GODDESS OF VICTORY: NIKKE Devs Talk About the Game’s Artstyle, Combat, and Inspiration Ahead of Its Global Release in 2022

GODDESS OF VICTORY: NIKKE is an upcoming mobile third-person shooter RPG that focuses on visuals, a one-handed control scheme, and futuristic story that follows humanity after it was forced underground by invaders. The only thing standing between the annihilation of all humankind and a new beginning is you and your actions in this new adventure that mixes shooter-style gameplay and card collecting in a world that is just waiting to be explored.

Set in a world following the Rapture invasion that set the planet ablaze, threatening the life of every human; GODDESS OF VICTORY: NIKKE follows humanity and the humanoid girls named Nikke that were built to defeat this threat made by Rapture and reclaim the planet. A group of these Nikke wake up in the Ark – mankind’s new home – providing a new hope for the human race that has long since been extinguished.

To learn more about GODDESS OF VICTORY: NIKKE (hereinafter called ‘NIKKE’), which is set for a global release later in 2022, we sat down with NIKKE illustrator and game producer Kim Hyung-tae – who previously worked on Project Eve – and he walked us through everything you need to know about the upcoming game.

Hyung-tae began by discussing NIKKE’s visuals. While many 2D games have impressive visuals and character models, a lot of the hard work can be gone in an instant and isn’t presented in the best way. For NIKKE, Hyung-tae wanted to bring the characters and art front-and-center with advanced animation and animated illustration that makes characters and battle animations more lively.

“I’ve played my fair share of 2D games, but most of them only contain misshaped and compressed SD characters. Any exquisite illustrations you do see are gone in a flash, and what you’re often provided with are in-game visuals with decreased quality. We, therefore, decided to make a 2D game where the aesthetics of characters would be completely demonstrated. This definitely needed a huge investment of time and money, but the entire team has been devoting their heart and soul to every character creation and design.”

For the characters and bosses in particular, Hyung-tae and the team wanted their animations and movement to draw players into the world and give them a visual feast alongside great gameplay.

“Whenever they are taking cover, shooting, or reloading, the characters’ unique charm and characteristics could be shown by elaborate and detailed illustrations and animations,” Hyung-tae said. “We hope that you could pay more attention to bosses and monsters. The in-game illustrations could almost demonstrate the full 3D character movements and various shapes transforming in different phases. Additionally, battle backgrounds and maps are attractive as they could provide the players with the feeling of 3D space and brush stroke.”

As for the inspiration behind the visuals and story, post-apocalyptic stories and military-themed subculture games played a huge role in creating NIKKE. Hyung-tae also shared that, despite him previously working on Project Eve and them being developed around the same time, each game will very much stand on its own.

“I grew up surrounded by post-apocalyptic sci-fi works (Battle Angel, Ghost in the Shell, Blade Runner, etc.), and they have a great influence on me,” Hyung-tae elaborated. “However, the game’s overall visual version has been influenced by military-themed subculture games (also known as anime games). I think the mobile gaming industry in Asia has come a long way.”

Hyung-tae continued to talk about how the entire art team helped create the characters and diverse cast of playable and non-playable heroes. Furthermore, Hyung-tae also shared how the team went about creating the design of the enemies.

“To ensure the flow of the story, we think it is necessary to start from zero to redesign,” Hyung-tae said. “Therefore, we start from the very original and initial design. For instance, enemies on the ground are motivated by arthropods, and enemies in the air are motivated by marine organisms. Please check out the game to uncover the secret why these Raptures are in these shapes.”

While artwork is one of the most integral parts of NIKKE, gameplay is also just as important. The Nikke themselves come with their own unique weapon and ability, adding to gameplay variety and giving you different options in how you want to tackle missions. This flexibility is key to saving the world from Rapture your way.

“Each Nikke has their own unique weapon and ability,” Hyung-tae said. “Different characters have special shooting skills or special abilities in burst skills and passive skills. The appropriate combination of these abilities could assist players to maximize the synergy, which does great help to complete the mission. Moreover, since enemies in Nikke, known as Rapture, also have skills, hence various combinations need to be taken into players’ consideration to unlock the stages.”

Players will be doing a lot of shooting in NIKKE, but card collection is another key component of the whole package. Hyung-tae believes this will prevent the game from becoming just like any other shooter or card battling game, and instead will give players something to look forward to in battle and outside of it.

“First and foremost, the combination of card collecting and casual shooting could provide new interest for players,” Hyung-tae said. “Although imitating the interest of other games can be an effective and simple way, SHIFT UP’s motto is to make players experience the difference from other games, so we give it a new shot.

“Additionally, a great number of card collecting games have put the interest of “strategy decision” before entering the battle, but we think the combination of this genre (card collecting and casual shooting) will provide enjoyment both inside and outside the battle.”

This battle and operating system is what Hyung-tae is most excited about, as he believes this will not only make for a unique gaming experience, but the one-finger operation will allow gamers of all skill levels to find something to enjoy. He’s also really excited for people to learn more about the world and characters in the game’s outpost base and beyond.

“All in all, what I am really into is the most unique part of Nikke — the battle and operating system,” Hyung-tae said. “To fit the vertical-visual gaming environment, inviting more players to enjoy the game, we are building the one-hand operation which is different from other shooting games. So, players who usually think shooting battles are difficult could also easily adapt to the game.

“Besides the battle, I prefer the puzzles in ‘Lost Sector’. There are puzzles you can challenge and target – this is not a simple game. We developed various levels to be enjoyed with a variety of gimmicks and will prepare events using this.”

In conclusion, Hyung-tae shared his excitement in being able to bring this game to a global audience. The team really tried to make it enjoyable for all regions and hopes that everyone will find something to love in NIKKE.

“Honestly speaking, the setting of the game may have some barriers for players to understand, but despite those ambiguous information and terms or semiotic expressions, the game has been created with a great story line,” Hyung-tae said. “This means general players could also embrace the game. Especially since the game is of high quality, players could enter the game without lengthy instruction. Hope everyone enjoys playing!”

NIKKE will be available on iOS and Android devices globally later in 2022. For those who wish for a chance to try out NIKKE earlier, head on over to nikke-en.com/cbt for a chance to join the closed beta test that began recruitment on March 6, 2022.