Infinity Nikki is a cozy and colorful open-world game, one where the vibes are more laid back and relaxing. Naturally, your chill adventure will take you to all sorts of places, including those with cute critters. Here's our guide on how to catch and groom animals in Infinity Nikki.

How to catch and groom animals in Infinity Nikki

The method to catch and groom animals in Infinity Nikki comes from three of the game's Ability Outfits, which are all unlocked as you progress through the campaign. These are:

• Bye-Bye Dust - Animal grooming
• Afternoon Shine - Bug catching
• Rippling Serenity - Fishing

Note that you may also obtain Whimstars by doing these activities. For example, there are Whimstar Bugs that fly high up in the air. You have to switch to the Afternoon Shine outfit, jump up to reach them, then press the right mouse button to catch the Whimstar.

How to groom animals and other pets

The Bye-Bye Dust outfit is what you need if you want to groom pets in Infinity Nikki. This is automatically bound to the "1" key or the upper-right portion of the outfit selection wheel. While active, you can hold the right mouse button to slowly approach animals, presenting yourself as less of a threat. Then, once you see the brush icon, press the right mouse button to start the animal petting animation, which you can briefly skip.

There are, however, some caveats:

• Docile animals like dogs and sheep are likely to stay in place if you approach them.
• Most other animals, such as (very awesome!) cats, horses, squirrels, and birds, tend to be aloof and wary. A question mark will appear over their heads if you approach, so you have to hold the right mouse button the whole time. If it changes to an exclamation point icon, then they're likely to run away.

How to catch bugs

Catching bugs in the game follows the same premise as above. The difference is that you need to have the Afternoon Shine outfit selected. When you see all sorts of insects in the game world, simply approach the critter and press the right mouse button to catch it with your net.

How to catch fish

Fishing in Infinity Nikki tends to be more involved:

• First, you need to look for a body of water that has fish swimming in it, usually denoted by ripples.
• Press the right mouse button to cast your lure.
• When a fish goes in for a nibble, press the "S" key to pull your line back.
• The fish will move sideways, and you need to press and hold either the "A" or "D" key, denoted by the opposite direction.
• Once the fish's stamina is spent, as shown in the circular gauge, you need to repeatedly press the right mouse button to fully reel in your catch. This is denoted by the meter at the top of your screen.

Gathering-related Insight points and the Realm of Nourishment

If you open the Heart of Infinity menu ("I" key), you'll see a few nodes at the lower-left portion of the panel. These are gathering-related perks, including the ones you obtain from petting and catching animals, insects, or fish. Upon reaching certain values, you can spend Whimstars and Bling to unlock these upgrades permanently, some of which grant bonus essence when you complete tasks.

Alternatively, you can spend energy in the Realm of Nourishment, which is a type of Realm Challenge. The Fufu NPCs you meet in this domain can boost a particular Insight type. For example, if you don't like fishing, then you can just spend some energy to have enough points.

Gathering as you explore and buying from vendors

To make gathering resources easier, you can open the world map and click the Collections icon in the lower-left corner. As long as you've obtained a material from an animal, insect, or fish, you can track that item's locations. Alternatively, if you don't want to go through all that trouble, you can look for vendors that sell these items instead.

That does it for our guide on how to groom and catch animals in Infinity Nikki. Don't forget that these are just some of the "powers" you obtain in the game. You can learn about the others in our Ability Outfits guide.

The world of Miraland is vast and full of wonders. If you need help navigating its regions and completing various activities, you can head over to our Infinity Nikki guides hub.