Arknights (2019/2020)

[明日方舟]

Publisher: Yostar
Developer: Hypergryph, Studio Montagne
Platform: Android/iOS

Overview:
An amnesiac doctor leads a pharmaceutical company's team of tactical operators in a plague-stricken world thrown into chaos.

Gameplay:
This is a tower defense game where you deploy units with varying specialties in order to defend points against waves of incoming enemies. The two main techniques the computer uses to beat you is by overwhelming your defenses with sheer numbers or throwing really strong units at you. You have to think about your units' ability to deal damage and to block the enemy advance. The character classes are vanguard, guard, defender, specialist, sniper, caster, medic, and supporter. You have a limited number of units you can deploy and unit cost will affect how quickly you can deploy them. When one of your units is taken out, there's a cooldown timer until they can be redeployed. Said cooldown time also applies when you tactically withdraw a unit. Units come in rarity from one-star to six-star. The higher the rarity, the more times you can upgrade them, but the cost to deploy them is greater. Units level, boosting their stats, and their skill levels can also be increased (skills being special abilities that provide buffs and such once the meter is filled).

You also have a base that you can upgrade that allows you to generate resources. Units assigned to work in particular areas have stamina that will run out, reducing their productivity. You then assign them to the dormitory to recover. Besides managing the units' stamina, you also have to consider things like power supply and drones available to do expansion work. You can also buy furniture for the dormitory to improve its effectiveness and provide a more personal touch to the base.

As with many mobile games, there is a gacha system. Besides premium draws using Orundum, you also have recruitment permit where you can set the time and parameters in a bid to get specific operators. (Interestingly, some units are only recruitable this way.) You have a shop where you can buy the premium currency Originite Prime for real money as well as material packs (though there are free packs you get every five levels). You can also get skins for characters, furniture for the dormitory, and various resources by trading in the certificates you get from gacha draws or the FP you collect both from the shop on a daily basis and from your base's reception room.

Story/Characters:
We have a post-apocalyptic setting with public order breaking down, masked anarchists rising up, and a populace racked with a deadly plague. Am I talking about the game or the 6 o'clock news? Joking aside, there's a rich stage for conflict with various factions out for their own interests, and antagonistic force with a range from well-intentioned extremists to moustache-twirling psychopaths. I'd appreciate it if individual characters had something like Granblue Fantasy's Fate Episodes so we could better establish them, but instead you have to pick up what you can get as you go. From what I've seen, the writing is pretty solid but not superlative.

Graphics:
The graphics are rather good. In-battle sprites are a bit small and the cutesy SD models may not seem like an ideal match for the somewhat dark plot, but it all looks appealing. Character designs are generally attractive, but as there are a variety of illustrators, some may appeal more to you than others.

Music/Sound:
The soundtrack is a perfect fit for the setting. The game isn't fully voiced, but there are sound clips used in battle and when performing certain character actions. As with the Yostar-produced Azure Lane, there are a number of high-profile seiyuu in the cast.

Conclusion:
I don't have much background with tower defense games, but when delivered with appealing aesthetics and solid writing, I can't see any reason not to recommend it. I'd definitely say it's worth a download.

Rating:
Own It