Arknights: Endfield 1.4 Part 2 sees The Endministrator (Chloe Eves, Zenless Zone Zero) return to Valley Four just as rising star idol Liino (Maddie Matsumoto, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves) holds a concert there. But when the star goes missing, The Endmin quickly becomes an accomplice in the setup of a secret solo performance for the idol.
With all the angst and danger that was prevalent in the core story for this update, a low-energy, largely fun side story feels like a great call. Cities don’t have to hang in the balance all the time, nor do multi-generational feuds need to be laid to rest every plot beat. However, while a cheery story about a hopeful idol looking to brighten her fans’ days sounds like a great side trip for the story to be chill for a moment, this ain’t it.
The beginning and end of this short story’s troubles lie with the new character that stands at its center, Liino. The idol tries to be cheery and sweet, but rarely manages to play the part. She spends far too much time engrandizing herself, talking about how she shines and how much she loves her fans. She does some of the most off-putting attempts to pout whenever The Endmin fails to be impressed with her “shining personality.” The Endmin fights ancient evils and just recently helped slay a dragon. You do not impress.
Liino’s hyper-fixated fans sour the fun.
To make matters worse, she commits an unforgivable character sin. She refers to herself in the third person. This speaking style never works. If you have an evil supervillain who is truly maniacal, it can, at times, be somewhat effective. But if someone thought that having a sugary-sweet, hyper-energized idol doing it would make it endearing, they were wrong.
The other element that sours the attempt at fun is the general personality of many of Liino’s hyper-fixated fans. I get that idol culture can be intense, but a lot of these people sound less like fans and more like a cult. They leave gushing and fawning over a star way behind, creating moments that just leave you feeling uncomfortable.=
While much of Arknights: Endfield 1.4 Part 2 fails to engage, its story does have a few fun moments that don’t get spoiled. A cute stealth sequence sees some overly oblivious guards get tricked into not noticing the highly sought-after idol sneak by them, bringing some genuine grins, and a goofy montage that sees Engineer Andre return to help with some construction efforts also works to bring some fun to the proceedings.
Arknights: Endfield 1.4 Part 2’s star fails to shine in her story.
Topping off the short story is a dazzling finale that sees the star perform for her adoring fans. The cinematic hits well, rewarding players with a show-stopping visual spectacle that manages to make the rough spots worth getting through.
While Arknights: Endfield 1.4 Part 2’s star fails to shine in her story, she doesn’t fail in her gameplay. Like seemingly all audio-based support characters (Lucio, Sona, Luna Snow), Liino provides over-time healing and buffs via an ongoing AOE effect that surrounds her through both her battle skill and her ultimate moves. And she is also incredibly easy to operate in her team.
After Liino activates her battle skill (only costs 25 SP!) and triggers her buffing aura, she no longer does basic attacks. She will periodically attack a nearby enemy, but cannot be commanded to do so. I really like this choice as it makes the character simple. You activate her skill, and then you forget about her unless her combo prompt appears or her ultimate needs activating.
Arknights: Endfield 1.4 Part 2 may bring the game’s weakest story to date, but it’s not all bad.
Some party dynamics can get pretty complex, so it’s nice to have a “fire and forget” character. Liino is even good about keeping the player-controlled character in her aura, so you don’t have to worry about your healer wandering off on you. And with her ultimate amping nature and electric damage, she is a natural inclusion on Fangyi teams.
Along with a new rotation of Echoes of War, The Rooted Realm makes its debut as a new side activity. This new leisure event tasks players with collecting Aurelyne fragments through a course made up of light exploration challenges and special combat encounters.
While the exploration challenges are basic, the combat options bring some creative challenges to the new mode. The special conditions reward ingenious thinking and promise higher rewards the next time players tackle them, since they’ll know how to work the special gimmicks from the start. A plus for a mode designed for multi runs.
Arknights: Endfield 1.4 Part 2 may bring the game’s weakest story to date, but it’s not all bad. A useful new character and solid side content make this mid-patch offering average out to be ok.
Arknights: Endfield is available now for mobile, PC, and PlayStation 5.