Infinity Nikki is a wonderful open-world experience that takes a decidedly different approach to concept and play, focusing less on combat and more on exploration, questing, discovery, and design, all with a smart and trendy feminine character in the lead role. Nikki, a young woman with a love of clothing, finds a strange outfit in the roof. She and her talkative, plump cat Mobile are whisked aside to a strange new world when she puts it on. Ena the Creator, who gives her the Heart of Infinity and tasked her with finding the Miracle Clothing, appears to her.
I recently had an opportunity to get hands-on with the sport on PS5, but this dive in.
The fires of happiness and creativity that exist within us all fuel the world of Infinity Nikki. People in this area typically use clothing to harness their Whim power. Clothing is effective self-expression, and a fashionable outfit even has the power to grant its wearer new skills. With that kind of power woven into cloth, it’s no question that Stylists–talented clothes makers–are highly respected. And after Nikki arrives, she is immediately recognized as top stylistic talent and accepted into Florawish’s Artists Guild.
But things are n’t completely quiet: there’s a peculiar condition going around that’s making people move unconscious, alongside a cautious gang of artists up to no good. During our time in the beta, we got a chance to meet some characters, good and bad, and play through some events: joining the Stylists Guild, helping out some folks in town, investigating a case of the strange illness, fighting against different stylists to make the coolest outfit, and exploring a frog-filled well to stop a rampaging fish that cut off Florawish’s electric power.
As a Stylist, Nikki can make clothes that grant her abilities. She can access her purifying energy by pressing a button as she gets older and wears two outfits, one that lets her float after jumping and the other that lets her shoot purifying energy. However, to get more fabulous powers, she’ll need to acquire sketches: blueprints for new clothing parts. Many of the most significant outfit sketches are acquired and enhanced through Nikki’s Infinity Heart tree, which means there are many ways to obtain them. You can find them in chests, earn them from quests, and so on. Nikki will need to locate Whimstars scattered throughout the world to unlock specific parts of the tree.
Momo, Nikki’s companion, has fine senses that Nikki can use to locate Whimstars, but not all Whimstars can be found by simply walking up to them. Many are hidden in areas that call for searching. Others task you with completing a platforming challenge, collecting a set of items, or using a specific power to get the Whimstar. You must look for star-shaped objects in an area where they are obvious, in contrast to the clever ways that some hiding spots use to disguise them in.
Before Nikki can wear anything she needs materials. Making the key outfits should n’t be difficult if you make it a habit to pick up everything you see ( and there are plenty of things to collect everywhere ). However, some of the rarer, optional accessories and optional pieces may require more work. Once you’ve got your outfit, you have a new power to play with.
During our playtest, we wore a cute waterproof ensemble for grooming animals, a bright set of overalls for catching bugs, a stylish summer hat-and-clothes set for fishing, and a heavy-duty cloak and gloves for fixing malfunctioning electronics. These abilities each help you advance by collecting more resources or solving puzzles. The animal grooming, which plays an adorable custom animation for each critter Nikki gets her soapy hands on, captivated us especially.
You wo n’t have to wait long to dress for success because Infinity Nikki is scheduled to launch on December 5. The game is brimming with personality and potential.