Arknights: Endfield Reviews
I can’t help but be a little disappointed with Arknights: Endfield. On paper, it has the makings of an excellent gacha game, and with some updates in the future, it potentially might become one. But for now, it’s a slow and often tedious experience. I can’t see myself jumping in on launch day like I had originally intended, because I’ve burned out on the experience much quicker than I thought I would.
Arknights: Endfield is a fantastic free-to-play game. It is still beholden to some of the hangups of a gacha game, with progress gates and luck of the draw dictating your main team.
Arknights: Endfield combines fluid combat, elaborate factory simulation, and Death Stranding-esque building to create a gacha RPG like no other.
Arknights: Endfield confidently showcases its strengths in art direction, character design, and world-building, while also making a bold move by introducing automation-focused construction systems. This experimentation inevitably brings along some rough edges and shortcomings, but that very sense of dissatisfaction reflects the game's willingness and sincerity in trying to offer something new.
Review in Chinese | Read full review
Quote not yet available
A mish-mash of genres that blend well and give you a lot to do for the price of free.
Arknights Endfield is a genuinely exciting showing from Hypergryph, building off of their original hit with a massively widened scope. Engaging combat, beautiful locales, and the satisfaction of building a working facility clash with the same sins every Gacha has to commit to keep themselves profitable. If you can appreciate the gradual satisfaction of grinding or watching a factory work, Endfield might just be your newest obsession.
Arknights: Endfield is a unique beast. It is a very fun game that I found very hard to play. I do want to reiterate that I like this game. The best part about games as a service is if what I found frustrating proves to be a sticking point for others, then those issues can and will be addressed. I also think Endfield is a game that can give you as much back as you want to put in. Engaging with ALL of its systems isn't strictly necessary. In that sense, free-to-play is a damn steal! I, personally, am going to try and engage my big boy brain and continue to play Endfield. I want to see where it goes. If its post-launch support is anything close to the effort that has been put into building this game, I think we're all in for a treat.
With the release date drawing nearer, we can't help but wonder if Arknights Endfield is the one game to shake up all the adjacent live service game genres (gacha or otherwise). We loved playing through the Beta Test II and for now it seems like it's all on the right track, and wonderfully so.