Infinity Nikki is my favorite new release of 2024. It’s a cotton candy confection of an open-world game that offers far more depth and variety than I expected. I love the fabulous wardrobe, low-key puzzles, and engaging side quests. But the most surprising thing about Infinity Nikki was something I’ve been ignoring in games for years: photo mode.
I didn’t expect it to become a highlight of the Infinity Nikki experience. In fact, when it came up in a long sequence of tutorials during my first session, my initial reaction was, “Oh good, something I can forget.”
Photo mode has become a standard feature in single-player AAA games over the past decade. For those who aren’t familiar with it, the feature pauses gameplay so you can pose your protagonist like an action figure, making them smirk with a silly expression or flash the peace sign. You can apply filters or make subtle adjustments to focus, aperture, and other details to capture a striking image.
Over the years, I’ve seen people capture Nathan Drake, Ellie and Joel, Aloy, and many others in heroic or hilarious poses. I appreciate them when they pop up on my social feeds. And as game graphics become more and more photorealistic, it makes sense that studios want to give players tools to capture beautiful moments. But whenever I’ve played a game with a photo mode, I’ve found that after taking the one picture required by the tutorial, I never open the camera again.
My problem isn’t that these games aren’t beautiful enough to document. It’s that when I’m playing something like The Last of Us, I don’t think to stop to take a picture because I’m so focused on other gameplay mechanics and goals. Sure, there may be some quiet moments to catch my breath, but running for your life across a post-apocalyptic wasteland is no time to browse filters. And in other games, taking pictures doesn’t seem like something the character does. Come on, there’s no way Kratos could ever take a selfie.
Like all of its predecessors, Infinity Nikki is a beautiful game. Merryland is comprised of picturesque towns and charming landscapes, equally lovely in their sweeping views and hidden corners. Everywhere you look, there are plenty of carefully constructed little interactions that serve no other purpose than to encourage you to create a lovely image. You press a button to ride a hot air balloon or blow bubbles on a café table. It’s a step up from most implementations, where at most you can sit on a chair or bench.
However, what drew me into becoming a shutterbug fully is a system where players are prompted to take photos of notable locations around Merryland. The first time I got one, it was a lush grotto where I asked Nikki to sit on a log by an underground lake. It was a beautiful place, sure, but what made me happiest was that my outfit matched the setting perfectly. So I didn’t just snap a picture and move on to something more important. Taking the time to look fabulous is the most important thing.
There’s no one style point of view in Infinite Nikki. Certain outfits provide relevant in-game abilities, but most pieces are just there so you can look exactly how you want. Nikki can be an absurd anime character from Fantasy Land in tulle and sparkles. Or she can look exactly like someone you might see streaming games on Twitch or TikTok in an oversized hoodie. Or she can wear a top hat with jean shorts and thigh-high knit boots, if you want. (And yes, I wanted to.)
This game knows you’re at least partially there to play dress-up. It also knows that the most important thing to do when you play dress-up is immortalize your best fit with a photo shoot. That’s why Infinite Nikki’s photo mode feels not only fun, but necessary. It’s a core part of the game loop. When I create a new outfit, I want to find a good setting to take a picture. When I stumble across an attractive location, I think about what poses will best show it off.
Most of the time, cameras and photo modes do little to enhance my love of a game. They’re like the metaphorical cherry on top of the sundae. With Infinite Nikki, however, photo mode is the ice cream. And it’s delicious.