In Infinity Nikki, photo mode reaches its best form

Infinity Nikki is my favorite new release of 2024. It’s a cotton candy confection of an open world game that offers much more depth and variety than I expected to find. I love the great wardrobe, the humble puzzles, and the charming side quests. But the most surprising thing about Infinity Nikki was something I’d neglected in games for years: photo mode.

I didn’t expect this to become a highlight of Infinity Nikki experience. In fact, when it came up in the long series of lessons during my first session, my initial reaction was, “Oh, well, something I can forget about.”

Photo Mode has become a standard feature in single-player AAA games over the past decade. For those unfamiliar, this feature pauses the game to allow you to pose your protagonist as an action figure, making them sulk with a silly expression or hold a peace sign. You can apply a filter or make small 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 strikingly heroic or funny poses. I appreciate these images when they come across my social feeds. And with game graphics becoming more and more photorealistic, it makes sense that studios would want to give players the tools to capture beautiful moments when they happen. But every time I played a game with a photo mode, I found that after taking one picture required by the tutorial, I never opened the camera again.

My problem isn’t that these games aren’t wonderful enough to warrant documentation. This is when I’m in the middle of playing something like this The last of usit doesn’t occur to me to stop for a moment because I’m so focused on the other game mechanics and goals. Sure, there may be quieter moments to breathe, but running for your life in a post-apocalyptic wasteland is simply no time for casual filter browsing. And in other games, taking pictures just doesn’t feel like an activity a character would do. Come on, there’s no way Kratos is taking a selfie.

Like all its predecessors, Infinity Nikki is a beautiful game. Miraland is made up of picturesque towns and enchanting landscapes, equally wonderful in their sweeping vistas and hidden nooks and crannies. Everywhere you look, there are tons of carefully crafted little interactions that serve no other purpose than to encourage you to create a cute image. You push a button to take off in a hot air balloon or blow bubbles on a cafe table. This is a step up from most apps where the most you can do is sit on a chair or bench.

What totally hooked me into becoming a prisoner, however, is a system where players are prompted to take pictures of notable locations around Miraland. The first time I found one was a lush green cave where I directed Nikki to sit on a log next to an underground lake. It was a beautiful place, of course, but what pleased me the most was that my outfit matched the setting perfectly. So I didn’t just take a picture and move on to a more important task. Take the time to look great is the most important task.

There is no single style point of view Infinity Nikki. A few special kits offer contextual in-game abilities, but most parts are just there so you can look exactly how you want. Nikki can be an absurd anime character from a fantasy side in tulle and sparkles. Or she might look just like someone you might see streaming the game on Twitch or TikTok in an oversized hoodie. Or you can pair a top with denim shorts and thigh-high knitted boots if you want. (And yes, I wanted to.)

This game knows you’re there at least in part to play dress up. She also knows that the obvious thing to do when playing dress-up is to capture your best fits with a photo shoot. That’s why Infinity NikkiThe photo mode of feels not just nice, but important. This is a major part of the game cycle. When I’m putting together a new outfit, I want to find a good setting to take a photo. When I come across a prominent location, I think about what poses will show it off best.

Most of the time, the cameras and photo modes do little to enhance my love for the game. They are the metaphorical icing on the cake. with Infinity Nikkibut the photo mode is the ice cream. And it’s delicious.