Arknights is a Tower Defense gacha game where you take the role of “Doctor” who controls operators to defend against various enemies coming your way. Unlike other RPG-style or Genshin-style mobile games, it does well to stand out from its competitors using a unique type of gameplay that’s quite engaging. Without further ado, let’s dive into the review where I break down the games’ overall setting.

Story

The story takes place in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic future on the planet Terra. This planet is ravaged by natural disasters, leaving behind a valuable mineral called originium. Originium causes a progressive and incurable disease called oripathy. Those infected with oripathy gain the ability to wield “Arts.” Due to the highly contagious and fatal nature of these arts, the infected are persecuted. In response, a faction called the Reunion movement emerged and resisted these persecutions.

As you take the role of “Doctor”, you command a team of operators from Rhodes Island—a pharmaceutical, medical, and self-defense organization—who are searching for a cure. The main goal of our heroes is to live in a world where the infected and the uninfected live together while setting their differences aside.

While trying to avoid as many spoilers as I can, I will say that the art direction is great and fits really well with the game’s overall setting. It really gives you that depressing vibe while you immerse yourself in the story and the icing on the top of the cake is the soundtrack. There’s a huge variety in the overall soundtracks which range from western to eastern mix.

Gameplay

Coming to the gameplay, while it may look simple, there’s a lot of brainstorming required at certain stages in the game. The thing I really love about Arknights’ gameplay is that there’s no pay-to-win mechanic and as long as you have a good team of operators who meet the minimum level requirements, you’re bound to come up with a strategy that’ll make you victorious one-way or the other.

However, there are a few stages that’ll make you enraged so you’ll have to cool off and come back once you’re calm. If you feel like your operators won’t do the job, then there’s a recruitment area that includes “Headhunt” and “Recruit” options where you use orundum—the game’s gacha currency—to recruit operators. Depending on your luck, you may or may not get the operator you desire but most of the operators in the game are quite handy, to say the least.

Overall Performance

With its great UI, Arknights performs quite well in its presentation. While it may look scary at first, you can easily get the hang of it in a few days. Personally, it took me a little while to get used to which section is where but once I got the hang of it, I had a blast. As far as maintenance and backups go, there are plenty of options for backup via Twitter, Facebook, Gmail, etc. Most of the time, the game auto-updates and won’t require you to install the game again unless there’s a big event.

Final Verdict

In conclusion, Arknights is a fantastic tower defense gacha game that you must try if it’s your cup of tea. With its simple but puzzling gameplay, the game is bound to keep your brain working to come up with possible solutions as you try to clear a stage. On a side note, if you’re a Sonic fan, be sure to check out our Sonic Frontiers review.