Enter Infinity Nikki’s fantastical, fashion-forward world with upcoming closed beta

Welcome back to Miraland. Infinity Nikki developer Infold Games debuted the game’s stunning new during Gamescom’s Opening Night Live event on Tuesday. It also announced that players can once again enter Miraland themselves during an upcoming closed beta on mobile. The beta doesn’t have a start date just yet, an Infold Games representative told Polygon. --- [Image: https://platform.polygon.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/gamescom_fb20f9.jpg?quality=90&strip=all] Check out Polygon’s Gamescom 2024 hub page for all our coverage of the world’s biggest games event. --- Infinity Nikki’s new trailer is a cheerful (and somewhat bonkers) musical number, showcasing its gorgeous visuals and unique premise set to a carnival-esque theme song. There are a ton of cute and round creatures, alongside Nikki’s companion cat Momo, throughout the trailer. (Chickens with bulging eyes, too! And a magnificent, crystallized bird that looks like it could be a legendary Pokémon.) The Infinity Nikki pre-registration pages on the Google Play and App Store pages display an expected release date on Dec. 31, 2024, but the Infold Games representative told Polygon that date is a placeholder. Infinity Nikki is an expansion of a franchise that already has four games on mobile, including the latest two, Love Nikki and Shining Nikki. Those two mobile games are largely centered around creating and battling through fashion: You defeat your opponents by getting points, which are awarded for meeting different objectives, like creating an outfit that’s cute or elegant. There is a story, which plays out ahead of the classic dress-up gameplay. Where Infinity Nikki diverges from this is in genre: It’s an open-world adventure game more akin to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild than Roblox’s Dress to Impress. (Notably, Breath of the Wild game designer Kentaro Tominaga is leading development on Infinity Nikki.) Infinity Nikki was first announced in 2022, almost 10 years after the franchise’s first game, Nikki Up2U: A Dressing Story. Infinity Nikki resurfaced again at Sony Interactive Entertainment’s State of Play broadcast in May. Fashion is still a huge part of the game, as Nikki’s outfits are what power her abilities. Nikki has an outfit for gliding through the air, one for getting teeny tiny for fitting in a small cavern, and, of course, a getup for fishing in crystal rivers. There is light magic combat (and a dress for that), but Infinity Nikki’s gameplay seems to be centered more around exploring, platforming, and puzzle-solving. Throughout it all, Infinity Nikki appears to be staying true to the Nikki franchise — it’s only fashion (and Nikki) that can save the world.