On Jan.16, 2020, Chinese video game company Hypergryph released “Arknights” to global servers. “Arknights,” a free-to-play tower defense mobile game with a dark sci-fi setting, quickly became notable for its depth of strategy and character designs. Over six years later and “Arknights” is still going strong with a monthly user base of roughly 716.4k players thanks to factors such as its active and dedicated developers, its fair financial model and its longevity in gameplay. Due to the incredible reception of “Arknights” and its ever mysterious story, Hypergryph would begin the development of a sister game to their overwhelming success: “Arknights: Endfield.”
Both taking place in the same universe, “Arknights” and “Arknights: Endfield” occur roughly 152 years apart, but connections between the two games are prevalent, especially to those who had played a good deal of the first game. Operators in Enfield share a striking resemblance to operators from the original “Arknights,” and all of the original races from “Arknights” are present. The game makes frequent callbacks to its predecessor through notes and collectables stroon about the world.
“Arknights: Endfield” began its development in March of 2022, and four years later, on Jan. 22, 2026, It was officially released to global servers. From the beta tests to its release, “Arknights: Endfield” has managed to excel in many of the same ways as the original “Arknights” did. Both games distinguished themselves with world building and story, a notable lack of greed, outstanding soundtracks and most prevalent in Endfield, unique and innovative gameplay.
The “Arknights” games have always proudly displayed their dark worlds and stories, whether it be the roaming cataclysmic natural disasters ravaging the world of Terra in “Arknights,” or the creeping decay brought upon the world of Talos-II by the overlapping alternate dimension called the Ӕtherside. The former had never been too shy to depict oppression, racial tensions, war and the death of important characters, and in the latter, the products of war and conflict are never hard to find and witness. From your first deployment planetside, you see destruction and bodies placed around your path, something not often expected from a cute anime-style game, and it’s refreshing!
The story and world alone however don’t make the whole atmosphere, that’s where the game’s original soundtrack comes in! From the moment the game is launched, the initial menu plays this low droning tone with simple repeating motifs. You press continue and open the game’s start menu and music comes to life with a sci-fi melody reminiscent of outer space with a touch of industry and technology. During the actual gameplay, you may be wandering around, taking in the sights of the beautiful landscapes of the game, when a faint and familiar motif plays in your ear, a recognition which just sits you right back in the game’s world. The passive soundtrack of the game is subtle but quite rewarding to listen to if given the mind.
As with any other free game, of course, there are micro-transactions available in-game where players can spend real money to get an edge in leveling up their characters or recruiting even more powerful operators. What is notable and impressive about Endfield’s system however is how respectful it seems to the player. Unlike most games where notifications or pop-ups jump at the player any chance they get, hoping to get them to spend their money, Arknights: Endfield keeps all of its transactions tucked away in their own menu, completely out of the way of the rest of the game. The bundles and purchasable items do come off as expensive, but from their observable impact in game, they can be well worth it in the right scenarios.
The best part about these transactions however, is that the game is in no way reliant on them. As was the case in the original “Arknights,” the game is completely playable with four-star operators where characters can reach up to four-stars, and even if that isn’t how you want to play, the game’s gacha mechanics and rates often feel more than fair and quite forgiving. The game and its developers want their players to enjoy their experience, and you can tell.
“Arknights: Enfield” in an open-world anime-style game, of which there are many others. Genshin Impact, Wuthering Waves and Tower Fantasy all come to mind as similar games, some like Genshin Impact having an estimated 15-20 monthly active users. So why play Endfield? Endfield dares to compete with these other games by adding a whole new dimension to the gameplay loop of one of these games. Whereas these other games have you chasing quests and killing monsters, “Arknights: Endfield” adds automation to the mix. On top of being an open-world action game, Endfield is also a factory simulator. The automation feature in the game, the Automation Industry Complex, scratches the itch some players never knew they had, as satisfying and complicated industrialization has quickly taken over discussion around the game as one of the best features.
Overall, “Arknights: Endfield” is a wonderful next step to the treasure of a game that “Arknights” is. It is wonderful to see Hypergryph branch out and begin to make games and publish games on their own. For a free game, “Arknights: Endfield,” I believe, is the new game to try out
