After weeks of waiting and beta tests gone awry, has finally hit the Nintendo Switch. The exclusive title looks like it aims to capture the fusion of wacky visuals and deep gameplay that made Splatoon a hit. The twist, however, is that Ninjala is a product of the post-Fortnite world. As such, it uses a free-to-play with cosmetic microtransaction♎s model. It's fairly standard in how it practices this - players can both gamble for limited skins and buy cool looks outright. There's just one huge problem: weapon skins.
Those looking to spend money on Ninjala have two main options. The free version consists of the online multiplayer, but those looking for a story mode can buy a single-player DLC. One can also throw down cash to get Jala, the Ninjala world's premium currency. J🐓ala has thre♏e uses – it can be used to buy the Battle Pass, get outfits from the Specialty Shop, or roll on the Gumball Machine for random items.
Paying a flat fee for the Battꦗle Pass allows players to constantly ascend ranks and earn skins, emotes, and currency. The Specialty Shop contains a small selection of limited-time outfits, with some in daily rotation. The Gumball Machine, as of launch day, is the only way to get weapon skins. Again, if you've played any popular free-to-play game in the last few years, none of this is shocking. What is shocking is that the weapon skins are consumable. Once you use a skin in a match, it disappears.
It should be noted that weapon skins offer no benefit whatsoever. They don't change the stats of the weapon. They don't even alter the animations in a way that could be used to hinder opponents like a 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:certain Call of Duty cosmetic. They're purely ꦬthere to look cool or silly. So why the heck do they go away after one use?
The cynical answer is because it will bait money. Ninjala's Gumball Machine is like it's own gacha mini-game. One go only costs a modest 100 Jala ($1 or less in real money), and you get a batch of random items in return. Of course there are limited-time rare 🅷items, including actual permanent outfits. It's easy to see how whales could drop a bunch of cash, get the newest rare outfit, b🌜ut keep popping Jala in anyway to stock up on their favorite weapon skin.
And sure, let the whales be whales. The bigger concern is what these consumable weapon skins might do to the industry. Just think of how crazy people♏ go over CS:GO gun skins. If Ninjala's weapon skins rake in the dough, it might just become the next goalpost in publishers' never-ending quest for new means of monetization.
Ninjala is still a♐ super fun game though. Anyone looking for an arena fighter to sink their teeth into should give it a shot. Just learn to love the default skins, for all our sakes.