Arknights is a tower defense game for mobile that probably not a lot of people around the world have heard about before, despite the fact that it is massively popular in China. Hopefully that’ll change soon as the game is now set to launch globally for both Android and iOS later this month on the 16th of January.

You might be wondering what’s so special about this game that makes it so popular. We did at first as well. But then after watching some of Arknights’ trailers, we came to the conclusion that it’s most likely because the developer has invested a lot of effort into creating the game’s lore, which results in an incredible fantasy universe.

Just watch the two trailers we've included in this article and you will see what we’re talking about. They are the stuff that makes you think “Yeah, if they make an anime out of this, I’d totally watch that”. The production value in that respect is incredible, and the in-game menus are pretty slick as well. Sometimes these factors will make you forget you are playing a tower defense game.

That said, there are no towers in Arknights. Instead, you’ll be working with a sizable collection of Operators, which are basically anime-styled heroes. Gacha elements will probably be included for unlocking new Operators and powering up those you already have.

It also seems that you'll be dealt a fixed hand at the beginning of each level, which you'll have to strategically make use of if you want to come out on top. So, expect some deck-building elements here and be sure to create a balanced roster so you can deal with whatever situation the game throws at you.

Arknights Gameplay
Instead of towers, you'll be working with anime-styled characters called Operators

Arknights set to launch on January 16th on both Google Play and the App Store with pre-registration already available right now. It’ll be a free-to-play game with IAPs.