Infinite Borders is strategy at its best even if I spent every moment worried about the wallet grab

Infinite Borders is A gacha-style strategy game entering its closed beta test phase. And though it's gotten quite the hype in Asia, my first thought was, is this just another PTW strategy game? And although I didn't hit any paywalls in my playthrough, there are certainly things that stood out (for better and for worse), which ultimately left me thinking that Infinite Borders is worth keeping an eye on.

The first thing that got my attention was the ancient Chinese setting. Infinite Borders is set in the Three Kingdoms Period. As a fan of Dynasty Warriors, I'm excited to get my hands on anything happening in the era. Infinite Borders delivered on having old favorites such as Lu bu, Cao Cao, and Liu Bei present in the roster. Although I was happy to see my old buddies, the graphics in Infinite Borders are far from next-generation unless you're referring to the PlayStation 2 era. Don't get me wrong, the still-cut scenes were enough to grab my attention, but watching my troops slowly charge the enemy across the field on outdated graphics made the battles lose momentum for me.

Much of the gameplay plays as your typical strategy game. If you're not familiar with strategy games, they can be extremely overwhelming, and Infinite Borders definitely took a long time to get into via tutorials and setting up the how-to's of play. I was tasked with finding elements like wood and iron to build up my city, recruit troops, and lead them into glorious combat, expanding my empire.

For mobile, especially, I appreciate games that get me into the action, but building my army in Infinite Borders was addicting and fun. Although I have a gut instinct that, at some point, the combination of gacha pulls will eventually lead to a PTW element in the game, in my playthrough, I could build up my armies with no fuss.

Ultimately, Ininite Borders is a fun strategy game that's a real treat for anyone in love with ancient China or the Three Kingdoms period. If you're looking for something to jump into quickly, this is definitely not the game to settle on. Nevertheless, if you have some spare time on your hands to really invest in a game that requires lots of patience and will easily distract you with hours worth of gameplay, you'll be happy with this choice. Just be on the lookout for the inevitable wallet grab.