After a decade of mobile dress-up games, the Nikki series is getting its biggest adventure yet, in the open-world RPG Infinity Nikki. But while the latest game brings Nikki to new platforms and a gorgeous new world, it’s not totally abandoning the series’ roots. Like the mobile games that came before it, Infinity Nikki is a gacha game, meaning you can play for free, but you’re encouraged to spend real money on the ability to gamble for in-game rewards. It’s a controversial model that recent games like Genshin Impact have introduced a lot more players to, with some key differences in the way Infinity Nikki handles it.
In case you’re wondering, here’s how the gacha monetization system works in Infinity Nikki. Like most gacha games, Infinity Nikki has a somewhat confusing number of currencies and resources, only here they’re based around acquiring and upgrading outfits instead of characters. The game features a permanent gacha banner, which offers a large pool of standard rewards, and rotating limited-time banners, which offer exclusive rewards not found in the standard pool.
You can spend one Resonite Crystal per pull on the standard banner or one Revelation Crystal on the limited banner and receive a random reward. Every 20 pulls on either banner guarantees a 5-star piece of clothing (the highest rarity) and every ten pulls guarantees a 4-star piece. That’s fairly generous for a gacha game, but keep in mind you’ll need to hit the jackpot multiple times to make a complete outfit. Crystals can be earned through in-game rewards in rare circumstances, but most of the time, you’ll need to spend another currency to get them.
If you’re out of Crystals, you can get more by converting 120 Diamonds into a Crystal. Diamonds are earned through quests and other gameplay activities, and they’re handed out like candy in early parts of the game. Diamonds can also be converted into stamina used to access certain activities like dungeons, but it’s probably best to save them for when you need more Crystals.
Stellarite is Infinity Nikki’s premium currency, bought with real money. Like in most gacha games, you’ll get more for your money by buying larger amounts of currency at once, which is one factor that makes this type of game often predatory. (Seriously, if you even think controlling your spending could be a problem, you should not play gacha games.) Stellarite is used to buy exclusive outfits you can’t get through the gacha system, and they can also be traded for Diamonds.
Infinity Nikki also offers a two-tiered battle pass. One version, at $9.99 primarily offers crafting materials and Diamonds, while the $14.99 tier adds Stellarite and profile customization options like avatar frames. Right now, it doesn’t look like the battle pass will offer rewards you can’t get elsewhere, but that could change in the future.
For the most part, Infinity Nikki’s gacha system is a little less onerous than it is in other games. Everything you can spend money on in Infinity Nikki is cosmetic, though exclusive outfits have the potential to have better stats than clothing found elsewhere, making them more useful for style challenges. And in a game that’s all about fashion, offering cosmetic rewards for real money still means some players will feel the need to fork over some cash to get the most out of it. It’s entirely possible to have a great time with Infinity Nikki without spending a dime, but again, it’s best to think twice about playing at all if you worry that the fear of missing out will get the better of you.
