Two mobile games in the vein of Elden Ring and The Legend of Zelda were shown at State of Play. But nobody noticed

The co-op soulslike Ballad of Antara and “The Legend of Zelda” in the dress-up simulator Infinity Nikki, from publisher Infold, will also be coming to mobile devices.

At the recent State of Play presentation, two games from publisher Infold were showcased, which many users assumed were yet more PlayStation 5 exclusives from Sony’s “Chinese partners.” However, that is not the case.

Ballad of Antara is a free-to-play action-RPG that stylistically resembles the creations of FromSoftware. This is not the first time TipsWorks studio has offered a “soulslike” experience in a mobile format — its portfolio includes the dark action title Pascal's Wager, released in 2020 on iOS and Android.

The developers will once again present us with a diseased version of reality, distorted by some nebulous phenomenon. At the center of the story are three protagonists — powerful emissaries with the ability to travel between planes of reality. Their mission is to search for the “corrupted essences” of the land in order to restore peace to this world.

During gameplay, players will need to switch between characters, but they can also invite friends — Ballad of Antara will support co-op play for up to three people. There are no substantial details about the project yet, but the developers promise vibrant visuals, intense combat, and vast locations harboring many secrets and hidden passages.

Ballad of Antara is scheduled for release on mobile devices, PlayStation 5, and PC in 2025. 

Another game that will be released not only on PlayStation 5 but also on smartphones is Infinity Nikki. The sequel to the mobile Chinese dress-up simulator ascends to a new level and offers an expansive open-world adventure inspired by The Legend of Zelda. 

As it turns out, development is led by Kentaro Tominaga, who has worked on The Legend of Zelda series and beyond since 2002. His most recent work was The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and the Expansion Pass DLC, where he served as director. For most of his career, he was responsible for game design, and while creating Infinity Nikki, he sought to bring all his experience to the new project.

Journalists who got hands-on time with the demo have already compared the project to “The Legend of Zelda.”

After finding a magical dress, the protagonist Nikki and her cat Momo are transported to a colorful fantasy world where they meet the cursed goddess Ena the Guardian. She grants Nikki magical powers and asks her to save the world from evil.

According to IGN's preview, the world of Infinity Nikki is striking in scale and at times resembles Hyrule reimagined by Studio Ghibli. Outfits in the game — are not merely decoration for the heroine. Players must change clothes to gain new abilities that let them solve puzzles, explore the world, and fight enemies. Some outfits grant a double jump, others allow gliding, sneaking around, or attacking foes from a distance, which proves useful in boss battles. And that is only a small fraction of what journalists got to try during their three-hour playthrough of the demo.

The Nikki franchise originated on mobile devices. The first game in the series was Nikki UP2U: A Dressing Story — a simple 2D dress-up simulator. Infinity Nikki is tasked with taking the franchise to a new level, and the first open beta test for the project will take place in Q3 2024.

Whether the partnership between publisher Infold and PlayStation is part of Sony’s future mobile market expansion strategy remains unknown, but as it turns out, these are far from your ordinary PlayStation exclusives.

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Cover art author: Infold, PlayStation Cover art source: YouTube