Infinity Nikki 1.5 Survey

I'd like to cover several things in this survey. Primarily regarding the latest changes to the game, as well as others that have been around for a while.

First, the increase in the number of pulls required to obtain a full dress, which has gone from 10 pieces to 11 pieces, or from 200 pulls to 220 pulls. This is unacceptable, as no gacha game on the market has dared to increase the number of pulls required. They should be set at a maximum of 180 for a full dress, regardless of the number of pieces the dress contains.

Second, the story retcon is unacceptable. This has further worsened the game's story, in addition to the removal of the original prologue, which was superior, very well done, and provided a good introduction to the world of Miraland. The new sequences of Miraland's destruction should have been shown after completing the main story in Patch 1.1 after obtaining the first Miracle Dress. The story, which was already very childish and lacking in motivation before, is now even more so, eliminating the importance of interesting characters like Giovanni and Ena. The introduction with Ena chained and the sequence where Nikki navigates the ruins until she finds her and receives the Heart of Infinity from her is very beautiful and deserves to remain in the game. Plus, all the sequences when Nikki first arrives in Miraland and has to walk to the Stylist's Guild for the first time. It's a good way to introduce the world. In addition, the story has been very chihdish, but now it has became even more childish. How the game will handle the Order of the Dawn killing people or similar themes that has been already introduced in the game lore if everything is treated in a chidsih way? Please, do not destroy the interesting lore of the world just for the sake of a happy game with cute things. Story deserves better treatment.

Nikki should be a little more concerned about what happened to her original home (not wishifield, but Earth) and what she's going to do in Miraland, instead of being a flat character with little personality who says yes to everything. In previous games like Shining Nikki and Love Nikki, the story is much more intense and interesting, with memorable characters who aren't just adorable creatures, but well-characterized, and also dangerous, humans. Nikki is also much more mature and faces challenges that test her resolve. She displays a much wider range of emotions, such as sadness, restlessness, and pain, things that allow Nikki to grow as a character. None of this exists in Infinity Nikki, as Nikki only has a flat personality; she only shows happiness and little else. She doesn't react realistically to what's happening in the world and seems like a cardboard avatar just there for the player to dress up. Nikki needs personality, as do the other NPCs, including Momo, who used to be much more cheeky and fun.

Thirdly, I'd like to address the number of horrendous bugs the game has. It's unacceptable to receive a game like this. Many issues such as rendering errors, object collisions, unresponsive menus, broken co-op, login or loading issues that make it impossible to even play the game, or bugs that prevent you from playing in general. If something isn't ready for release, it shouldn't be included, as it seems like things have been added that aren't finished or tested. The game shouldn't be in this state. Not only this, but players have been penalized for errors caused by various bugs in the game.

As for the dye system, during patch 1.3, it was shown that it would require mixing open-world materials to obtain colors, and nothing else. However, it now requires limited materials and, of course, tied to paid system to obtain more of these. This is not what was promised. Additionally, colors have to be unlocked per piece, rather than globally, making it very time-consuming and material-intensive to unlock complete colors on complete outfits. Colors should be unlockable globally and by utilizing open-world materials, as demonstrated in Patch 1.3. Moreover, all outfits should be able to get all colors, and not lock certain colors behind rarity.

Continuing with the problems of this version, the monetization system has become even more predatory. Not only has the number of pulls required to obtain a dress increased, but also abusive offers have been included in the store, discounted costumes, which of course will later be removed from the store once the event is over. Therefore, these are not discounts, but the actual price. The discount has been used as bait to get people to buy it. This is  even illegal in many countries. In addition to the addition of different item packs whose price is unreasonable.

And last but not least, the lack of communication between the development teams or those responsible for the game and the players is very insulting. It's either completely silent or the problems the game are simply ignored, trying to dispel them through corporate chatter. Communication with players is essential to building a game that satisfies both parties.

I really hope all this issues are addresses and fixed in the future to keep this game fun and healthy for everyone.