Arknights: Endfield spins off from Hypergryph's highly loved tower defense hit, shifting the vibe to something darker. With a world raptured by natural disasters and enemies beyond mortal comprehension, the game's sense of scale is immediately tangible. I'm in a dystopian world that threatens to burst out of the limits of the monitors across the Gamescom booth.
There's little to know about your mysterious protagonist, but the icy mountains and aethereal skies of Talos-II do the narrative lifting. A phenomenon known as Erosion is distorting the land, creating brutal anomalies that warp the very fabric of reality. It's nutty sci-fi lore that is easy to consume, with strange quirks laying down the charm along the way. That kind of approach is all too familiar to me, because it runs through the core of every Hideo Kojima game.
Death Stranding specifically feels like an influence here, but the appearance of zipline networks that tether to pure energy is the key indicator. If that isn't enough, then the game's otherworldly art direction calls on strings of shattered debris, inky splashes, and abysses that probably aren't worth diving into. To contrast these dashes of an almost supernatural aesthetic, the first foes I face are rabid, dog-like mechs, and I need to reduce them to bolts. That's where Hypergryphs begins to scratch my itch for seeing those sweet damage numbers go up.
Rapidly attacking inflicts shredding rips of my sword, but abilities step in to provide a mighty thump. One of them is a satisfying knock-back attack, powerful enough to completely disrupt any plans to whack me on the skull, my enemies may have. Indicators tell me I can quickly follow these attacks up with a nifty finisher, dealing some extra damage where it counts. Combat is fun on my own, but Endfield's battles come into their own with the aid of my AI controller comrades.
Each of them is switchable at will and harnesses combat styles that echo the frenetic nature of Hoyoverse's Zenless Zone Zero. And yes, that means wielding two gnarly dual pistols. No matter who I choose to play as, Endfield doesn't punish me for preferring one character over another. Instead, it rewards my instinct to stick to my guns, literally. Another on-screen indicator tells me my teammates are ready to interject with a devastating follow-up attack mid combo. Let me tell you, these extra hits rip.
The feeling of chaining my team's movesets together is like a symphony, and all I need is a few taps to be the conductor. Ultimate attacks command the screen with dizzying flashes of damage that let me know my enemy isn't in for an easy recovery. Coming from a tower defense game in the first Arknights, the sheer quality of combat here is genuinely commendable. With only thirty minutes to play, though, I'm left wondering where Endfield's base-building comes into play. Placing you into the ranks of the Final Earth Industry, where refining materials and improving life across the galaxy is key, has strong potential.
I'm told by a developer on-site at Gamescom that ziplines are essential for transporting materials to refiners and other areas for crafting. It's a factory simulation fantasy that could seemingly be a big enough experience on its own, as key decisions like routing the inputs and outputs of electricity have an effect not unlike No Man's Sky base creation. The Hypergryph representative tells me that Endfield aims to balance the two gameplay styles equally, but I'm not too sure if that's achievable. I'm eager to see it in practice, though.
It's worth noting that the Gamescom build is the PC version, so I can't comment on mobile performance at this time. From what I've seen at Hypergryph's booth, the gacha game's flashy fights could be a hindrance for some lower-spec Android devices and iPhones. I currently play on the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro, and I'd be curious to see how a budget phone handles it when the Arknights: Endfield release date lands.
Unlike most of my fellow Pocket Tactics writers, I'm someone who typically gravitates away from gacha games. Yet, I'm thrilled to say that Arknights: Endfield might make me a believer.
You can expect more Gamescom coverage to come, but my impressions of the Xbox Ally and an interview with No Straight Road 2's developer are already here to dive into. Want to chat more about your most anticipated mobile games? I'll see you over in the Pocket Tactics Discord server.