On Infinity Nikki, it's Flaws, and the Space it Fills
Game review
Good games for girls aren’t just few and far between, they’re practically non-existent. I think the last game targeted at girls that I played on a major gaming device was style savvy on the 3DS way back in middle school. It’s an untapped market, especially with Video Games being in the mainstream. For the most part, video games with girls as a target audience have almost always been associated with brands of dolls, were centered mostly around dress-up, and targeted at younger girls rather than adolescents or women.
In comes Infinity Nikki. A franchise beginning on mobile that has made its way into being a high production value 3D PC game(though you can still play on mobile). This gorgeous dress up gacha game is similar to Genshin Impact, but instead of characters, you’re rolling for clothing. Nikki, the titular character, uses various outfits to access different powers, from floating through the air, to flinging blasts of wind at monsters. There are other magical effects that seem to be purely aesthetic, at least for now.
While it is still a dress up game, and don’t take me for saying that’s the only thing that makes it a ‘game for girls’, There are other aspects to it that make it so much more than just another one of those old flash dress up dolls games.
So, is Infinity Nikki worth playing? Find out for yourself.
Infinity Nikki Story 4.5/5
When I first played a Nikki game it was a 2D mobile dress up game with an ok story that didn’t impress me, so I mostly skipped it and collected the pretty clothes. I picked up the second game on mobile as well. However, being at a busy, transitional time in my life, I didn’t get to play that very often before Infinity Nikki was announced. When I finally had the time to give the game a try, I was blown away. Not by the outfit designs or the scenery, as I already knew I’d be, but by the story.
Avoiding spoilers to the best of my ability, the story involves Nikki seeking the “miracle outfits” and in the process she gets caught up in all sorts of shenanigans and perils. Some of these smaller plotlines with individual characters are much more well written than I ever would have expected considering my opinion of the story in the first Nikki game I played. There are themes of loss and explorations of the clash between what a parent wants for their child and what the child wants for themselves. There’s excitement, mystery, adventure, all wrapped in a whimsical, beautifully clothes package.
Infinity Nikky Gameplay 3/5
Now where the story is relatively complex and thought provoking, the gameplay… isn’t. Don’t get me wrong again, that’s not a bad thing, but there are some specific criticisms I have.
Right off the bat I will say, I’m not criticizing the simplicity of the combat(the game basically auto aims as long as you’re facing vaguely the direction of an enemy), nor will I criticize the relative ease of boss fights, neither of those mechanics are really what you should be picking up this game for. My biggest critique is with the style battle system.
While the clothing is a core part of the game, the style battles are less about actually making a coherent outfit, and more about racking up as many points for the given style category as possible. Now I have no background in programming at all so I have no idea how hard it would be to code a system that grants points based on outfit cohesion instead of arbitrary stat points associated with the specific garment, but that seems like something you might want to figure out if you’re making a game focused on styling.
As it stands right now, if you want to get the most points on a style contest you tend to end up with a clashing mess of different colors and patterns, and garments that clip through each other, just to use all the garments with the highest value of the given category. Again, this is coming from someone who knows nothing about coding, but I don’t think it would be that hard to change the system to put more value into cohesion, perhaps by having multipliers based on keeping to a certain amount of colors, using complimentary colors, not using clashing patterns, or having no visible clipping in your outfit.
Despite being a styling game, the style battles are more of a side quest, only being important to the main story around the climax of each main questline and few other times. So long as that’s the case there isn’t a pressing need to change the style system and it’s more of a nitpick than anything, like complaining about a couple minigames in Mario party that you think are unfair in the broader scope of a good game.
Infinity Nikki Graphics 5/5
Did I already say this game is gorgeous? No? This game is GORGEOUS. It isn’t the most hyper realistic, high detail, perfectly clean 3D game. Sure there is texture stretching in a few places and some clipping with the outfits, which I already talked about but that’s small fish. The landscape is nice, the buildings are well detailed, the specific locations for platforming challenges are downright breathtaking. There isn’t really much more to say on that front. The style leans toward anime so if you’re not a fan of that art style this might not be the thing for you.
Final Thoughts 4/5
So far I haven’t actually made it through a huge chunk of the story of Infinity Nikki, what I’ve seen has impressed me. This is a perfect game to relax with if you like pretty scenery, cute clothes, and a really low-stress combat system. I’d definitely recommend this game to anyone who likes dress up games, or things with a whimsical tone, even if you aren’t that into the dress up aspect. It’s also a good game for someone that isn’t all too into gaming, maybe you’re a girl who’s boyfriend is really into it but you don’t like any of the things he plays, or you’re wanting to try video games but all the recommendations you can find just aren’t up your alley. If any of those things apply to you, I’d highly recommend Infinity Nikki!
4/5 Thought Provoking (Purple)
4.5/5 Fun (Orange)
5/5 Relaxing (Green)
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