The long-running Nikki collection – to not be confused with Stellar Blade dev Shift Up’s saucy cell shooter NIKKE: Goddess of Victory – has been styling smartphones throughout varied iterations for a number of years. This model, accessible on console for the primary time and introducing an unlimited whimsical open world, is by far probably the most bold, nevertheless. It’s additionally totally sensible.
These of you who’ve performed the earlier instalments, like Shining Nikki, will know what to anticipate to an extent. The eponymous heroine is a sharp-tongue stylist with impeccable trend style, and she or he explores the world of Miraland along with her opposite speaking cat Momo. On this explicit entry, the pair get embroiled in a plot involving prophets, want jars, and a man referred to as Giovanni.
The story, which is paper-thin however brisk and breezy, outdoes Kingdom Hearts for its melodrama and ostentatious outfits. You’ll have already got sense, from that sentence alone, whether or not you could have the abdomen for one thing as flowery as this. Personally, we completely love the unreserved ridiculousness of all of it, however your mileage will definitely fluctuate.
Whereas earlier video games had been largely about assembling costumes and profitable fashion battles, there’s much more to this latest model. The so-called fashion battles do return, and also you’ll be rated throughout a lot of classes, from horny to chill. However the actual meat and potatoes of the sport lies with exploration, and it’s completely excellent.
Lifting inspiration liberally from releases like Genshin Impression, you’ll spend quite a lot of your time merely navigating the plush Unreal Engine 5 landscapes, utilizing your Means Outfits – particular clothes augmented with superpowers – to both float to out-of-reach locations or have interaction with primary actions, like fishing and bug catching.
There’s a pinch of Tremendous Mario Odyssey right here, as you’ll want to make use of sure skills to cross particular gameplay gates. Alongside the best way you’ll be gathering Whimstars, which may then be used to unlock components of an unlimited ability tree, furthering your development and unlocking much more abilities and content material. It’s an amazing loop, and really gathering the collectibles is moreish and addictive.
Moreover, the title is continually inventing new methods to problem you. A number of the Whimstars merely should be reached to be obtained, however others include small gameplay puzzles related, like timed racecourses or fight gauntlets. Quite a lot of the motion is de-emphasised on this recreation, however Nikki can solid magical orbs to assault opponents.
The important thing factor, actually, is that the open world isn’t just lovely to take a look at – full of flowers, meadows, and idyllic structure – but in addition completely bursting with issues to do. Minigames are in every single place – some easy like the place you might want to leap by a set variety of rings, whereas others see you herding sheep or dodging obstacles.
With one in all Breath of the Wild’s designers additionally a part of the event workforce, there are small puzzle-like “shrines” you discover across the surroundings, which check your core aptitude in several methods. One might require you to climb a tower whereas avoiding crimson platforms, whereas one other might job you with guiding a ball into a delegated place. None of them final greater than 5 minutes, however really feel enjoyable.
And that’s actually the important thing to Infinity Nikki the place different gachas fail: it by no means lingers, as an alternative selecting to steer you by hand to the subsequent little exercise. The cutscenes, whereas full of correct nouns and different obnoxious lore nonsense, by no means overstay their welcome and make you are feeling such as you’re ready round for too lengthy. Each jiffy of exploration, you’ll discover one thing new to do.
The map is huge, too, full of a number of totally different biomes at launch – some rural and unpopulated, others full of NPCs and side-quests to finish. As a dwell service recreation, we already know the developer will proceed to construct on what’s accessible right here at launch, with an entire home adorning growth at present in growth and due within the close to future.
And that brings us to a very powerful a part of the expertise actually: the style. Nikki is a stylist on this story, so is all about dressing up and sporting obscenely detailed outfits. That is form of just like the Gran Turismo of trend video games, with sheer materials and tiny particulars meticulously rendered on the PS5; the presentation is among the many greatest you’ll discover on console.
You’ll unlock tons of garments and customisations by pure gameplay, however there’s a gacha system with time-limited outfits you possibly can have interaction with as nicely. Forex is earned by gameplay – reminiscent of finishing quests or fulfilling day by day duties – however you may also select to buy it with actual cash when you so want.
Maybe the cool factor right here in comparison with different gacha video games is that every part is non-compulsory: you don’t want the premium cosmetics to finish in-game duties, and it’s purely nearly wanting good. Moreover, you’re assured a five-star piece each 20 pulls, so that is fairly pleasant for free-to-play. Sure, constructing a full five-star ensemble will turn into extraordinarily expensive, however you possibly can mix-and-match any items you do get with others.
Moreover, an in-game retailer lets you buy some costumes outright, so that you don’t even want to fret about RNG. And month-to-month login subscriptions and a reasonably straightforward to finish Battle Go provide you with cheaper paid choices if you wish to throw the developer some cash with out promoting your soul to the gacha. Not everybody will really feel snug with the enterprise mannequin right here, and that’s fantastic, however from what we’ve seen thus far, it appears honest for a title that gives a lot content material without spending a dime.
Our solely actual gripe at this stage is that the sport feels constructed for smartphones earlier than the DualSense. A number of the controller bindings are past difficult, requiring a number of button presses to attain easy duties. There’s already been some enchancment on this space since launch, so we hope it’s one thing the developer goes to proceed to iterate upon transferring forwards.
Conclusion
Infinity Nikki, even on this early part of its lifespan, is totally important – assuming you possibly can abdomen the twee, whimsical tone to all of it. Its cosy vibes will show an acquired style, however its consideration to element and dedication to holding the participant engaged throughout each minute of exploration is impeccable. Furthermore, its visible presentation is up there alongside the most effective you’ll discover on PS5 – a unprecedented achievement for a free-to-play recreation that additionally miraculously runs on cell. Some management quandaries and an abundance of correct nouns forestall it from reaching perfection, however these are minor blemishes on an in any other case excellent expertise.
