Infinity Nikki is a Packed Adventure Experience That Offers More Than I Expected

Introduction to Infinity Nikki

I’m not going to sit here and pretend I knew about the Nikki dress-up series before the reveal of Infinity Nikki. Still, learning about it sent me down a rabbit hole of discoveries and an overhead view of how this series evolved over the past ten years. While Infinity Nikki is by far the most ambitious entry to date, 2021’s Shining Nikki features what I believe was the foundation of the dress-up gameplay systems that we see in Nikki’s newest adventure. That said, while this game is undoubtedly packed with imagination, fantasy, and discovery, it has a templated and almost forgettable world design that, while beautiful in some areas, showcases a world of reusable assets that dimensions some of the overall fairy tale presentation.

Gameplay and Mechanics

I was pretty excited to participate in the Infinity Nikki playtest, if only to see what this game was. After its reveal, I was surprised that an almost unheard-of studio could make such a splash with a cinematic trailer. After a few internet searches, though, I found that I was likely the odd one out since the series has spanned ten years.

While I’m not really sure who the target audience is for these kinds of games, the gameplay, writing, and systems seem to be geared toward gamers who enjoy adventure and pastel colors. Then there’s the dress-up aspect, which the entire game is based around. Depending on Nikki’s clothes, she can utilize a few different powers, such as a double jump or an attack blast. These clothing skills expand into every aspect of the game as you’ll need to equip them with skills to conduct cleaning duties or even travel faster, making it a prominent part of the entire experience.

Story and Worldbuilding

The story introduces Nikki, who finds herself in possession of a powerful dress. A darkness seems to plague the world, and she has been given the task of saving it, but she’ll need to complete some supplemental tasks before any of that happens. After the opening, you set off into the world of Miraland, where you interact with NPCs, collect materials to create clothes, and upgrade your Whimstar abilities.

Whimstars are scattered around the environement, which your friend Momo can zero in on. Sure, they’re rare, but the game doesn’t hide them from you. While some are easy to obtain, others require some puzzle-solving to acquire. From the opening moments, this game is all about secrets and discovery. You can speak with various characters to get a better idea of the world, but the most exciting gameplay moments were when I just explored off the beaten path, choosing a direction and just going straight.

Exploration and Discovery

Exploring in this manner works when you have a destination in sight, but the world design is just so basic that it clashes with Nikki’s overly cutesy and soft tones. She stands out in the fairy-tale-esque world, making the environments appear generic by comparison. From animals to NPC assets, everything seems to be copied and pasted assets, which weighs on the presentation. The game is just not optimized, even when playing on a GeForce RTX 4080. However, this is what playtests are for, and I won’t knock the game for its performance without acknowledging that it is relatively pretty. Some moments of discovery lead Nikki to beautiful fields of flowers or other environments that stand out among the typical areas.

Once you get your bearings, you’re introduced to a few characters who provide you with quests, and then you’re free to do what you want. There’s quite a bit of dialogue and supporting characters introduced, who I assume will get more screen time later. While playing, I aimed to find as many costumes as possible, which led me to secret dungeons and unique areas. Miraland is vast, with plenty to explore. Each new location had a few missions, NPCs to talk to, and region-specific materials to collect used to upgrade and craft costumes. While I only spent around 7 hours playing, I managed to enjoy the gameloop, which retains some mobile game elements, but I wasn’t made aware of any premium offerings available now.

Final Thoughts and Anticipation

My first adventure in the Nikki series was a positive one. The game’s audience will likely be teen or adult girls as the concepts of creating dresses, hanging out with cute characters, and exploring fairy tale landscapes seem to target that demographic, but I still managed to have fun. Given its depth, the exploration and crafting systems also stand out, which mirrors other premium games like Genshin Impact. There’s so much to discover in Infinity Nikki that I can’t wait to see; I am hoping that performance optimization is improved, though.

Infinity Nikki will have a PlayStation 5 Beta Test in Q3 2024. The game is in development for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC via Steam, and mobile devices.