I think what initially surprised me when I started playing Infinity Nikki was that it was the newest instalment in the Nikki series. I guess I’ve been out of the loop for a while because I didn’t even know we had a Nikki let alone a whole series of them. It’s just another one of those neat little discoveries that makes every day covering video games a consistent adventure.
I jest of course, because in truth I was actually quite curious about Infinity Nikki when I first saw it during Sony’s May 2024 State of Play. As has been well recorded on this site, I’m always on the lookout for interesting Cozy games and this one looked incredibly deep and genuinely interesting. After spending countless hours with Infinity Nikki I gotta say, there’s a lot I really like about it—and some things I REALLY don’t.
Even if you’re not up to speed on the Nikki series, Infinity Nikki sets up its world in a fairly straightforward manner. Players take on the role of the titular Nikki who, while on her way to her graduation ball, is called to a mysterious ruin by a mysterious voice. Upon entering, she is confronted by the goddess Ena the Curator who bestows upon her the Heart of Infinity.
Ena requests that Nikki use the Heart of Inifinty to revive the Miracle Outfits, which seem to be the only thing that can stop the Dark—a strange miasma infecting the land and turning creatures in Esselings. However, since Nikki isn’t fully in sync with the Heart, she must travel across the land of Mira making friends and learning the secrets of the fallen gods and the nature of the Miracle Outfits.
It’s a simple story that follows a pretty standard RPG thread. Almost everything is presented in a very matter-of-fact way that doesn’t really need players to be versed in the previous games to understand. As a narrative, so much of the game’s story is presented in an incredibly sweet “slice-of-life” anime style that isn’t afraid to dial up the drama or get a little dark from time to time. It’s safe enough for kids but respectful of adults and more often than not I found myself with a very pleasant feeling as Nikki is always willing to help anyone in need and does it with a very pleasant attitude.
But it was the gameplay in Infinity Nikki that I wasn’t expecting to enjoy as much as I did. At its core, Infinity Nikki is a “Dress Up Game,” as is every game in the series. But even for something as simple as that, there’s an incredible amount of depth and nuance draped around it. As a “Stylist,” Nikki has the ability to craft “Ability Outfits,” which are pretty straightforward. They’re magical outfits that give Nikki fantastic abilities such as gliding through the air, conjuring wind, or being able to fish or catch bugs. It’s actually kind of interesting since almost all the gameplay is informed through the creation of new outfits.
Players will need to unlock Ability Outfits within the Heart of Infinity—which acts as a sort of Sphere Grid-style upgrade system—by completing Main Quests which form the basis of the game’s narrative and exploration. In order to unlock the outfits, players need to collect Whimstars that are pretty generously placed around the world, incentivizing exploration. Once unlocked, players will get outfit sketches which will require materials to craft, encouraging players to explore and gather crafting materials.
“As someone who genuinely enjoys creating interesting outfits for my characters in games, I was genuinely floored by how much Infinity Nikki has to offer.”
With every Ability Dress—of which there are 30—players will have greater access to this incredibly magical world to explore since every thread within the Heart of Infinity features additional clothing and fragrances which can give Nikki bonuses while exploring or battling Esselings. Actually, I will briefly mention here that Infinity Nikki does have combat, but honestly, it’s nothing to write home about—and I really don’t mean that as a negative. For a game like this, battling monsters isn\t really the vibe, but it certainly is an added layer that brings a bit of tension and stakes to both the story and exploration, without really being too demanding.
Anyway, back to the dresses. As someone who genuinely enjoys creating interesting outfits for my characters in games, I was genuinely floored by how much Infinity Nikki has to offer. From hats, dresses, shirts, pants, cuffs, stockings, shoes, and earrings; there’s so much variety and versatility that players can spend hours creating adorable outfits for Nikki. And while it was a bit of a bummer that Ability Outfits aren’t customizable, there’s still no shortage of fun in crafting outfits for Nikki to run around in.
And creating outfits is also an extension of the gameplay as clothing pieces have different style ratings—from Cute to Elegant, and even Sexy if you’re feeling spicy. From time to time, players will be challenged by NPCs to create outfits that pass a certain point threshold, so gathering sketches from completing quests or opening up the Heart of Infinity becomes tantamount to success.
And Infinity Nikki both looks and sounds amazing. If this game is a proper showcase of what Unreal Engine 5 can do, then colour me impressed. The amount of detail in almost every aspect of this game is genuinely incredible. It honestly almost looks like a Studio Ghibli movie came to life while still maintaining its artistic aesthetic. But the real standout is the outfits themselves which have been lovingly rendered with a staggering amount of detail. The way different fabrics move and skew, the attention to little details like stitching and accessories makes every outfit come to life in a way I’ve never seen before.
And while the music is very whimsical and mellow, the voice acting is incredibly well done. Even with the goofy anime dialogue, every actor brings their A-game to each performance and commits all the way. At no point was any of the dialogue bothering me because of how well-presented it was.
However, for as much as I like about Infinity Nikki there are some things that really hold it back from being something I loved. Namely, the game is built far too much like an MMO or mobile game—which makes sense since the series is rooted in mobile. The game just has WAY too many menus and sub-menus, daily unlockables and long-term unlockables; all those little ways mobile games and MMOs contrive ways to keep you logged in and keep you playing. It becomes a confusing mess of systems and logs that just confuse and annoy me.
“There’s a lot to like about Infinity Nikki, but I think recommending this game needs to come with a MASSIVE asterisk…”
On top of that, Infinity Nikki has THREE different currencies—the premium one that costs real-world money and is needed for the fancier in-store items. Then there’s the “gameplay currency” which is basically used to purchase this game’s version of loot boxes—this currency can also be purchased with two other forms of currency—and the “crafting currency” which is the actual in-game currency players will spend at in-game shops. Oh, and Infinity Nikki has a Battle Pass because of course it does.
And this is on top of the OTHER form of currency: stamina, which is used to enter “Realms” where players can participate in a variety of functions like trading in-game items for crafting materials, gaining Insight to open slots in the Heart of Infinity, and I think some kind of combat challenge? Thankfully stamina regenerates over time, but players CAN spend the “gameplay” currency to recharge it faster.
And it’s not like you can really avoid these elements since the game has sneaky ways of trying to send your attention to these stores with little notification icons on your in-game tablet device. It’s doubly aggravating because at its core the game is really well put together that it genuinely didn’t need any of this crap bogging it down. Infinity Nikki could have just BEEN a game—and no, I don’t accept “gacha game” as a genre. It could’ve just charged the normal price of games and avoided all these predatory forms of monetization that genuinely feel at odds with the spirit and vibe of the rest of the game.
There’s a lot to like about Infinity Nikki, but I think recommending this game needs to come with a MASSIVE asterisk because of the above-mentioned attempts at added monetization. It’s a game that is so charming, beautiful and really easy to get lost in but also one that is definitely going to squeeze people who have less self-control than I do. If you like pretty dresses and a really solid game built around making pretty dresses, then you’ll like this—just try to stay away from the premium stores.
