Arknights: Endfield was fun, until the game reminds you why it's a gacha live-service game

Genshin Impact was the first gacha game I've played, and I've been following several gacha titles ever since. Other than Genshin, I also actively play Honkai: Star Rail, Zenless Zone Zero, Infinity Nikki, and Wuthering Waves. I tried Duet Night Abyss as well, but decided that the grind is not my cup of tea.

One week ago, a new gacha title entered the roster. It's none other than Arknights: Endfield, a spin-off to the hit tower-defense game, Arknights.

I did not expect an anime Satisfactory to work, but yet, it did. Endfield was such a joy to play. I couldn't get off my AIC area, constantly improving my factory layout and ensuring optimal output.

Endfield also nails the open world. It feels vibrant, and there's always something to collect. If it's not a treasure chest, you'll still constantly find white triangular mini-chests or a piece of lore.

The skip-button with story summary is also a lifesaver. I have to speed run games to write guides, so being able to get ahead of everyone without missing important chunks of the story is a breath of fresh air. Even if I didn't skip, the story doesn't feel stalled or slowed, so I'm sure I would've enjoyed it even without skipping.

The size of Valley IV, the first area in Talos-II, is gigantic. There are 6 sub-areas to explore, and 3 outposts to build, along with the main factory area. I can't believe I had so much fun dragging cables from one Relay Tower to the other, and entering remote places to activate ore mining. I enjoyed connecting cables all over the place, to the point that I was disappointed I didn't have to do that anymore in Wuling.

Ah, Wuling. I was extremely excited to reach the second area. But, instead of fulfilling my dream of creating a factory empire, I was hit by the realization: Endfield is a gacha game, and like all gacha games, progressions are time-locked.

Endfield has massive potential, but it needs to keep the players hooked

I didn't mind the "Sanity" system, which is equivalent to Resin in Genshin Impact, or Waveplate in Wuthering Waves. Nor did I mind having to wait for my buildings to produce an item I needed.

What I minded, however, was how the developer intentionally limits your progress in Wuling.

Upon entering Wuling, I was astonished by how beautiful the place is. However, the region bombards me with one disappointment after another.

First, the story was far slower compared to the one in Valley IV, and not in a good way. The game constantly forces you to stand still as the camera pans or walk slowly since you have to "follow" an NPC. Not to mention this whole, "I know you have amnesia, but all of these are thanks to you" arc, a truly overused trope in games.

Next, the drowning system is the worst. I understand that I can't swim, that's fine. But if you fall into a small puddle of water, the screen just turns red, and your character can't move anymore. Even when you know you can jump to get out of the pool, jumping is disabled when you touch water. I had to repeatedly wait for my character to die and respawn just because I accidentally fell. Since the river and water are one of the main features in Wuling, this was such an unnecessary inconvenience.

However, the worst part of all is the lack of resources.

Other than water, Wuling's selling point is its vibrant and prosperous city (which, of course, per game-story rule, is currently not prospering and having troubles). But this means that you won't be mining ores in a lot of places. As a matter of fact, there are only 6 Mineral Beds in Wuling City. 5 of them are Originium, and 1 of them is Ferrium.

The only available area other than Wuling City is Jingyu Valley. Despite being a literal wilderness, there are only 4 Mineral Beds there, all of them gives you Originium.

You might be thinking, well, you can just make Originium products there, then. Wrong!

The items needed in Wuling's outpost, Sky King Flats Construction Site (wordy, I know), require either Ferrium Bottles and Ferrium Parts, or Xiranite. The limited Ferrium in Wuling means you can't build a massive mega-factory like in Valley IV. An obvious attempt to limit your progression in Wuling.

As for Xiranite, it's no better. Xiranite is made by combining Stabilized Carbon and Water. Both materials are abundant and practically unlimited, but, of course, the game limits Xiranite production as you can only have two buildings that produce it.

Xiranite is needed for the LC Wuling Battery, a Battery for power that you can also sell at the outpost; or Xiranite Component, an item needed to craft gold Gears.

The limitation for Xiranite is another obvious attempt to slow down your progression, since you can't mass-produce gold Gears and maximize your character as fast as you would like to. The amount of effort to make Xiranite also holds no value at the outpost, as the item only sells for 1 Wuling Stock Bill. Compare this to how easy it is to make Origocrust, which sells for 1 Valley Stock Bill in Valley IV. Although Wuling is prosperous, the people there are cheapskate, yeesh!

If this doesn't sound like an issue to you, you should understand that the Wuling Stock Bill is the main currency needed to max your characters.

You need it to get Wuling Engraving Permit, which can pre-engrave the stats for weapon essences; some Gear templates; Wuling Artificing Catalyst, which you need to upgrade your golden Wuling Gears; or to craft golden Gear itself, where each Gear calls for 8,000 Wuling Stock Bill.

Now, does this mean Endfield is a bad game? Absolutely not. It's a great game, and you would have fun for around 40 hours until you reach the endgame. After that, it's up to you if you enjoy the limited progression or not.

Either way, since Endfield is free, you're not bound to buy it to enjoy hours of gameplay. And if it turns out to be your cup of tea, you'll have something to look forward to every day.