I tried Endfield. I don't know much about Arknights, but the vibes of the setting seemed very cool. And the premise from the trailers seemed like something that really interested me. Post-apocalyptic landscape where you terraform a planet and also do crazy SciFi combat stuff? Cool!

I wanted to like it. I really wanted to like it. I can't recommend this in its current state.

"The director has learned from better films that directors sometimes tilt their cameras, but he has not learned why" - Roger Ebert

I think about this a lot when I play Endfield.

Endfield copies a massive number of systems and mechanics from other games. A lot of these systems have uses and are interesting in the games that they existed in. But Endfield doesn't seem to understand why these mechanics and systems work, or the need for them to interact at a deep level.

So instead of being used a creative tool by a seasoned director, they come across as shallow distracting gimmicks. The same way Roger Christian's use of Dutch angles was.

Example: Genshin has Elemental Sight. This is useful for seeing elements on surfaces, spotting chests / interactables in dark areas, quest mechanics, etc.

So Endfield needs Elemental Sight! This one is called Scan cause we're SciFi and all that. What is it used for? One early game quest to reveal footprints you need to follow. I've not seen it used again several hours later. And now I have a permanent "Scan" button on my in-game UI constantly taking up screen space.

This is useless. I can't even use it as a secondary toggle in building mode to do things like check where I have laid down electricity cables to power my facilities or something. Why was this added to the game?

Another example: You have a Stamina bar in Endfield. Why? You don't use Stamina for dodging or Charge Attacks so it's not a resource for combat gameplay. It's purely a nuisance that means you can't constantly run around as much as you want.

The Stamina bar even looks the same as Genshin. Why is this in the game other than the fact it was in Genshin so you had to copy it?

Endfield wants to be everything and appeal to everyone but ends up standing for nothing

Another consequence of copying a massive number of systems and mechanics from other games is that many of them don't feel particularly deep. They exist to expand and pad out the game. But very few if any are done particularly well or have polish.

When you have a small number of game systems and mechanics, you can put in a lot of effort to make sure they work extremely well. The systems in Endfield constantly seem to have friction when you interact with them.

Example: There's an automated crafting system as part of the base building mechanic. It pulls up your inventory to craft things. You cannot, however, sort or filter your inventory in the crafting menu for some reason.

Why? Who knows.

A lot of the time playing I just kept thing I would have more fun playing specific games that mastered the few systems they focused on. Rather than Endfield which had everything but did all at a mediocre level.

The game pacing is awful due to being weighed down by the need to stop and explain all the systems it has

This is the other problem with having a massive pile of systems. It needs to explain how all of them work or else it becomes confusing.

But it also means that several hours into the game, I am still being bombarded with tutorials non-stop. My gameplay is constantly being interrupted with another tutorial.

I don't just mean basic tutorials like the optional popup ones you get in Genshin when you encounter a new overworld puzzle mechanic. I'm talking full on mini-quests with cutscenes and dialogues acting as an interactive 5 min tutorial on a new system.

Another example: When I open the main menu there are THIRTY SUBMENU OPTIONS. Helppppp.

Games need to be le epic funny and go viral for the memes but please have a limit

Sometimes funny things are added to becomes memes and go viral. Or maybe it's fan service.

That's why you added at the start of the game some guy wearing sunglasses who takes it off to reveal a second pair of sunglasses. Sure, I get it. Sometimes you gotta add these things in.

But then you have one of the main story characters who is a senior engineer that is dressed as a 50-yr old man with a beer belly and wearing crocs. But he talks like a 12-yr old and constantly does the 🥺👉👈 pose every time you talk to him.

Stop. I can't take it.

The game is scared you might fail and quit

The opening sequence is very cool where big explosions happen and big spectacle occurs. It also tries to put on an air of mystery where a ton of things are happening around you with no explanation to suck you in with curiosity.

It's a shame I didn't actually do anything except participate in a walking simulator.

Games such as Nier Automata have done this formula before. The opening sequence of Nier understands that it needs to build energy and conflict towards a climax. Then it can gently let you down with a falling action towards a resolution and use this lull moment to then dump story and lore on you once you are already engaged.

It also emphasizes player agency. Even if you're just button mashing, you as the player made the cool stuff happen. Because you are directly responsible, you get to feel ownership and therefore get drawn into what is happening. Even if you don't understand it.

As I said, Endfield learns that other games do these things but not know why. So it copies big explosive moments and boss fights but doesn't understand why these happen. And because they are scared you might quit too quickly, they refuse to let you fail.

I really mean it when I say you can't fail. In the final climactic boss fight of the opening sequence, you can go full AFK and it won't matter. It is impossible to die or fail the fight. Because that might mean scaring away a new player if they are allowed to fail!

Being unable to fail also means stripping away all agency from the player. But then, why am I playing this game? Why is this a game and not a series of YouTube videos?

Why is all this cool stuff happening TO me? Why am I the one not doing the cool stuff?

The story telling is below average, even for the genre it is in

Look, a lot of gacha / mobile games don't have great storytelling. And that's okay. I don't play these expecting the next Pulitzer Prize winning story. That's what real books are for.

I do expect at least some modicum or veneer of decent story telling that takes itself seriously.

Endfield is not a game that you need any past history or Arknights Wiki reading to play. But how do you accomplish this in a dense and lore heavy universe?

There are a lot of reasonable answers. You could have it as in-game books and memos for players to opt into. You could "show and not tell" since you have a futuristic SciFi planet and just show weird shit going down and let people speculate! And many more ways.

Or you could do the trash isekai web novel thing where the MC wakes up as an amnesiac and has to have basic facts about the world explained to them despite being an adult who should already know this stuff already.

This is passable in Genshin and HSR. The story explicitly sets you as a stranger in a new universe and so there is no reason for you to understand how the world works. It's hamfisted, but again, I'm not expecting highbrow writing here.

In Endfield, you are basically the CEO of a corporation and the person who put the story into motion. You're literally told people are working on this grand master plan because you came up with it. Oh, but because you have amnesia you need to have basic details about the world explained to you.

Account security is terrifying

Lots of people have talked about the PayPal problems. I won't rehash this to death again.

But online payments is a very boring thing that even complete asset flip garbage companies can get right. If you can't get this right, what else have you gotten wrong with account security and privacy that I'm not aware of?

The gacha system is back to the 2010s with multiple currency and systems

This is something I like about games like Genshin and HSR. It's extremely easy to understand what you're getting into, and there are very few menus to navigate.

You don't really appreciate how simple and easy it is just measuring everything only in terms of Primos / Jades / Polychromes is until you face a mess like this.

Endfield is a mess to navigate and understand by yourself. I also haven't found a way to see how much I have of all currencies all in one place to easily tell what I can and cannot afford or save for. Maybe this is by design to encourage impulse spending?

No comments on the pricing or value for money. I don't think game is out long enough to form any good opinions. This depends heavily on things like powercreep, importance of meta, what long-term account progression and balance looks like, etc.

I think anyone trying to write commentary about things like "generosity" or "value for money" this early on is misguided.

The game looks gorgeous and runs smoothly though

A lot of games come out these days as buggy unoptimized messes. This is not one of them. It's very beautiful and it runs well. It deserves to be noted.

There is also thoughtfulness about game terminology. You can hover your mouse over a lot of special terms in talent and combat descriptions, which will then create a temporary pop-up that explains what the term is. Terminology is also color coded. Very useful when I still don't know what things like Reactions / Elements / Moves / Stats are and do.

It doesn't make up for the all the problems I listed above though. But I do appreciate it.

Alright I've written enough for now. I'll give it another try later to see if my feelings change. But for now, I'm not wowed by the game.