complete the set, being very unpleasant for free to play players, not including the limited costumes through payment gems that can limit certain players to get their favorite outfits in some other way.
In short, Infinity Nikki is a quiet game to enjoy small moments of calm without rush or obligation to anything, fun to play and explore without the pressure to make the maximum possible DPS or complete a specific composition to unlock certain challenges, making it ideal for that kind of people who just want to have a good time.
Editor of Gacha Go!
What started as a small hobby for the world of video games gacha, ended up being a complete passion for them.
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