Infinity Nikki is a fashion-forward Zelda

You cognize that spirit of net speech wherever 1 acquainted point is identified arsenic another, wholly different point successful a measurement that shouldn’t make consciousness but weirdly does? Like really a basking canine could beryllium classified arsenic a sandwich, aliases because it has a filling enclosed by dough, a Pop-Tart is ravioli. Despite Infinity Nikki’s looks of a high-quality dress-up gacha game, it is really Breath of the Wild reborn successful immoderate fancy-ass clothes.

In the game, you play arsenic Nikki, an mean woman who gets whisked distant to the imagination world of Miraland on pinch her talking, bipedal, pantsless feline Momo. In Miraland, manner is magic and a guild of stylists usage it to combat the world’s evils and 1 another.

Infinity Nikki having truthful overmuch successful communal pinch Breath of the Wild was not instantly obvious. I started retired disliking the crippled immensely. I had issues pinch its clunky, unintuitive, and astatine times unresponsive power scheme. The paper icon is successful the top-right area of the surface but is opened by holding the left shoulder button. But erstwhile you unfastened the radial menu, you tin only item icons pinch the correct thumbstick. The guidance pad is straight-up not functional, and while you usage the X fastener to corroborate selections, circle is utilized to click done dialogue. It’s a messiness and a level move betwixt mobile and PS5 didn’t reside this astatine all. 

In summation to exploration and manner battles, Infinity Nikki is filled pinch each kinds of mini-games that supply an entertaining break from gameplay for illustration this return connected Flappy Bird.

But arsenic I was moving done a pastoral countryside, gentle soft euphony playing astatine a default measurement a fewer notches beneath a whisper, I spied a aureate shine successful the distance. I recovered a works I could collect. Then another. Then Momo, who is fundamentally the mobile crippled type of Persona 5’s Morgana, told maine thing called a “whimstar” was nearby. I recovered it astatine the apical of a rocky cliff, requiring immoderate ray platforming to reach. From the elevation, I saw a wealth chest, truthful I utilized my bubble outfit to mildly glide toward it earlier changing into my purification outfit to dispatch the monsters guarding it. Once they were gone, I saw a bug I could cod pinch the caller bug catcher’s outfit I had conscionable made. Then I… 

It’s easy to publication this and deliberation that each Infinity Nikki has done is return BOTW and worldly it pinch microtransactions (which I’ll get to later). But by the clip I had my, “Oh shit. This is Zelda,” revelation, it didn’t consciousness for illustration a inexpensive clone. The aforesaid pleasing jolt I sewage solving a Korok puzzle, I felt from getting a whimstar. And the dress-up mechanics added a furniture of novelty that further enhanced the crippled and my enjoyment.

Everything successful Nikki is powered by fashion. There are typical outfits, for illustration my monster purification dress aliases bug catcher uniform, that impart abilities that fto you traverse the map, cod materials, and conflict monsters. You past usage materials you’ve gathered from those activities to upgrade your expertise outfits aliases get the clothing you want to customize your avatar. There are truthful galore pieces of clothing and accessories, each 1 rendered successful intricately beautiful detail, that you usage to exude your ain style and triumph manner battles against different stylists.

After exploration, I had the astir nosy crafting outfits successful manner duels against NPC stylists. Each portion of clothing is assigned points successful 5 categories: sweet, fresh, elegant, sexy, aliases cool. Whoever has the highest points successful the designated categories wins. Since these battles are based connected score, you tin easy triumph wearing an disfigured mishmash of high-value apparel – kinda for illustration really I won my first battle. The acquisition was truthful rewarding that it made maine want to effort winning early battles pinch looks that are some high-scoring and high-fashion. 

To get a building from Final Fantasy XIV, “Glamour is the endgame.” It intends that you’re not playing to go powerful aliases hit the game, you’re playing solely to money your manner habit. And it’s amazingly not expensive.

Despite Nikki being a gacha crippled that is, astatine its core, designed to get you to walk money, its monetization systems consciousness much vestigial than critical. Most gacha games ne'er require players to walk money, but are usually designed specified that you can’t thief it. Core crippled activities are arbitrarily constricted and if you want to support playing, you person to salary up. From what I’ve seen aft 15 hours, Nikki doesn’t person that. 

Dressing up is the halfway characteristic and there’s a rate shop wherever you tin walk money connected consumables that springiness you the chance (known arsenic “pulling” successful the gacha community) of winning high-value, tantalizingly beautiful clothes. But location are truthful galore other, cash-free ways to get outfits that are conscionable arsenic pleasing arsenic thing for sale. 

You tin make a look retired of mixing and matching pieces from your expertise outfits, gain clothing aliases the blueprints to make them from quest rewards, aliases simply bargain worldly from in-game vendors pinch in-game cash. I was not a instrumentality of each the lace, sparkles, and pastels I made for my first outfit that I considered tossing a fewer bucks into the manner slot machine. But arsenic I continued my magpie-like adventures I made a punk stone look I’d really deterioration successful existent life without spending a dime. It felt for illustration the shop is only location for the folks who conscionable person to person the exclusives it offers.

I enjoyed really Infinity Nikki subverted my expectations. A gacha crippled managed to recreate Breath of the Wild successful usability and tone while the extent and item of the fashions said straight to my emotion of individual look successful games. It wasn’t simply an Unreal Engine 5 type of the dress-up games of the early net but a spiritual, sartorial successor of 1 of the champion games of the past decade.

Infinity Nikki is disposable now connected Android, iOS, PlayStation, and PC.