Arknights

One of the levels of Arknights. In this level, enemies proceed from right to left, and to stop them the player has deployed (from the top) a ranged operator, a melee operator and a healer on the left side of the screen. At the bottom, the remaining deployable operators are displayed.

The core gameplay is that of a tower defense game, with a number of characters ("operators") as towers. Melee operators can be placed on ground tiles and ranged operators on elevated tiles. Melee operators physically block enemies from advancing, and ranged operators deal ranged damage, heal or otherwise support melee operators. Players must place operators on the correct tiles to prevent the enemy from infiltrating the player's base. Once in place, an operator's skills can be activated after a time for special effects, or they can be withdrawn for redeployment after a delay.

Because there is often a limited number of viable solutions, especially at high difficulties, Arknights has also been described as a puzzle game.[3] The gameplay does not require quick reaction times (the game is pauseable, and time slows down while commands are issued), but rather on-the-spot tactical analysis and foresight.[4]

As the player progresses through the game, they unlock more stages, operators and resources, and are also introduced to new types of enemies and gameplay mechanics. Levels that have been cleared with a three-star rating can be auto-completed without player input, as the game records the player's actions and replicates them.

The game also has a base-building aspect, which allows players to construct facilities and assign operators to them. This allows players to increase their resources in the manner of an incremental game.[5] It features the usual array of free-to-play, gacha game mechanics, such as daily login rewards and randomized character acquisition through virtual currency which can be obtained by playing the game, through limited-time events, or optional in-app purchases using real currency. Because of the limited resources available (even if real money is spent), another layer of challenge lies in "internalizing multiple complex economic systems"[4] and in prioritizing the right operators to recruit and develop in order to build a capable roster. Arknights players have created a number of internet resources and tools to assist in this effort.[4]

Seasonal gameplay events introduce more complex but optional difficulties and handicaps, such as the game's semi-quarterly Contingency Contract.

A cosplayer representing the Arknights operator character "Savage".

The game is set in the dystopian, post-apocalyptic future setting of the planet Terra, where people exhibit kemonomimi features – characteristics of animals or mythological races. Natural disasters leave behind a valuable mineral, originium, which infects people with a progressive disease, oripathy, but also allows them to also use "Arts" (magic). Due to the disease's 100% mortality rate, and its high infectivity at the time of death, hostility towards the infected became widespread, leading to their mass quarantine and expulsion by governments worldwide, and sparking tensions between the infected and non-infected.

The player takes the role of the masked and amnesiac "Doctor", who commands a team of "operators" of Rhodes Island, a pharmaceutical, medical, and self-defense organization. As oripathy spreads, Rhodes Island searches for a cure while defending itself against a variety of opponents. These include the Reunion movement, an infected anarchist military force bent on overthrowing the governments of Terra in revenge for the persecution of oripathy victims, and the troops of said unscrupulous and despotic governments.[5]

Arknights has an eclectic soundtrack drawing on a range of Western and Asian musical genres. Hypergryph has partnered with musical groups across the world to release Arknights-related songs and music videos. These include Steve Aoki ("Last of Me"), Yellow Claw ("End Like This")[6] and Starset ("Infected").[7]

The Arknights-related song "Renegade" written by Jason Walsh and performed by Substantial and X.ARI was nominated for "Best Original Song – Video Game" at the 2020 Hollywood Music in Media Awards.[8]

Pocket Gamer highlighted the game's extensive lore and high production values.[9] Julia Lee of Polygon wrote that "Arknights is the only gacha game I recommend to people" because of its art design, lack of purchase pressure and competition, and limited grind,[3] and Sisi Jiang of Kotaku noted that Arknights is rare among gacha games in that its easily obtainable characters are better in some circumstances than the game's rare, high-powered operators.[10]

The game was nominated for Google Play "Users' Choice Game" at the Best of 2020 awards and for "Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Mobile Game" at the 2020 Dragon Awards.[11] It won an award as one of the Best Innovative Games of 2020.[12]

In December 2020, Hypergryph released a nine-minute Arknights anime video, "Holy Knight Light" on YouTube in celebration for the game's first global anniversary. It was made the global publisher's in-house studio, Yostar Pictures, which previously made anime trailers for in-game events for the global version of the game.[13]

In October 2021, Hypergryph published a teaser trailer for the first season ("Prelude to Dawn") of an anime adaptation of Arknights, also made by Yostar Pictures.[14] The anime is a television series directed by Yuki Watanabe, with Masaki Nishikawa serving as assistant director, and Takashi Matsuyama cast as Ace.[15]

• Official English website
• Soundtrack website