After spending a few hours on Infinity Nikki, the open-world gacha title from Infold Games seems to be the worthy heir to a Genshin Impact-style game focused on fashion and cozy gaming. Here are our first impressions of this somewhat strange universe. Infinity Nikki will be available on December 5 on mobile, PC and PS5.
It's quite crazy, as the handful of hours spent in Infinity Nikki have already given me a glimpse of an infernal spiral of little lace dresses and gacha banners that I would have had a hard time getting rid of if I stayed there too long. a long time. Immerse yourself for a few minutes in the extremely candid universe of the developers of Infold Games and it will already be too late. You may not know her, but Nikki is here the heroine of the fifth iteration of a saga where fuchsia pink and little rhinestone hearts spill over interfaces that were once more modest reserved for mobile devices. The fashion expert protagonist now plays it open world and multiplatform and grabs us on the fly to drop us headfirst into a kingdom where stylists are revered in the same way as ancient deities.
Chic is probably the key to happiness, and twirling with class in an array of elegant outfits is the only way to restore harmony in Miraland, where unfortunate residents sink into a strange coma. A slightly absurd pitch, but which manages to convince us as the framework is coherent and all the characters seem truly convinced that a dress can save them from chaos. And there is no real need to be familiar with the rest of the license since here you have the brand new version of a fairy tale world that you would think was taken from the imagination of Barbie Queen of the fashion. Everyone is beautiful, everyone is terribly kind, with the exception of the nasty amateur stylists who steal their competitors' sketches because they don't know how to draw. But don't be fooled by these few presentations which may seem simplistic to you, Infinity Nikki's jargon is on the contrary quite complex, even convoluted.and requires a good few hours of learning to interpret all the completely crazy notions that it suggests. So I spent a lot of my time not really understanding anything about the narrative, before realizing it wasn't that bad. Rest assured, the world is still full of silly dialogue and very cheesy villains that you will enjoy making fun of, but that you will have a hard time leaving.
The game monetization system
Given Infinity Nikki's economic model, let's take a quick look at the monetization system, which is still missing from the version loaned to us. Infold Games intends to offer a set that “completes the outfit collecting experience while remaining seamless and rewarding”, in their words. In other words, all premium items are purely cosmetic and do not confer any gameplay advantage. Three types of currency coexist in the game: Stellaritepremium currency purchased with real money that can be exchanged for exclusive items, such as outfit packs, or converted into Diamonds. These are the in-game currency earned through quests and other stakes, which you can pass on for banner vouchers or stamina for activities like dungeon crawling. Then there are the blingsa crafting currency acquired through story quests and exploration that is used to craft outfits, purchase materials, or access specific banners. If for the moment, we have not spent a single cent during our hours of play, the rewards have still been frequent and regular enough to not feel stuck in a restrictive model.
The gacha system is quite similar to what we've already seen at HoYoVerse and is a component that you can completely choose to ignore during your games. Here, there is no question of obtaining characters or weapons, but only new clothes and accessories. Your gacha draws are called Resonance. Resonance consists of two types of crystals: Resonite Crystals (blue crystals), used for the Permanent Banner, and Revelation Crystals (pink crystals), used for the Limited Banner. You can earn them by reaching certain in-game milestones or by spending your Pink Diamonds in the dedicated store, knowing that you have to spend 120 Diamonds for a Resonite or Revelation Crystal. A Mercy system is integrated to help those who constantly suffer from 1-star coins. So, for every 20 draws you make on the banner, you are guaranteed to get at least one new piece of 5-star clothing. And every 10 draws, you are guaranteed to get a new piece of 4-star clothing. Note also the presence of the Surprise-O-Matic functionality which allows you to bet your Bling against a single draw to unlock more clothing and accessories.
Lots of dresses, very little challenge
Here, resources are numerous, chests are waiting to be opened everywhere and you even have the possibility of upgrading your outfits with elements collected in the game. Inifnity Nikki focuses on very short chapters that give you the impression of constantly having something to do in a kingdom where many characters have a small task to entrust to you. The open world is really welcoming, and even very pleasant to explore. First, because Miraland is particularly sublime in each of its aspects: textures, lights, modeling. Each panorama is a treat that you can capture using your camera with advanced settings. Then, because it is shaped like a huge amusement park made up of little extras designed as quick distractions: for example, I really enjoyed the short hot air balloon rides, perfect for taking the time to salivate in front of the bucolic landscapes. Also note that as you progress, you will be introduced to several towns in Miraland.
Let us point out that although we have not encountered any bugs in our games, the game does however currently suffer from significant stutters on PC and some random crashes which tarnish the exploration in a rather damaging way.
As you probably suspect from what the universe suggests, you never kill anything here. Instead, you purify sorrowing souls using your robe of “purification”. In this sense, each outfit has a dedicated function, no matter how stupid it may seem. So there is a dress that allows you to fish, another to catch an insect, one that is used for dog grooming, another for double jumping, and so on. Each serving to enhance exploration or resolve quests in a way that seems almost infantilizing at certain times. Infinity Nikki is certainly not aimed at fans of big challenges, this notion seeming almost absent from the experience. On the other hand, it represents an ultimate cozy game for lovers of relaxation and cute outfits to collect.
