The latest PlayStation State of Play showed off all the familiar genres you’d expect to see at a premier gaming showcase — shooters, survival horror, third-person action, more shooters, and of course, dress-up games. Okay, that last one is a little bit of an outlier, but that’s exactly what made Infinity Nikki stand out from the rest of the crowd.
Developer Papergames first showed off Infinity Nikki back in December 2022. The game will mark the first console release for the long-running Nikki series of dress-up games, and it looks like a major evolution in terms of gameplay as well. Unlike earlier games in the series, Infinity Nikki adds a full open world full of platforming challenges to explore alongside its dress-up elements.
You can look at Infinity Nikki as Breath of the Wild meets dress-up game, and not just because of its open world. Breath of the Wild game designer Kentaro Tominaga is serving as executive producer for Infinity Nikki after leaving Nintendo to join Papergames in 2022.
So what does an open world dress-up game actually look like? Well for one thing, it looks gorgeous. Its State of Play trailer shows off some exquisitely detailed outfits, which makes sense given that they’re some of the game’s biggest draws. While most of the trailer consists of pre-rendered cutscenes, small bits of gameplay show off some pretty stunning effects on in-game clothes, from frilly dresses that move realistically when its wearer jumps and glides, to the no less impressive models of simpler fabrics on outfits like overalls. The game’s environments are likewise beautiful, particularly the rolling, flower-filled hills where most of the trailer is set.
Comparisons to Breath of the Wild don’t just come from Tominaga’s involvement and Infinity Nikki’s impressive open world. For the series’ latest entry, Papergames is adding elements of platforming to its cheerful, fashion-forward world. Changing into different outfits doesn’t just let you express yourself in-game — some have special abilities that let you hover around the world or even engage in some light combat.
As strange as it sounds, some outfits give Nikki the ability to “save creatures that have been corrupted by demonic energy,'' according to the PlayStation Blog. I’m not sure I needed demons to battle in a game about wearing pretty dresses, but combat is just a small part of the trailer and it’s not clear how much of a focus it will be in the final game. A preview from IGN that was published just after the State of Play reveal suggests that exploration and platforming make up the bulk of the gameplay, with less emphasis on combat. Oh, and speaking of inexplicably dark turns that I have no idea what to make of yet, there’s also the final shot of the trailer which shows a woman who’s evidently been captured and chained up by an evil version of Nikki.
One gameplay mechanic that I find way more exciting is a camera. Nikki’s cutesy feline companion, Momo, carries around a camera at all times, which you can use to capture photos of Nikki wearing her cutest outfits in all kinds of picturesque locations, like your most Instagram-obsessed friend going to brunch.
More than any other single element, Infinity Nikki’s camera could make or break the experience. Plenty of games have in-game cameras or photo modes with lackluster settings that make them no different from screenshots. But with enough care put into the adjustments you can make to your virtual snapshots, I could see plenty of players (like me) spending inordinate amounts of time composing the perfect picture to show off their best looks. Just scouting out locations to match your favorite outfit seems like a fun challenge on its own and an unorthodox way to reward players for exploring the world with the chance of a better photo op.
After this latest trailer, Infinity Nikki has suddenly grown from an interesting oddity to genuinely one of the most intriguing parts of the PlayStation lineup. Just standing out from the rest of the grim and gritty games on the calendar makes it worth following, and its unexpected mix of platforming adventure with fashion show left me wanting more. More than any of its direct influences, Infinity Nikki reminds me of the hours upon hours I’ve spent in Final Fantasy XIV dressing up my character and posing in photo mode, only occasionally taking a break to take care of less pressing matters like saving the world from rampaging monsters.
Papergames also announced a beta test coming in late summer or early fall, so if you’re just as interested to see how this odd fusion of action, photography, and fashion is shaping up, you may get the chance before too long.
