Whereas Anomaly Agent’s dazzling colors and far-future setting might trace at a recreation on the leading edge, the reality is that it’s extra of a comfortable soup than a daring experiment. Taking on the sport’s controls is like lifting the lid on a pot filled with acquainted substances: Traditional 2D beat-’em-up gameplay; crunchy pixel artwork graphics; offbeat cyberpunk humour; an ever-evolving suite of combos and skills; the procuring checklist goes on. And whereas the resultant aroma might not ship your thoughts to any thrilling new locations, like the most effective of soups it would present a comforting feeling of heat, and a healthful gaming expertise for the top of a protracted day.
Anomaly Agent sees you slipping into the trendy footwear of Agent 70, an worker of the much-maligned TDAY company who serves as a fixer for issues within the recreation’s cyberpunk multiverse. You’ll comply with him as he jumps between dimensions through portals, sorting the anomalies he encounters in every new space like he’s the protagonist of a extra pixelated Physician Who. And a extra violent one too, would possibly I add: The Physician would recoil in horror if he noticed the physique depend racked up by Agent 70 in a single stage alone, by no means thoughts the customarily brutal strategies by which he goes about attaining it. Maybe that’s to be anticipated thoughts you: he’s 23 ranks above infamous assassin Agent 47, in any case.
Right here Comes The Beatdown
This wanton destruction, or beat-’em-up gameplay in additional commonplace parlance, is the meat within the Anomaly Agent soup, and it’s seasoned to perfection. You’ll begin off with a fundamental melee combo and an evasive roll, pulled straight out of the Darkish Souls college of fight design, however earlier than it you’ll be juggling double-jumps, ranged weapons, parries, and particular strikes all inside the identical assault chain, dodging forwards and backwards between foes to maintain these i-frames intact. It’s completely exhilarating if you’re within the zone, and the music does a superb job of reinforcing the sensation of stream that such complicated encounters deliver.
The enemy choice within the recreation performs to this technique’s strengths. There are only some completely different enemy sorts, however every feels distinct sufficient to make you alter your method. Melee opponents can typically be parried for a simple stun, for instance, whereas these packing shotguns will have to be dodged via and punished from behind. Regardless of which foe you’re going through, nevertheless, all of them have chunky well being bars, letting you take advantage of your expansive fight arsenal reasonably than taking place to a couple hits of a fundamental combo. Fundamental enemies may even merge with others to create extra highly effective variations, including an additional layer of depth to the sport’s frequent multi-enemy encounters.
A Tough Scenario
Such battles may be thrilling, however they’re additionally the place among the recreation’s most notable cracks start to point out. Enemies prepared up and ship assaults extremely shortly, which makes for tense fights in teams of 1 or two, however irritating messes in teams of three or extra. Attempting to take care of a number of melee foes without delay whereas a ranged enemy takes pictures from throughout the room is a state of affairs that’s onerous to return away from unscathed, and a single mistake can shortly spiral into an unfair demise given the sport’s lack of i-frames on injury.
It may be irritating to die nigh-immediately to a big group, with no clear indicators of what went improper and even what finally killed you, however fortunately the sport is sort of lenient in the remainder of its issue design. Your well being is totally restored with every new room that you simply enter, and dying will solely ever ship you again to the beginning of the room that you simply’re in. Which means, in contrast to the beat-’em-ups of previous, Anomaly Agent shouldn’t be an endurance marathon however reasonably a sequence of quick sprints. You don’t must show you’ll be able to survive a full 20-minute stage right here, simply the 2-minute part you’re in proper now. This can be a pretty concession to fashionable issue preferences and, mixed with an absence of a lives system or any actual penalty for demise, contributes tremendously to the cosy really feel we mentioned earlier.
Story As Previous As Time Journey
One other main think about that is the sport’s story: the wealthy inventory in our more and more tortured soup metaphor. Whereas it will’ve been simple to lean into the edgy, cool-guy power-fantasy aspect of cyberpunk, Anomaly Agent as a substitute chooses to embrace the style’s potential for the offbeat and the weird, presenting a choice of characters that wouldn’t really feel misplaced in a sci-fi sitcom. You’ll meet a perm-sporting wrestler who longs to face you in honourable fight, a flatulent dwarf that may be kicked throughout rooftops, a seemingly omnipresent cybernetic bartender, and lots of extra in addition to.
The eventualities wherein you meet these characters are wonderful too. In a single mission you’ll be infiltrating a nightclub that took the time period ‘laser gentle’ a bit too actually, whereas in one other you’ll be battling a military of hooded clones on hoverboards as you try to shoot down an enemy zeppelin, dodging bombs all of the whereas. As quickly as I discovered myself ducking and dodging down a tightly-packed hall whereas a large Monty Python hand adopted in pursuit, I knew I used to be in protected arms. Fairly actually.
Speak Of The City
There’s frequent banter between characters to take pleasure in as properly, and this, too, is robust all through. Agent 70 serves as a superb viewers surrogate, continually questioning his weird circumstances in humorous vogue. You’re usually given a alternative of dialogue choices for responding to characters, and a few of these really play into one of many recreation’s most attention-grabbing concepts: feelings as forex.
Sure dialogue selections will grant you both optimistic or damaging emotion factors, relying on whether or not you have been well mannered or impolite, respectively. These can then be exchanged for max well being batteries (assume Zelda’s Coronary heart Items) or additional cash on the recreation’s skill-selling robots. It’s not a very deep system, and also you’ll quickly study to be as well mannered as doable, since additional most well being is extra precious than additional cash, however it’s nonetheless a really cool sci-fi idea, and one that might doubtless be expanded in a future replace or sequel.
Closing Ideas
There are definitely extra complaints I may stage at Anomaly Agent. I may dive into the low-impact ability tree, or the janky platforming sections, or the quick total size of the sport, however to take action can be lacking the purpose. The sport’s simplicity, each mechanical and systemic, is a large a part of its enchantment. That is the online game equal of your favorite consolation meals; a tried-and-tested soup recipe that has remained unchanged whilst numerous generations have come and gone.
Anomaly wouldn’t advocate a beat-’em-up recreation, however Agent sands off the style’s tough edges whereas including a bucketload of coronary heart, offering a clean trip all through with out ever feeling patronisingly simple.
If you happen to’ve had a troublesome day, and the soup on the range nonetheless has some time to go, then give Anomaly Agent a shot – and lose your self in an easier world. For a short while, at the least.
The great
- Substantial beat-’em-up gameplay
- Wonderful pixel paintings
- Banging soundtrack
- Intelligent and joke
The dangerous
- May be irritating at occasions
- Fight may do with being slowed down
- Quick total run time