Hypergryph
I knew nothing aboutArknightsbefore initiate Gryphline ’s spinoff , Arknights : Endfield . When I watch the opportunity to participate in the technical test , the name reappear in my judgement like a vague visual modality of something I ’d seen in a show window likeThe Game Awards . finally , I decide to test it because of the appealing graphics and action mechanism promised in its promotional materials .
I was not disappointed .
Hypergryph
Gryphline ’s flagship title isArknights , a towboat defense reaction secret plan known for its challenging scheme and rich worldbuilding . Like manymobile games , it include a gacha mechanic that lets players hold new anime characters . Endfieldis softly based on the same assumption , but there is n’t enough overlap for it to be necessary to toy the originalArknights . ThinkHonkai Impact 3rd versusGenshin Impact : It might be coolheaded to know Yae Sakura for the added linguistic context when you meet herGenshincounterpart , but you do n’t need that info to enjoy either plot .
I expectedEndfieldto land between themiddling “ Genshin clones”I’d played , but I was pleasantly surprised to find a competent military action RPG with building mechanics that set it aside from competition . If you want a game that balances construction , story , and fighting on a silver record , this one might be for you .
Beware of the info dump
Endfield‘s most glaring flaw is its slow head start . Its story and gameplay are ab initio disorienting , if only because it is n’t clear what you should be doing outside of watch the main pursuit .
I spend my first few moments in a dreamlike tutorial , memorizing cause and attack controls . Then , my role rouse up to a protracted history example aboutEndfield‘s world in a couple - minute cutscene . The story of the worldly concern , the persona of the Endministrator , and the current danger the characters are face are all grind away into that introduction . I do n’t even remember half of it because it was so much dim information at once .
After that , I get to the meat of the issue : My character , a engineering science savant call the Endministrator , suffers from amnesia follow an accident require a crashed cryopod . They ’re deploy to find a MIA wheeler dealer who might be capable to help them retrieve their memories , but that thread is well-off to lose in the confutable pacing .
Even 20 hr into my test , I was learning unexampled entropy about how to optimise my character builds and make aliveness easier for me as a player . For exemplar , Endfieldintroduced me to relay towers to power electrical machines before I felt like I needed them . by and by , I unlock ziplines for more efficient change of location and needed to establish robust electrical networks with electrical relay towers to make that materialise . These are the kinds of ordered connection you could only make after playing the biz for minute .
Promising progression
I instinctively compareEndfieldtoGenshin Impactbecause of its undefendable world and real - fourth dimension action . But admittedly , it ’s nothing like it besides a skeletal system of mechanics found in many other mobile game . I control one eccentric at a time during combat but can switch between companions at any distributor point during a conflict . AI keep in line the others . I needed to keep an eye on my teammates ’ health bars to make certain they did n’t wipe out while I was learning how to clock my skills properly .
At first , battles felt a bit easy . However , I noticed that endure in Rifts at the recommended level was unmanageable without effectively building and control characters . Rifts , keep that participant involve to fight through to earn demolishing materials , offer different difficulty levels that only unlock after fighting through the premature one . For higher levels , I want to stock up on healing equipment before infix . There is n’t a dodge push button , and sprinting can only facilitate so much when AI companions rush into danger .
Perhaps it ’s because of my screen background withGenshin ImpactandHonkai : Star Rail , but I enjoyed steadily strengthening my quality with the layer of leveling system . I can upgrade weapons with “ essences ” that permeate them with special ability and unlock fight bonuses on paraphernalia when enough pieces of the same set are equipped together . These quality made me finger like I was progressing at each step of the way and that I could try out with more than one set build for my part .
World “ building ” also extends beyond story . Part of the master gameplay iteration involves negociate a al-Qaida that automatise farming and peppering the map with structures that make everything more convenient . I deployed rigs that mechanically glean ore and send them to my depot and then programmed my machines to laden those rocks onto a conveyor swath and action them into precious material I demand for craft . In other parts of the globe , I created a track of electric column and used them to powerfulness ziplines that shot from one niche of the map to the other . These buildings were newfangled to me as someone who had never touched Arknights , and I have n’t seen anything like them in any other RPGs I ’ve play . Even better , they gave me a way to interact withEndfield‘s already attractively provide and geographically diverse earth .
This technical mental testing did n’t admit any gacha components , only impermanent entree to a fund that developers highlighted would n’t be in the final production . I could complete most of the content without any issues with just its devoid character , and I did n’t even use any of the higher - range units . Still , it ’s difficult to judge how much the gacha system will affect the final product at this stagecoach of maturation .
Either way , it ’s a game I ’m already itching to get back into as shortly as potential . It ’s too early to say if it ’ll be able-bodied to vie with the likes ofGenshin Impact , but the rewarding gameplay and intriguing assumption are enough to keep it on my microwave radar .
Arknights : Endfieldis currently in development for PC , iOS , Android , and PlayStation 5 .
