Infinity Nikki review: a cozy, creative, and colorful romp
Open world gashapon game, Infinite Nickis the fifth entry Nikki series. The series is developed by Papergames / Infold Games and was previously only available on mobile devices. In fact, I completely ignored this series until I got the chance to play it in late September. Infinite Nick Demo at Tokyo Game Show.
Comment information
Platform review: personal computer
Available for: PC, PlayStation 5, iOS, Android
release date: December 5, 2024
What interested me at the time was that the free-to-play game would allow me to progress at a leisurely pace and have a stress-free time without having to worry too much about upgrading my character and gear just to fight tough bosses. This concept is almost as relevant to me as in something like Genshin Impact, No Zen Zone, Howling wavesetc., where “pulling meta characters” and “min-maxing stats” equate to improving your chances of completing late-game content.
Fortunately, Infinite Nick It exceeded my expectations thanks to its gorgeous visuals and exploration pace, some of which reminded me of other successful games. However, it does have some flaws, most notably those related to the series’ use of mobile gaming-centric ideas.
Welcome to Miraland
Infinite NickAs the campaign begins, the protagonist and her cat companion Momo are transported to a magical kingdom called Miraland. This leads to an isekai-style romp as they travel to nearly six explorable areas in search of the fabled Miracle costume.
These areas of Miraland include the city of Floraves (where I learned more about the environment) and the green fields of Breeze Meadows. Later, I marveled at the view of the Abandoned Zone, an area made up of towering islands accessible only by gliding across a tornado-filled ocean.
Likewise, there’s the Wishing Forest, a forest dotted with winding paths, tall treetops, and thorny vines. Each area also has its own unique themed dungeon, such as a power plant in the sewers and a runaway train with a scarecrow-like ghost.
Infinite NickThe themes and cartoon designs are often bright, vibrant and vivid, as if the whole experience is meant to be a joyful celebration. Even the theme song “Together Till Infinity” by Jessie J that plays whenever I boot up the game is so upbeat that I couldn’t help but tap my feet to the tune. But what really makes the world come to life is the use of various environmental features to help traverse said areas.
For example, giant birds and paper cranes can provide you with good vantage points to observe your surroundings. Do you want to go to a remote island? You do this with a floating ring suspended in mid-air. Need to reach the top of the mountain? Maybe there’s a seal that can throw you over there. Yes, there is also a bike that can be ridden through hills and fields.
However, the main drawback is that the comical and silly themes can also lead to Unlimited Nikki’s The narrative arc falters. While some storylines have a more serious tone – such as the villagers of Frovesh falling into comas or hopeful wishes being stolen – some of the ideas aren’t compelling, and several supporting characters are decidedly unremarkable.
Runway styling and out-of-control spending
this Nikki The series is known for its dress-up mechanic Infinite Nick No exception, as there are several costumes that grant unique abilities. Early on, I was given costumes that allowed Nikki to glide in mid-air, raise animals, catch bugs, fish in the river, and even repair electrical panels. Later in the game, I actually made a piece of clothing that made Nikki shrink so I could control Momo.
These Ability Dresses, as well as many others I found on my travels, are available in the Look Contest and Mira Tiara. During these events, I rate Nikki’s outfits or whims, represented by attributes such as “sweet,” “cool,” and “elegant,” as well as bonus points for cosmetic embellishments. All of this adds up to a very engaging gameplay loop that involves finding new outfits and then upgrading them to increase their stats so you can defeat faction leaders and earn additional rewards.
The above concept is complemented by a handy wardrobe menu where I mix and match clothing pieces, hairstyles, and makeup. From dazzling ball gowns, puffy jackets, sparkling tiaras and heels, to colorful blushes, quirky accessories, floating neon effects and offbeat designs, there are a thousand ways to show off your fashion sense . Additionally, the game features a stunning photo mode with a variety of poses and effects, all of which can accentuate your style as you progress.
The most glaring issue here, however, actually has to do with the gacha system itself. Although cash purchases are disabled Infinite Nick In the version I played, I could still view the in-game store and banner. Most tellingly, a full outfit in a gacha banner is made up of nine or more parts, making it extremely unlikely that you’ll get the full outfit in your first few “pulls” (i.e. gacha attempts). In my case, I spent 100 pulls of diamonds (a standard game currency) and still couldn’t get the full 5-star set.
It goes without saying that players looking for everything may feel compelled to spend more money. While the “Mercy System” helps guarantee a 5-star bonus every 20 pulls, I think this further exacerbates the problem.
Countless collectibles and content to satisfy the ever-curious
Another aspect of support Infinite NickThe weirdness and charm of Miraland lies in the countless collectibles and side content to explore. There are collectibles called “Fantasy Stars” that can be used to unlock outfits and perks in “Infinite Hearts,” a skill tree with dozens of interconnected nodes.
Obtaining a whimsical star is often a hard and enjoyable endeavor. Some require running around picking up pieces or finding star-shaped doodles hidden in the environment, while others are embedded in magical creatures that you’re supposed to pet or capture. There are also some that exist in mini-domains with puzzles, similar to shrines within shrines. this The Legend of Zelda games like breath of the wild and tears of kingdom.
In addition to the whimsical stars, there are also orbs called dewdrops of inspiration, which are much more numerous. These items will be given to a friendly dragon named Kilo the Cadenceborn, who will then provide you with additional costumes. Additionally, there are side quests where you can search for the correct photo mode locations, lost perfumes and historical relics, and countless treasure chests to unlock.
Likewise, there are multiple ways to acquire resources quickly, including realm challenges that offer shiny currency (i.e. gold) and “Dig Pear Pal” panels where you passively earn items after enough time has passed. All in all, even if you don’t focus on the main mission, Infinite Nick Still offers many missions that provide a rich sense of discovery.
Solve puzzles and time limit problems
One of its characteristics is Infinite Nick What’s sure to be controversial is its combat system, or rather the way it’s presented is very simplistic and boring. After all, this is supposed to be a comfort game, right? Unfortunately, Nikki’s main attack move is just an extremely basic straight-throwing attack that can defeat most enemies in one hit. Coincidentally, certain enemies, including bosses, have relatively simple, repetitive, and easily detectable attack patterns. Combat is unchallenging, something I mostly ignored while exploring.
Still, combat woes cannot compare with the most shocking wars. Infinite NickThe flaw: Its mobile game-like approach to timing. To clarify, there is already some content that will cause you to drain energy. But in certain parts of the campaign, you’ll need to level up as a Stylist to get to the next main mission objective. Stylist ranking requires not only your overall progress statistics, such as whimsical stars collected, total number of outfits earned, etc., but also daily wishes.
a few hours later Infinite NickDuring the event I happened to see a flying paper crane which gave me a stunning view of the town of Floravish. This and other amazing modes of transportation make exploration that much more rewarding.
Daily Wishes, as the name suggests, come from the daily tasks you complete. What’s more: the daily points limit is 500 points, but some general requirements are Not divisible by 500 (i.e. 1,100, 1,600, 2,100 points, etc.). A good example is when I encountered a progress-blocking bug in a task. This bug took a while to be fixed, and once I was done with it I really wanted to see what happened next. Only then did I realize that I didn’t have enough daily mission points, so I had to wait for the next reset.
Time control also extends to Insight, which is gathering and combat-specific counts. As you pet animals, catch fish/bugs, eliminate enemies, and collect resources, you can earn Insight Points to upgrade rewards. However, once you complete too many of these actions in a day, you will no longer receive actual points.
Initially, I thought these systems were built to combat gaming addiction. However, over time, I started to think this had a negative impact, making players feel more engaged because they had no choice but to log in repeatedly. Therefore, even Infinite Nick It does have a great idea that makes me happy, but it still suffers from the same pitfalls of forced time investment in mobile and live service games.
Should you play Infinity Nicks?
Play it if…
Don’t play it if…
Accessibility
Infinite Nick There aren’t many accessibility features. At its best, player view assist will cause the camera to automatically pan when your character moves, falls from the sky, or fights enemies. There’s also an option to enable jump guides, which creates a shiny glyph underneath your character so you know where you’ll land. Finally, there is an option to resurrect Nikki if she becomes trapped in the environment.
How do I review Infinity Nicks?
I play Infinite Nick in a TCL P755 TV in 4K resolution and most high settings. mine gaming pc There is one Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU, Intel Core i9-10900K CPUand 32GB of RAM. I used a Razer Viper Mini mouse and locally made keyboard, as well as a Logitech F710 wireless controller.
As of this writing, I’m about 40 hours into the game over six days and have been able to reach the main story chapter that takes place in the Whispering Woods. When I encountered bugs and game mechanics that hindered my progress, I opted to tackle side quests and hunt for collectibles just to get a better grasp of the open world’s exploration features.
First review in November/December 2024.
