Axie Infinity Review

Blockchain gaming has become one of the most talked-about innovations in the gaming industry thanks to the influx of NFT-powered games increasingly anchoring the play-to-earn movement. At the forefront of this development is Axie Infinity, an Ethereum-based game, that provides various elements designed to help players generate income denominated in digital assets.

Due to the appeal of the income-focused nature of this gaming model, it has emerged as one of the high flyers in the blockchain industry with over 100,000 active players recorded monthly. Moreover, it has become a popular gaming choice for those living in developing countries even as over 40% of Axie players are said to be based in the Philippines.

And so, you may be asking: What is so special about Axie Infinity and how can you start playing the blockchain-based game? In this guide, we will explore everything you need to know about Axie Infinity, including its pros and cons.

What is Axie Infinity?

Launched by Vietnam-based Sky Mavis in 2018, Axie Infinity prides itself as a blockchain game anchored by a self-sufficient economy. To achieve this, the team that created it has opted for blockchain-powered gaming infrastructure such that digital assets can be fully integrated as part of the core elements of the game. With this, Axie Infinity powers a game where in-game assets are owned outrightly by players. In essence, the most appealing part of this game is the possibility of owning in-game assets which in turn unlocks the opportunity of monetizing them.

At this juncture, it is important to state that all these interesting capabilities are made possible by the emergence of non-fungible tokens, also known as NFTs. For those unfamiliar with the concept of NFT, it is a technology that brings uniqueness to the virtual world. What this means is that NFT helps resolve some of the piracy issues that might arise as a result of the lack of a means of accurately differentiating between two or more virtual assets. This is done by storing the metadata of virtual assets on blockchains. And since the data stored on blockchains are considered immutable, it is almost impossible to counterfeit NFTs. Anyone can easily track and confirm the authenticity of digital assets. As such, it is possible to own digital assets so far you have the required credentials (private keys) to claim them.

However, regardless of all the blockchain components put together to create Axie Infinity, the creators still had to incorporate a popular game theme to ensure that the game not only appeals to crypto proponents but also to everyday gamers. The game has adopted Pokemon-themed gameplay which is quite addictive. Therefore, the game is as enjoyable as it is lucrative. Notably, this can be said to be one of the core factors behind the success of Axie Infinity.

Speaking of gameplay...

It is important to note that the game theme of Axie Infinity centers around a pokemon-styled card-battling sequence between monster-like creatures called Axies. Here, players pit their Axies against other players’ Axies for the chance of earning rewards denominated in an ERC20 token called SLP (Smooth Love Portion). This token can in turn be exchanged for fiat currency or be used to breed more Axies. Herein lies the core workings of Axie Infinity.

Having summarized how Axie Infinity works...

It is time to take a deep dive into some of the features, tools, and skills you need to master before you can start enjoying the game.

What are the key components of Axie Infinity?

As mentioned earlier, Axie infinity has incorporated Pokemon-themed gameplay which utilizes special components including, Axies, SLP, and Axie Infinity Shards (AXS). Below are what you need to know about each:

• Axies

Like I noted earlier, players have to get their hands on cute monsters called Axies to battle other players or the computer. It is worth mentioning here that these Axies are NFTs. This means that each is unique and they can be sold on the open market. Another interesting thing about these monsters is that they come with different attacking and defending abilities. As expected, traits naturally determine the value of Axies. The more loaded an Axie is, the higher you will have to pay to purchase it.

Also, note that you will need to acquire 3 Axies before you can start playing. To do this, you must buy from the platform’s marketplace. At the time of writing this review, the lowest you can get an Axie is $30. And as you would expect, $30 Axies will not come with a lot of capabilities. Hence, going for the cheapest may not be the smartest thing to do. Depending on the type of firepower you need, you may have to pay northward of $300 to purchase a formidable Axie.

When you eventually get your Axies, you can decide to battle the computer to get up to speed on the technicalities involved in the game. This will also help you know what you may be up against when you battle other players. And whenever you win a duel, be it against a computer or other players, you earn SLP, an ERC20 token. The last thing you need to know about Axies is that you can breed new ones. By strategically picking the right Axies, you can breed offspring with specific traits. The traits of the offspring would determine the price they fetch in the marketplace. Later in this guide, I will highlight the different types of Axies and how their traits give them an advantage over others.

• Smooth Love Portion (SLP)

Players receive rewards denominated in SLP when they win games. These native tokens anchor the reward system of Axie Infinity with some players now even using it to settle payments in the Philippines. More importantly, SLP, along with Ethereum, is the accepted payment method of the platform’s marketplace. In other words, you need to have either SLP or ETH to purchase Axies or other in-game assets.

Away from the payment utilities of SLP, it is also required to breed new Axies. Hence, you need a specific amount of SLP before you can breed Axies.

• Axie infinity shards (AXS)

Note that Axie infinity runs on a decentralized economy. In essence, there are ongoing efforts to establish a community-focused governance system that will allow players to have a say on certain development and operational decisions. The goal is to get more players involved in the day-to-day running of the platform such that a single entity can't have unfettered control over Axie Infinity. To this end, the platform has issued a governance token, called Axie Infinity Shard (AXS). AXS holders automatically receive voting power to contribute to critical and basic governance activities.