Anodyne is a single-player, top-down, Action-RPG for the Android platform. I’m quite fond of this style of game as it recalls memories of playing the older Legend of Zelda titles from my childhood, where you go off adventuring through strange lands and find helpful items and interesting characters to chat with along the way. While Anodyne has these features and they really make this game an enjoyable experience to play all the way through, it also has a look and feel that is very distinct from other Action-RPGs, and is quite unique to itself.
Your character is named Young and the world you are exploring and ultimately protecting is actually a world located in Young’s subconscious. You’re tasked with protecting something called the Legendary Briar by keeping it from an undefined darkness that intends to use the Briar’s powers toward evil ends. I do have a small qualm with the end of the story, but we’ll address that later.
As for the game play itself, Anodyne has the ever popular 8 bit graphics, and the classic top, down point of view. I really think that both the retro style graphics and the point of view compliment each other well. The controls are kept simple, and they were large and easy to tap using my thumbs on my Nexus 7. They were also quite usable on my Moto X. You have a directional pad on the left for controlling your character’s movement, and three buttons on the right. The game can be played in either portrait or landscape, though this is one of the few cases in my gaming where I found the portrait position to be a more comfortable. One button is for jumping and another for using your broom.
One of the many interesting quirks in this game is that you use a household broom as if it were a sword, instead of using an actual sword. There are even a few mods to this broom that you acquire that amplify the way the broom is used. One mod, for example, extends the range of attack for the broom. Lastly, there’s also an enter button that allows you to access the handful of items you can use in the game, show a simplified map of whichever realm you’re currently in, or view your ever growing collection of “trading cards” of various enemies, creatures, or characters that you’ve encountered throughout the game. These cards actually serve an in-game purpose, in that there are various gates throughout Anodyne that require a certain number to be acquired before the gate will open. You can also a save your progress from the menu screen, but there are also helpful save points generously sprinkled throughout the game. Considering that this game can take several hours to complete (that is, if you’re not stumped by any puzzles), having more than one way to save can be helpful in breaking up your progress into smaller chunks of time.
The various realms that you adventure through are quite diverse and colorful, and I found their variety satisfying and entertaining. For example, one appeared solely in black and white, resembling a Leave It To Beaver episode, while others are in caves, or grassy and wooded areas. Each realm also has its own soundtrack, some of which were quite enjoyable and I didn’t object to having them stuck in my head when I wasn’t playing the game.
One other part of Anodyne that I enjoyed was that the game was not played in an exclusively linear fashion. As in many Action-RPG games, you will need to do certain things largely in a certain order (like unlocking the gates that require a set number of cards), but you are also free to explore other realms that you discover by wandering about. Both of these mechanics are used together quite effectively. The puzzles in the various realms and dungeons, as well as several of the bosses located within them are quite challenging, but the vast majority are not so challenging as to discourage one from playing. Only a handful of the puzzles, say three or four as I recall, really seem to be more difficult than called for, but I think that was more a limitation to it being played on a touchscreen compared to what you would experience on a conventional gaming system with a controller.
Here’s where I have to mention the part of the game that I distinctly did not enjoy. While I’m not going to spoil the ending, there isn’t much of the story that’s explained once you finish Anodyne. You encounter a fair amount of intriguing dialogue throughout the game, which in essence narrates the story for you. Unfortunately, I felt that there are many questions that go unanswered once you finish, and I’m puzzled as to why the developer wouldn’t clarify the outstanding issues with a little more dialogue at the end, or even a brief epilogue.
So despite my issue with the fact that the story is not sufficiently resolved, I both have, and will continue to highly recommend this game to anyone who likes top-down Action-RPGs, appreciates good retro graphics, or both, even at the asking price of $4.99.
