Infinity Nikki Review – Dressed for Success?

Infinity Nikki is an odd game. In a sense, it’s exactly what we need in the industry. There’s a very real risk, if we focus entirely on what sells best, that the only games developed will become carbon copies of each other. Instead, Infinity Nikki is an open-world game with a lot of similarities to things like Breath of the Wild, albeit if wearing the right frilly dress gave Link the ability to float.

Infinity Nikki begins with Nikki and her best friend, a talking cat named Momo, discovering a goddess who sends them on a journey to the land of Mira. There, they need to collect magical outfits to save the world. Combat is as simple as shooting orbs to purify your enemies (or occasionally slamming them from above), so don’t expect some massive challenge.

This isn’t a game that’s built to stress you out. If anything, it’s a cozy game. There’s gentle music, gentle gameplay, gentle scenery, gentle everything. It’s fun, but not the sort of thing I can see exciting many people. In fact, it’s a good antidote to the stress that other games can bring. If you’re burned out after a few bad matches in an online game or simply want a laid-back adventure, this might be just the thing.

One of the unique selling points of Infinity Nikki is the dress-up mechanic. Throughout the game you’ll receive a variety of different outfits, each of which has a specific use. While it’s a little strange that Nikki needs to wear a different dress to catch bugs compared to grooming animals, it’s a charming addition. Crucially, while some of the more contextual costumes have to be selected manually, you don’t need to switch between outfits to use your more active abilities.

Combat is a simple affair, but there’s plenty to see and do in the world of Mira. The scenery is beautiful, and you’re frequently rewarded for your efforts. Exploring caverns will grant you new fragrances to enhance your skills. You’ll find glowing pink crystals that lead to Breath of the Wild-esque puzzle segments where you can find Whimstars. More Whimstars can be found in platforming segments, environmental puzzles, by chasing them down, or by finding them hidden in the environment. You’ll use these Whimstars to unlock new sketches or upgrade your outfits, so it’s always worth looking for them.

Even finding the materials you need is relatively charming compared to many games. You’ll groom animals (all of which are adorable), sneak up on bugs, or take a break to go fishing. Yes, it does eventually get a little annoying to see the same twenty-second cutscene because you need to groom a Floof or a Shirtcat (to use their actual names), but damn if it’s not an adorable one.

Unlike many open worlds, tracking down what you need is relatively stress-free. You can highlight the area where you’ll find crafting materials on your map, and you can utilize your cat companion, Momo, to spot any Whimstars in the environment. Most importantly perhaps, it’s a world you want to explore. If, like me, you find Skyrim overwhelming due to the sheer volume of things to do, Infinity Nikki’s open world is far more relaxed and approachable.

Of course, this is far from a perfect game. There were a few glitches I experienced during my time in Mira, and I occasionally found myself needing to reload the game because the audio cut out, Nikki refused to jump or push a block, or Momo kept telling me there was a Whimstar nearby even during cut scenes.

I played on the PC with a PS5 controller and switching control schemes just to save a screenshot could be a chore. Worse, there were a few occasions where the game would just freeze, and since using a controller seemingly disables your mouse, I would have to go to the task manager just to close the game, something I haven’t needed to do in years.

Of course, glitches are always a possibility, especially in a game that hasn’t even fully released yet, but it did lead to a few moments of frustration. Was this an issue with the controller gameplay? Probably, but you’d expect a game that has controller support to realize you might still need a mouse.

The gacha system is perhaps my biggest complaint. Gacha is already a little controversial, but in this case it feels almost like it was brought in for the sake of having it. You can easily ignore it if you don’t want to use it, since most (if not all) of the rewards are cosmetic, but in that case why not simply give people the choice to buy the items instead of using their money for a chance to win them?

I personally never reached a point where I felt like I had to make use of the system, so it does feel like it was brought in mostly as an afterthought. It does have its uses when it comes to design challenges, where you’ll make an outfit and compete to have the coolest/cutest/sexiest (for some reason) look, but I found that I did well enough in the story-mandated ones with the designs I came across more organically. It’s easy to ignore the system, which raises the question: why bother including it at all?

Overall did I like Infinity Nikki? Yes. I can see it being a nice distraction from more stressful games, and I’m willing to admit that I can see myself coming back to it. It’s a nice little palate cleanser, if not necessarily the sort of game that’s going to attract the serious gamers out there. If you’re looking for a heavy-duty game to sink a few thousand hours into, this isn’t for you. If you want to simply spend a few hours exploring a charming world with plenty of puzzles and platforming, this might just be your dream.

Infinity Nikki

If you're looking for a heavy duty game to sink a few thousand hours into, this isn't for you. If you want to simply spend a few hours exploring a charming world with plenty of puzzles and platforming, Infinity Nikki might just be your dream.

Pros

• A charming open world
• Low stakes gameplay
• - Beautiful design and music
• - Fun puzzles and platforming

Cons

• Frustrating glitches
• Little use for the gacha mechanics

A copy of this game was provided by the publisher for review. Reviewed on PC.