much to my chagrin i actually really like this gacha. first of all, the 3d models make it almost impossible for me to come back to love nikki since the clothes can adapt depending on what nikki is wearing, like a tshirt being tucked into shorts or a hair accessory changing places depending on the hairstyle, not to mention the ability to freely pose nikki. it's not perfect of course, but feels a lot more flexible than the 2d dress up games by that alone.
anyway, this is the only gacha game to really hold my attention for more than a year. it has the typical trappings of the genre, and is even scummier in that regard, with a battle pass and items that are exclusively behind a paywall and the vip system that awards goodies based on how much money you've spent (granted, love nikki had the last two as well, but at least the vip system in shining doesn't gatekeep f2ps from qol features lol). it sounds like an f2p nightmare (i have not and will never spend money on this game), but i found this game fairly generous with its giveaways of premium currency (i think it also helps that, since the actual stats of clothing barely matters after a certain point, you can summon on a banner purely based on aesthetic preferences and no pressure to keep up with some sort of meta). maybe i just have bad past experience but i don't feel as at the mercy to the dripfeed here as i did with other gachas ive played. i still won't recommend the game for this since it is still a gacha game that uses lots of predatory tactics to get players to spend money, but that's just customary for the genre
the actual dress up part is good. again, pretty flexible, and a lot of the clothes are really detailed and fun to play around with. the makeup is fun to customize as well, though obtaining makeup isn't as easy or cheap as clothes unfortunately. the music is also great, though i wish i could freely select which one to have playing in the wardrobe--only the music playing on your main screen (based on your background) will play, which is a bit of a shame.
anyway, this is the only gacha game to really hold my attention for more than a year. it has the typical trappings of the genre, and is even scummier in that regard, with a battle pass and items that are exclusively behind a paywall and the vip system that awards goodies based on how much money you've spent (granted, love nikki had the last two as well, but at least the vip system in shining doesn't gatekeep f2ps from qol features lol). it sounds like an f2p nightmare (i have not and will never spend money on this game), but i found this game fairly generous with its giveaways of premium currency (i think it also helps that, since the actual stats of clothing barely matters after a certain point, you can summon on a banner purely based on aesthetic preferences and no pressure to keep up with some sort of meta). maybe i just have bad past experience but i don't feel as at the mercy to the dripfeed here as i did with other gachas ive played. i still won't recommend the game for this since it is still a gacha game that uses lots of predatory tactics to get players to spend money, but that's just customary for the genre
the actual dress up part is good. again, pretty flexible, and a lot of the clothes are really detailed and fun to play around with. the makeup is fun to customize as well, though obtaining makeup isn't as easy or cheap as clothes unfortunately. the music is also great, though i wish i could freely select which one to have playing in the wardrobe--only the music playing on your main screen (based on your background) will play, which is a bit of a shame.