Arknights: Endfield Technical Test Impressions

Arknights: Endfield, developed by Hypergryph, and published by Hypergryph, and Gryph Frontier PTE. LTD., is a new game stemming from the established lore from Arknights. This is a huge departure from their original game’s tower defense genre to an open world action-adventure base builder strategy game. The game itself is perfect for those who have some experience with action-adventure games with similar combat mechanics to another game like Genshin Impact, but with a focus on status effects. Aside from that, one major feature that sets this game apart is the sci-fi theme present with a more utilitarian feel with some survival elements story wise. Moreover, the details presented in the technical test really demonstrate the best and worst parts of the game so far that can be improved overtime before the game is released to the general public.

The overall gameplay is an action adventure with a focus on inflicting status effects similar to parrying. In terms of overall feel of the game especially on PC is quite similar to Genshin Impact in terms of overall feel, while still retaining its own identity. What sets Arknights: Endfield apart from Genshin Impact is the focus on something akin to a parry mechanic in game. This parry like mechanic is quite forgiving in terms of timing and the window of opportunity so those familiar to souls like games can easily get used to this mechanic and utilize it to its maximum effect. As for someone new encountering this mechanic a clear indicator of an attack that can be parried in this game is clearly defined with the enemy producing a red sphere around them as a main indicator. Moreover, there are visible party members that also engage enemies in combat and move with the player-controlled character when not in combat making the whole experience feel less lonely. There is another gameplay in contrast to the combat mechanic is base building. In terms of the base building, Factorio is a theme that runs very similar to hub in Arknights: Endfield. The base in the game is a hub for constructing various materials that can be further utilized in making higher end resources or equipment for the player to use. By utilizing this sort of gameplay feature for crafting higher tiered equipment is a rewarding process especially for those who go out of their way in collecting almost everything. One key issue for those who enjoy collecting is the limited storage and space available to the player with certain items having an item limit of 10k. Aside from the item limit, one glaring issue is the potential for expansion of the base while the area being quite large is feels limited to some extent. With it being the hub for the player it should have some homely elements in the future similar to the base feature in Arknights (the tower defense version). These elements can be akin to like a small house or tent that can be decorated by the player showcasing either in game screenshots or items or weapons they are fond of as an example. Another thing that can help new players get used to the crafting system is allowing a “clear all” function for the base. By implementing such a feature can allow for greater player creativity and organization for resource management for how they organize the various buildings used for crafting.

Arknights: Endfield, builds upon the established themes already present in the tower defense in terms of artistic direction being anime focused with utilitarian buildings, yet demonstrating a good deal of creativity for enemies, environment, and weapons. As to what these themes are one clear distinction is in the game’s art direction for character designs being anime focused with a blend of utilitarian and fantastical designs.

Moreover, this is great for those who already enjoy the designs already put on display in the previous installment of the franchise. Speaking of the previous installment, there appears to be a recurring character between the two games and this can allow for a greater degree of lore speculation and continuity between the games. This allows for a greater richness in terms of lore due to the fact that the games utilize each other for storytelling. Furthermore, in order for this storytelling to occur in a steady fashion is through voice acting which honestly has become a standard norm for games with a large budget to accommodate the production values necessary to make content.

Arknights: Endfield, while being a technical test before the game is fully released, really showcase that the company is really trying to make a good impression for its future audience. The game has some flaws, but that is to be expected as it is in its beginning stages with plenty of issues that need to be ironed out and fixed in the long term. However, the gameplay is overall fine, but needs some more fluidity in the combat to really set them apart from something like Genshin Impact. So, by making them utilize some mechanics from their tower defense game into the action-adventure gameplay might be beneficial in the end. Aside from that, the base building is quite unique and distinct and is reminiscent of other games focused on the factory simulator genre. Moreover, the details present in the technical test server is quite impressive from a visual standpoint as the game really is quite charming due to the art style, lore, and voice acting. With this being essentially a well-polished alpha release the game is quite something and will definitely make a splash when it is fully released and spawning quite a lot of videos on the subject matter. In terms of how fun the game is Hypergryph developed a great game while fun needs some more work in regards to some quality-of-life issues and the fluidity of combat to feel smoother.

For more information, visit https://endfield.gryphline.com/en-us

Related: Reviews by Kyle Manila