GAME REVIEW: Infinity Nikki
Developer: InFold Pte. Ltd. and Papergames
Publisher: InFold Pte. Ltd. and Papergames
Release Date: December 5, 2024
Platforms: PC, PS5, Android, and IOS
Price: Free
Reviewed On: PC
Table of Contents:
Infinity Nikki had been a game on my radar for the past couple of years since it was announced. I had been a fan of one of the previous installations, Love Nikki-Dress UP Queen, and I had been obsessed with that game for several years. I was excited to see what the developers would expand on from their base gameplay in an open-world platform with the capabilities of a PC release.
Plot Synopsis
Nikki is the protagonist of the game with her companion cat Momo. While searching for outfits for her graduation ball in her mother’s attic, she comes upon beautiful dresses one after another. But, when Momo is suddenly startled, Nikki finds a beautiful and torn red dress. The dress comes alive, dances her into wearing it, and transports her to another world. Guided by a voice, she finds Ena, the Curator, who bestows upon her the Heart of Infinity with the mission to collect all the Miracle Outfits to save Miraland.
Analysis
Gameplay
The gameplay solidifies in several elements: the open-world and the fashion. Although both work hand-in-hand, they have distinctive features that give players different gameplay experiences.
Exploration
The open-world gives players free exploration, only held back by the barrier at the current end of the available world. For its first release, the map is rather extensive once all regions have been unlocked through the main storyline.
The exploration is driven by several attributes. Firstly, there are treasure chests. They are all over the world, placed with random mechanics whether just being hidden or being locked behind combat. Some come with platforming puzzles and others are simply just there in the open-world. Each chest grants a certain amount of diamonds which are important to the gacha system and crafting materials. It also grants a certain amount of experience points (EXP), so players can level up through exploration through these chests.
The open-world also offers a cozy experience. Players have set abilities they can use in the open-world due to Ability Outfits. Ability Outfits are specific outfits that allow Nikki to groom animals, go fishing, or fix electrical circuits. They are all interactable in the open world in some way that makes the environment a better experience. Players are encouraged to explore doing these activities to gather crafting materials and also just because it can be relaxing. New creatures and resources can always be found in new locations, thus encouraging more exploration. It also greatly helps that once players discover crafting materials, they are able to track them through an in-game tracker on the map.
Exploration is also driven by Whimstars. Whimstars are stars that are the embodiment of whim and imagination. These stars strengthen the Heart of Infinity which controls the Ability Outfits Nikki can unlock. Whimstars also increase the base collection rates from the Ability Outfits. This rate includes collecting materials from simple hand collecting, grooming, fishing, and bug catching. By collecting in these manners, players gain Insight Points that essentially act as EXP for these activities. Fighting enemies also gains Insight Points for combat in the Heart of Infinity but rather than improving any collecting rates, it unlocks new recipes for players to use in combat and clothes to add to the wardrobe.
Dews of Inspiration pushes exploration as well. These dews begin as corrupted cores throughout the world that can be purified by Nikki’s Purification Ability Outfit. These dews can be exchanged for certain rewards and crafting recipes. They are typically easy to find and gain through exploration; simply checking the nooks and crannies of buildings and ruins can reveal three of them in a row.
The open-world is filled with puzzles and a bunch of side quests. Puzzles can help players collect Whimstars or they lead to chests. They also can be the main aspect of the sidequests such as with the Forced Perspective side quests. Players in these quest lines are asked to take pictures of certain objects while using perspective. For example, a picture of a captured thief can be made through graffiti on a wall behind a fence made of bars. It’s not an actual thief in jail but rather using perspective to make it look like it is. It’s one of my favorite side quest lines because it makes creative use of its open-world and challenges the players to see the smaller details the developers placed in the world.
Fashion
The other aspect of the gameplay is the fashion. The Nikki franchise has always been about fashion and clothes, catering to a female audience and slowly gaining traction to other audiences. Infinity Nikki has really further expanded the audience they attract, yet they stick to one core audience type. It wants to appeal to people who love clothes and fashion.
The open-world elements of collecting resources are all for the outfits. The collecting of diamonds is for the gacha system which allows players to collect more outfits. The Heart of Infinity grants players the ability to unlock more recipes for clothes. Fashion is integral to the gameplay.
Infinity Nikki allows for huge character customization with Nikki. Players can change her hair, her clothes, her eyes, and even her skin color to make them as personalized as they want. Outfits are split into different categories making it possible to mix and match certain pieces into whatever outfit the players want. These cosmetics stay in the open-world and in the cutscenes making each player’s experience through both a much more personal one.
Players are also able to compete in a Stylist Challenge which is a fashion show-down between a player and an non-playable character (NPC) in who can best fit a certain theme. Clothes have a set theme that they follow (Cool, Sexy, Cute, Elegant, and Fresh) and can even come with their own subtags such as Summer or Formal; there are actually a total of 20 subtags in the game.
Clothing all have a level attached to them which when increased can improve the quality of their themes and tags by a numerical number. Even then, these numerical values are set into their own classes from D to SS class. It is these values which determine the outcome of a Stylist Challenge. Players can “level up” or Glow Up clothes to change the rating from a D-class to a C or higher.
Thankfully, the developers were clever with this mechanic to add grading systems to the challenge itself as well. Players can achieve a Fail, Normal, Average, Great, or Perfect completion rate. The Fail is, of course, a failure in the challenge. Anything Normal and above counts as a victory granting a different kind of reward with the tier of completion. Most important items from Stylist Challenges (such as the Sovereign badges) can be achieved through Normal rating.
Once players reach a certain level, they are able to challenge the Mira Crown which is essentially a tournament of Stylist Challenges that reset every so often offering a great deal of rewards. It runs on a three-star completion, but players who get through it without getting all the stars still gain hefty rewards.
Combat
A feature I didn’t mention much in the open-world aspect was combat. Combat is a part of the game, but it’s not integral. Most players may encounter combat in the open-world when attempting to get a chest, gain a Whimstar, or have easier access to Dews of Inspiration. There are a few boss battles that players can enjoy, but they focus more on a dodge and weave mechanic with some attacks to attack “cores” to purify them. As a game focused more on fashion and relaxing elements, the frustration that can come with combat has likely been lessened for the game’s target audience. By defeating enemies, players can gain crafting materials for recipes and some EXP.
The gameplay is not meant to be a hard grind to the top. It’s not about defeating enemies and conquering evil through combat. It’s meant to be a relaxing game that connects with people. It feels more like a game trying to be an open-world experience of discovering the world and its intricacies. It genuinely feels like players like me have been transported to Miraland to explore and learn about this new world.
Grinding
The recipes can require a lot of grinding. But, to the developers’ efforts, they’ve done a great job of making it not feel that way most of the time. Since the game is centered around enjoying the open-world elements by collecting crafting materials, most players won’t experience much of a grinding experience. The in-game tracker also allows for players to quickly go through collecting routes if they need to for recipes. Furthermore, players don’t need to unlock or craft every single recipe. They are free to pick and choose; there are only a few recipes that are a necessity to complete the storyline and further exploration.
I mentioned before that the Ability Outfits have Insight Points that increase by doing said activities. It rises up pretty slowly in comparison to what is necessary for certain recipes and needed materials. Thus, the game has a special realm through teleports called Realm Challenges. These challenges offer a multitude of things that cut down on the grinding for materials.
There are five realms, each which give rewards based on the amount of Vital Energy a player has. Vital Energy regenerates by one point every five minutes with a max of 350 points. The highest amount of Vital Energy a realm needs is 60, and that current realm, Realm of Breakthrough, is only available once a week. This combat-centered realm provides evolution materials for outfits to evolve and gain a new cosmetic color. This evolution does not affect the stats at all and are for a purely cosmetic reason.
The next two most expensive realms are Realm of Eureka and Realm of The Dark. The Realm of Eureka is a way for players to gain Eurekas which are additions to a player’s model that appear by Nikki’s head, hands, and feet. For example, players can have a moon that hangs by Nikki’s head, petals that spin around Nikki’s wrists, and bubbles that appear by Nikki’s ankles. These Eurekas do have stats like other clothing and help in Stylist Challenges making it a great way for players to have an extra boost in challenges.
The Realm of The Dark is all about combat. By purifying certain enemies, players can gain certain craft materials that are necessary for outfits. A majority of clothing recipes don’t need much of these materials but every so often, there is a set that requires quite a bit. Each 40 Vital Energy grants five of that enemy’s material making the grind for it easier.
The last two realms are Realm of Nourishment and Realm of Escalation. The Realm of Nourishment provides Insight Points. By exchanging crafting materials with Vital Energy, players can gain hundreds of Insight Points to better their collecting abilities. The Realm of Escalation works as an exchange as well with the same items. This realm exchanges for Bling (the currency of the open-world), Threads of Purity (a necessary crafting material), and Shiny Bubbles (a necessary item for Glow Up).
Much of the grinding in this game comes naturally while exploring. Players are often collecting materials while on the road towards a chest or a town that when they see a bee flying nearby, they will naturally gravitate to catch it. And if there’s a pond next to the bee with a fishing spot, well, a few moments catching some fish before heading back to the road won’t hurt anyone. It’s only when players have gone through a large majority of the story content that the grinding becomes a bit more prevalent but aided through the Realm Challenges.
Story
The story follows Nikki and Momo and their attempt to save Miraland. They see their adventure as a sort of graduation trip. As a side note, within the Nikki universe, Nikki is often transported to another world and tasked with saving it. Her nonchalance of her situation and inability to go home is a running meme in the community.
The story focuses on Nikki befriending the people of Miraland and finding the Miracle Outfits. It’s actually very heartwarming. I can’t say how many times I’ve inadvertently smiled during the storyline or cried. The game is quick to have players care about Miraland’s inhabitants. They’re distinctive with personalities and jobs that make them feel more lifelike than other games. Nikki herself is a great protagonist for the story, someone who tries to see the good in people and encourage them to be their best.
I greatly follow the lore of the game including the random notes and stories dispersed amongst the open-world and the flavor text of clothing and materials. I had several speculations during the storyline and simply about the characters in the world and their connections. It’s a diverse and well-paced overarching storyline with an even greater history that isn’t necessary to know but enriches the environment anyways.
I quite enjoyed the pacing of the main story, and although I felt I was on a fetch quest at times, it didn’t diminish the value the story had between the characters. Most fetch quests moments of the main storyline were easy to bypass since I already had the materials as well.
The developers were able to fill in a puzzle, adding clues and hints to a bigger mystery. I greatly enjoyed the storyline in Infinity Nikki and find myself excited for more content. Currently though, it may be some time before new chapters are released. Each major region seems to have its own storyline, similar to other open-world gacha games, and the first region players were introduced to is seemingly a small part of a greater kingdom.
I, for one, am very excited to see what the bigger part of the Heartcraft Kingdom will have to offer as well as the other six kingdoms to come.
Gacha System
Infinity Nikki relies on a gacha system to unlock five-star outfits. Gacha systems are essentially summoning games that require players to “pull” for certain elements to improve their gameplay. The outfits in the gacha system start with better stats than other ones, but require a lot more materials to Glow Up and evolve. The gacha system offers five-star, four-star, and three-star pieces and comes with two different kinds of banners.
There is the Permanent Banner which features four five-star outfits and a plentitude of other lower star outfits. This banner will always be in the game and available for players. The second banner type is the Limited Banner. These banners will only be available for a set duration of time before being replaced, although certain banners will reappear as another Limited Banner.
In Infinity Nikki, Limited Banners are not solely for five-star outfits. Some of the Limited Banners highlight two different four-star outfits and nothing else. It only offers the four-star outfit pieces and then three-star pieces. Previously, the Limited Banner featured two five-star outfits with two different four-star outfits which is the common way Limited Banners are presented in gacha games.
The rate is pretty consistent amongst the gacha system. Every ten pulls, players are guaranteed a four-star item. Every twenty pulls, players are guaranteed a five-star item. Infinity Nikki also has a system which guarantees that players won’t get any repeated four or five-star item until a set has been completed. This means that to complete a four-star outfit with ten pieces on a Limited Banner, players need to pull 100 times at most to get the complete outfit.
Personally, the rate has been kind enough to not need that many pulls, granting two four-stars in a single pull multiple times. Similar experiences can happen with five-star items as the guarantees are only the guarantees. Luck can make the number of pulls much smaller than the guaranteed rate.
The four-star Limited Banner has a better rate for pulling four-stars. Every five pulls guarantees a four-star item, so for an outfit that has ten pieces, players only need 50 pulls max.
The number of diamonds necessary to pull once is 120, so a total of 1200 diamonds are needed for a ten-pull. Furthermore, the game has limited the amount of daily pulls a player can make which is 9,999. It’s a large number, but for certain players addicted to the gacha system, it at least helps limit that kind of overspending without impeding on content creators and such who pull a lot for their content.
Players are able to buy Stellarites in order to get more pulls. Using real currency, players can buy Stellarites which exchange one-for-one with diamonds. It’s not necessary for the game though. Although having higher-star outfits can make Stylist Challenges easier, a higher-level three-star outfit is better than a lower-leveled five-star outfit. The gacha system in this game does not change the gameplay to such a level.
I, personally, have not bought anything in the game. I haven’t spent a single dime, and I have still greatly enjoyed my experience without it. By simply doing quests and exploring, I’ve gotten most if not all the things I wanted through the redemption codes and in-game rewards. Spending in the game is not a necessity for the gacha system.
Only a few things in the gacha system can affect the gameplay, and that’s with the offered Ability Outfits through the gacha. These outfits are for cosmetics typically, changing what outfit Nikki is wearing while fishing or grooming an animal. The Limited Banners starring the four-star outfits are also Ability Outfits. The first, Froggy Fashion, is an Electrician outfit, a simple cosmetic change from the current one. The second, Dreamy Glimmer, is a new Ability Outfit not available through the Heart of Infinity. However, it’s ability allows players to blow bubbles in the open-world, so it’s not necessary for gameplay.
Different from other open-world gacha games, the gacha system doesn’t change the gameplay. It is purely cosmetic. Although that can still be enticing for players, as shown through other games that price tag skins and cosmetic weapons, it does stop a large group of players in gacha games who spend money to change their gameplay or make combat easier.
Unlike other gacha games, Infinity Nikki isn’t pushing its gacha system into the player’s face through enticing new abilities. Its gacha system is actually similar to online shopping if that makes sense. A mannequin with a beautiful set of clothes displayed for players to see and want, but not necessary to buy. It definitely entices though, I can’t lie. It falls within the gacha game category for a reason.
Graphics and Sound
The sound design in the game is beautiful. There’s consistent ambience music that plays around the map, changing depending on where the player is. The animals all have their unique sounds. The clothes all make distinctive noises whether in the clinks of metal or the clicking of heels. The voice acting is well done as well in all languages. I have yet to have a complaint against the sound design in the game.
The graphic design is also stellar. The most prevalent example I can think of is the clothing. In the Wardrobe, players can closely view the clothing and its intricate details. Players can clearly see each piece of glitter on a dress or the thread woven into the cloth. Metal glimmers in the light and shifts with shadows while the model is turned. The hair moves beautifully and dynamically with only a few slips here and there with outfits poking out strangely.
The only complaint I have towards graphics comes mostly from what I’ve heard from other players. Graphics can run slowly at times with how much it demands from devices to run at its best quality. A lower quality setting means that many details included get diminished or disappear completely. In a game where cosmetics and visionary design is the main attractor, this difficulty means that many players who don’t have great technology can’t enjoy the same level of dedication and work in the visuals as others.
Furthermore, the graphics, for me personally, tend to stutter a bit before and after interacting with the photo mode. I’ve been open with this issue in the many surveys the developers have sent out and noticed some improvements from the release day, but it remains pretty staggered. Although once it settles, the quality is impeccable, the switch of graphics from the open-world into the camera mode makes the game essentially hitch itself before it can render the world again.
Otherwise, the overall quality of the graphics and sound design are impeccable. It’s so bright and colorful, bringing an actual wonderment of discovering a new world that I haven’t felt in a game in a while.
Final Score
Open-World Gacha Game
As an open-world gacha game, I give Infinity Nikki a 5 out of 5 stars. It has the main aspects of the open-world down by advocating exploration and having an impeccable world to do it in. Furthermore, it is quick to establish its environment and tone while players transition from one place to another. The gacha system itself is a lot more gracious than others I’ve experienced and is entirely cosmetic based. It feels like a game that is meant to be enjoyed rather than simply a game meant to be played.
Video Game
As a video game itself, thinking about its playability and mechanics, I think the game is better at 4 out of 5 stars. It has the elements it takes from other games to make it a video game. It’s a more cozy game that relies on collection and cute interactions. It has a great storyline that moves players through regions. It has challenging experiences that force players to go beyond the cozy playing to try to hone into leveling and grading.
The only downside is that there is sometimes a lack of cohesion between all these elements. For example, the Stylist Challenges are important because they lead players to the Sovereigns. Each theme has their own Sovereign and by defeating the Sovereigns, players achieve their badges. These badges are what crafts the Miracle Outfit. It’s not needed or made prevalent until players are closer to the end part of the storyline.
To be fair, it is a good stance in making sure players are focused more on the actual main gameplay of exploring and clothes before introducing more of a grinding aspect to them. However, for me, it meant several days of simply grinding and leveling up before I could finish the story. It meant that the main gameplay I was given from the video game suddenly switched on itself, focusing on an element I wasn’t expecting.
It’s not exactly made clear that all the elements in the gameplay I talked about were part of the necessary gameplay to go through the main storyline. It is only my experience with previous Nikki games and other open-world gacha games which enabled me to know how to proceed and what to expect from the grinding experience. It’s not a major downside to what makes a video game but its lack of cohesion between its elements certainly hurts the score as to why it fails to be a video game that can entertain its audience, especially if its audience is left floundering between the different gameplays.
Overall Game
The overall score for this game is 4.5 out of 5 stars. It’s a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It acknowledges that its main aspect is to the audience’s enjoyment, to present a passion project expanding its previous games into a new avenue they haven’t really explored before. It speaks volume about the developer’s capabilities and about future projects to come.
It’s a great game for many players who are trying to get away from video games that center around solo grinding and combat. The game is clearly advertised for a specific audience and is skyrocketing because of that audience. It knows its appeals and hones into it with video game elements to make it more enjoyable as a broader game since it appeals to more platforms. This review is still early in development of the game with many more updates to come. As a released product, the game scores well in terms of designing and playability.
One thing to note before closing off this review is that I mentioned some graphical errors prior. From what I’ve seen throughout the community, playability itself can also be challenging for players as the game will shut itself down on devices. It requires a lot of power to run itself and a lot of storage space. For many players who dedicate themselves to PC or PS gaming, this probably won’t be as big of an issue. But as a series that previously only appealed to mobile gaming, it has a major setback when its mobile gamers are being left behind while trying to run such a high-specs game.
It’s a note I decided to leave at the end as it seems a lot of people who are having these issues aren’t using Infold’s recommended technology to ensure the game runs smoothly. Older technology and processors will have more difficulty loading the game or running smoothly. With my experience of open-world games on mobile, there was consistently a graphic quality downgrade and UI issues since mobiles struggle with massive open-world games. These games require a lot of effort from the technology to run smoothly. For me though, it’s a feat that such open-world games are even made available to mobile users to enjoy in comparison to other huge titles that ignore or don’t want that player base.
What are your thoughts on Infinity Nikki? Have you encountered any difficulties in the game I haven’t mentioned? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below or in our Boss Rush Discord!
Featured Image Source: Infinity Nikki
The Boss Rush Podcast – A Podcast About Video Games
The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and The Boss Rush Network. Each week, Corey Dirrig, LeRon Dawkins, Stephanie Klimov, and Pat Klein, as well as their friends, fellow content creators, developers, and industry veterans come together to discuss their week in gaming, including what they’ve been playing, a randomly chosen rotating weekly segment, the Boss Rush Banter of the week, answer community write-ins, and more. Members of The Boss Rush Network’s Patreon will receive the exclusive Pre-Show at any tier along with other perks.
For episode schedules and more information, follow The Boss Rush Podcast on X/Twitter, Instagram, and Threads.
Email the Show:
podcast.bossrush@gmail.com
Listen to The Boss Rush Podcast:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Overcast | Audio Landing Page | YouTube
Join Our Community:
Discord | Facebook | LinkedIn
Thank you for watching or listening to The Boss Rush Podcast, the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and The Boss Rush Network. If you enjoyed this discussion, consider leaving us a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. If you’re watching the video on YouTube, hit the Subscribe button and Like the video. You can support the Boss Rush Family of Podcasts on the Boss Rush Network Patreon. As always, your listenership and viewership is enough for us. It means more than you realize. Thank you for supporting The Boss Rush Network‘s independent endeavor.
Leave a Reply