Infinity Nikki is a real step forward in open-world gacha games, and it finally brings some much-needed competition to miHoYo's monopoly.
Genshin Impact comparisons are getting boring, aren't they? Oh look, it's a free open world game that you can play on your phone to better break the foreigners' jokes and gacha complaints. Well, you might just have to indulge in my own Genshin Impact comparisons one last time, because after spending over 40 hours in the crazy, fashion-obsessed world of Miraland, I think Infinity Diary might take Genshin Impact's place as A new standard for future openness – compared to world gashapon games. The main reason I suspect we'll all be changing our eye-rolling goals is that while developer Infold Games clearly took quite a few ideas from Genshin Impact's (now signed) open-world design, this is only the first of these posts – Genshin Impact-style gaming strikes the sweet spot between simulation and innovation. That's quite an achievement for a series rooted in the mobile dress-up genre.
“Infinite Nick” is actually the fifth game in the “Knick” series. Previous games can only be played on mobile phones. Don't worry about missing out on too much background information, though, as this latest entry appears to be a fresh take on the fairy-tale world of Miraland, complete with an alternate version of pink-haired protagonist Nikki and her adorable grill-loving cat, Momo. In Infinity Nikki, the series' focus on dress-up menus and visual novel-like storytelling now shifts to an open world that Nikki can jump, float, and bike through. Fashion is still a big focus, with thousands of outfits to choose from at launch, gacha banners to wear slightly fancier outfits, and crazy world-building with styles to be worshiped alongside ancient gods. Only now, your main reason for dressing up Nikki is just to look cute while exploring.
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Initially, my first few hours in Miraland were not particularly compelling. There are the usual chests that reward in-game currency; collecting resources like flowers, bugs, and fish to craft outfits; puzzles and mini-games; side quests; and hundreds of Korok Seed-like collectibles called Whimstars for you to discover. and challenges. However, as I looked through the six mini-zones available at launch, I started to notice that all the extra content was added for seemingly no other reason than to make your journey as upbeat and memorable as possible. For example, there's a hot air balloon ride, perfect for immersing yourself in fairytale scenery; a bubble blower to annoy NPCs; a magical hopscotch that changes Nikki's outfit with each jump; and a “Whimcycle” bike for riding Bike through rolling hills and jump to impossible heights.
These activities also serve as perfect photo opportunities, and while using Photo Mode is another optional feature, its Photo Mode rivals all others. There are tons of poses, lights and filters to unlock, as well as a full feature and reward system for collecting photos of Nikki at famous Miraland landmarks. So, yes, Infinite Nicks may have the usual open-world traits, but they're more welcome than usual thanks to how much joy you feel while doing it, even if you're not really goal. Miraland is not a checklist simulator – it's a world designed for real play.
Of course, Infinity Nicks isn't all shiny, happy vibes at certain moments, but even so, it's still endearingly silly. The land is filled with cheesy villain monologues, disputes over who's best dressed, and a strange, slightly uncomfortable religious rivalry between the fairy-like Favish elves and a group of anthropomorphic floating costumed Pixies. Oh, and there's also a character named “Ol' Fannypacky,” which is a great indication of just how ridiculous this production is – and of course, that extends to the main story.
Nikki and Momo begin their magical journey to Miraland when they are unceremoniously whisked away from their own world (Wizard of Oz style). Only instead of wearing fancy red shoes, Nikki donned a trendy red dress while searching her dusty attic. The two soon meet a goddess who demands that Nikki find all the “miracle costumes” so she can save the world…somehow. This part is less clear, but the game's broader plot quickly gives way to new mysteries as Nikki explores Miraland more broadly. The story begins in Florawish, a quaint town with old-fashioned dress styles where some residents have fallen into comas. Nikki is essentially promoted to lead coma investigator, and as her investigation continues, we learn more of Miraland's themed towns and locations – many of which often introduce new ways to travel as well.
The story may be a bit ridiculous, but its silly charm doesn't outweigh its popularity. Chapters are short and so are the side quests. The “Random Mission” type is shorter, usually lasting only 30 seconds to two minutes. As a result, these extras don't feel needlessly bloated, but often quickly distract you, gently nudge you towards interesting characters and factions, or reveal more about Infinity Nicks that's surprising profound legend. It's a complete departure from the Genshin Impact formula, where everything feels much longer than it needs to be. Here's a smart example of what Infinity Nikki chooses no Taken from Genshin Impact , the same logic applies to its decision to eliminate combat almost entirely.
You never kill anything in Infinite Nick. Instead, you can use one of Nikki's special ability costumes to “purify” it. You also have the option of jumping and slamming into the ground if you want to take out multiple enemies at once, but for the most part, that's basically all the combat in Mugen Diary is about. Occasionally, bosses will appear, but they are indeed very rare. Combat in general is rarely something you need to engage in, and as someone who's tired of farming for gear in similar types of games, the simplicity of combat is very welcome indeed.
In fact, this suggests that combat/purification is only one aspect of your various ability outfits, as these outfits also serve as your primary exploration tools. Sometimes you'll automatically switch to a costume to perform a specific move, such as when you fire orbs from Nikki's purification costume, or when you double jump to levitate Nikki a short distance. Most of the time, though, you'll bring up an ability wheel and choose what you need to do from there: fishing, catching bugs, repairing electrical equipment—there's even a set specifically for playing the violin.
It's all very lightweight, effortless and simple – or it would be if my review build of Infinity Nikki (running on a pre-release server ahead of its final release later this week) wasn't so buggy. Unfortunately, this has become all too familiar to open world gacha games lately, although I will say that most of the time, the bugs I find are largely irrelevant and tend to be more interesting than anything else: Animals Walking on air and clipping into cliff edges, entire cutscenes focus on Nikki and her conversation partner's midriffs rather than their faces.
But I also ran into bigger technical issues, including inconsistent stuttering when playing on PC, random severe crashes when talking to certain characters, and horrible quest progression issues that kept me from watching for days. to the end of the story. To their credit, Infold Games fixed this progression issue shortly after it was flagged during our review, along with all the critical crashes I initially spotted – though it remains to be seen whether the release version of the game will be immune to the crashes. Similar bugs, glitches and crashes.
These technical issues were one of the only things that kept me from fully enjoying my Miraland excursion, even though we also had Infinity Nikki otherthis seems to be an inevitable problem: gashapon. Since Infinity Nikki is essentially a dress-up game, the banners you purchase with in-game currency won't include new characters. Instead, they offer unique clothing. While there are plenty of ways to get costumes and costumes for free by exploring and completing quests, the flag costume can't be obtained any other way – you have to spend in-game currency. This currency can be slowly accumulated by completing in-game tasks for free, or you can purchase premium packs and convert them into what you need to pull banners. These exclusive outfits do look more desirable than the free ones, but the gap isn't huge—or at least not something that makes me feel like I need to spend a fortune to get them.
Infinity Nikki has the usual gacha “mercy” system, which guarantees you a four-star outfit every 10 pulls and a five-star outfit every 20 pulls. You're also guaranteed to get different 5-star pieces within 20 pulls, meaning you won't start getting duplicate pieces until you complete a set. This is equivalent to the old standard of getting what you need from a limited number of banners in 180 pulls. However, the old standard of ridiculously premium currency prices remains, as the cost to buy to cover 180 pulls is around £345/$435. The amount of money spent on digital clothing is ridiculous.
Thankfully, there's little reason to wear Banners other than the appeal of dressing Nicky in a nice new outfit. Each outfit comes with stats like “Cute”, “Sweet”, and “Fresh”, and higher stats can help you win fashion battles, but these are mostly side activities with no real incentive to participate in small faction battles. Outside activities are based on stories. You don't need a banner outfit to guarantee victory in the contest, either. At least, I never did that while playing. There are also plenty of free outfit pieces to ensure a sweet win with a perfectly coordinated or hilariously mismatched outfit.
Of course, while Infinity Diary's gacha system is more or less redundant in terms of gameplay advantages, if the inclusion of a period is a deal-breaker for you, Infinity Diary isn't going to do anything differently to Change your thinking. Personally, I think that's a shame because the rest of the game feels like a breath of fresh air for the genre. The length, combat, and variety of progression all feel very exhilarating compared to other Genshin Impact-like games, which is why Mugen Diary feels like it can (and should) feel like 2020's Genshin Impact , followed the same trajectory and shook the gacha world. .
If nothing else, it's nice to see miHoYo get a proper run, and I know I'll still come back to Miraland whenever I need a mood lift, whether that's in the form of a croon or a catchy catchy tune. Listen to music as you whimsically ride towards a hot air balloon, or laugh at the melodrama in future story updates. I hope Mugen Diary finds an audience, because if it becomes a Genshin Impact killer, which I know it has potential for, well… I'm excited to see what kind of games might become a Mugen Diary killer in four more years Years or so.
Developer Infold Games provided a copy of Infinity Nikki for review.
