Infinity Nikki: Is It Doomed to Fail?
I started played Infinity Nikki just a bit later than its initial launch, as I had been taking a break from gaming and content creation to focus on living a healthier lifestyle.
Well, here I am, so clearly, that didn’t last long. RIP to my mental health and general well being.
I had heard about the game before it’s release and as a former avid player of Love Nikki and someone who dabbled in Shining Nikki (though it made my phone overheat so I couldn’t play much…), I wasn’t planning on playing this game.
I told myself that I had plenty of other games to complete and plenty of recording and editing I need to do for Let’s Plays and reviews that I have wanted to work on, but then I saw other creators sharing videos about the game, and I was draw in by it’s allure and ultimately caved due to FOMO.
When I finally gave it a try, I was hooked. I started playing about a week before Christmas, and I had saved up some PTO, I decided to take a few extra days off work before and after the holidays. I was already getting a couple paid holidays for Christmas and New Year’s, so I ended up with an 8-day staycation. During this time, I did nothing but play Infinity Nikki.
So much for trying to get in some daily exercise and less screen time, amirite?
By the end of my time off, I had completed most of the game's main storyline and over the next couple of weeks, even after returning to work I continued to play every chance I had. I finished the main quest, tackled every single side quest and mini-game, gathered more Whimstars than I knew what to do with, and crafted the majority of the available sketches scattered throughout the world. In less than a month, I had completed almost everything Infinity Nikki had to offer.
(I did not care to hunt down every single dew of inspiration.)
And then... there was nothing left. Sure, the game features new banners and events with some new quests that seem to roll out every week or so, (I’m not sure of the exact time frame) but without any meaningful quests to earn the in-game currency of pink diamonds, there’s no way to acquire the new sketches released with those banners unless you’re willing to spend real money. Personally, I’m not, and many others may feel the same way.
Upon doing some research, I discovered that the game’s main content likely won’t see a significant update for at least six months. This long gap in content worries me. How can a gacha game sustain itself without offering any real activities beyond limited-time banners, especially when there’s no way to grind for the resources needed to enjoy them?
If players like me decide not to stick around and invest real money in the game during this drought, what guarantees that we’ll come back when an update finally drops? As much as I enjoyed Infinity Nikki, I may have moved on to other games by then, and I suspect others will too. This lack of ongoing content risks losing the game’s core player base, and once players leave, they may not return.
It’s a shame because Infinity Nikki had so much potential. With its gorgeous world and engaging gameplay, it’s truly a game worth playing if you’re a fan of the genre. But releasing the game before it had enough content to sustain its audience just feels like those game that offered a preorder only to deliver an unfinished product. I think it would have been better to delay the launch until they had more to offer.
To be fair, the game is free, so it’s hard to complain too much, but the experience left me feeling like the game was incomplete. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what the future holds for Infinity Nikki. Sure there are still plenty people of playing it now, but who knows how long that will last before people find they have nothing to do and move on.
Maybe the long time fan base of the Nikki series will keep the game alive, but with so many other games to choose from, will that be enough?
In the mean time, I guess I have to find something else to obsess over.
Article Author: Bonny Abomination
Contact: Bonny@Maelstromhold.com
