The last time a game made me feel at peace was Genshin Impact in 2020. Then, Infinity Nikki snuck into my gaming corner. Infinity Nikki is an open-world gacha title published by Infold Games, the company responsible for the Nikki installments on Android and iOS. The game came out on December 5, 2024, for Android, iOS, PlayStation 5, and PC. It is the first Nikki entry to release outside mobile platforms. Even if you don’t own an Android gaming phone (or if your phone isn’t up to snuff for handling Infinity Nikki), you can download it and carry over your progression on other platforms.

Infinity Nikki is my fourth regularly played open-world title

It revitalizes my love for open-world games

I’m burnt out from juggling too many open-world games. I play Wuthering Waves, Genshin Impact, and Tower of Fantasy daily. These gacha titles like to hide premium currency or the means to collect it within their large maps. It becomes repetitive and tiring that even my love for open-world games in a non-gacha space has diminished to the point that paid AAA open-world games have become unappealing.

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This is not how I feel about Infinity Nikki. The open-world part is the main highlight, and it’s refreshing. This is partly because Infold Games masterfully combines the game’s SFX, music score, and delightful Unreal Engine 5 graphics into a heavily immersive and relaxing experience. Listening to Infinity Nikki’s OST piano tracks while wandering around the map collecting Buttoncone has become one of my favorite activities in my downtime.

Infinity Nikki is visually impressive

But online images and advertisements are deceitful

Infinity Nikki runs on Unreal Engine 5. While the game looks beautiful, I’ve noticed significant differences after playing on a PlayStation 5 and Android. You will also find Reddit posts sharing comparison in-game screenshots between versions. Most online promotional content never shows what the game looks like on mobile.

It appears more pixelated and barebones and isn’t as visually impressive as PC/PS5. The likely reason is that the game runs on more devices outside the top-end ones without sacrificing performance. Otherwise, it becomes too demanding to run.

I’m happy with the performance, even if it isn’t perfect. Floating and using my outfit abilities never felt choppy, so I never felt pressured to switch to a more powerful platform to play. The game is still demanding, so your mileage may vary. Infold Games recommends you have at least a Snapdragon 888 or Dimensity 8100 and 8GB of RAM or higher. Some users have seen a Compiling Shaders issue, resulting in crashes and black screens. The only long-term fix is ensuring your device runs the game at minimum specs.

Infinity Nikki is almost the perfect game for me

But I can’t ignore how heavily monetized it is

Infinity Nikki is one of my favorites in 2024, but the monetization is concerning. I played many gachas where it was easy to wave away its monetization practices since they never got in the way of my enjoyment. Still, not everyone shares the same sentiment. For example, one of my favorite YouTube content creators uploaded a video explaining gacha games because her viewers expressed that this was their or their child’s first gacha.

Infinity Nikki is highly accessible, free to play, available on multiple platforms, and shares Disney-like themes that appeal to younger audiences.

Infinity Nikki still follows the same practices as other gachas. It has a battle pass, both free and paid. It has a premium currency you can buy with real money, exclusive cosmetics you can only pay for, and a monthly pass. Getting cool outfits with extra abilities requires dabbling into the gacha mechanics. Still, it feels like a luxurious add-on rather than a necessity. This is because Infinity Nikki is played casually. It isn’t heavily combat-focused, and the game pushes you to craft ability-infused outfits through in-game means.

This concept is far from being future-proof. The developers and publishers have complete control over the game’s direction, which means predatory monetization practices can quickly become its center focus.

Infinity Nikki is all about style

I love Infinity Nikki, even if it’s imperfect. It’s one of the best gacha titles, and I plan to continue playing it into the holiday season. Even if the game has a lot of polish, some flaws, like monetization and lack of graphical fidelity on mobile, can’t be ignored. Otherwise, it’s a solid game, and players looking for a Genshin-like experience with less combat/team-building focus will feel right at home.