Anima Flux
- October 7, 2024
- Avantaj Prim
Get on Steam
Get on Xbox Games Store"Anima Flux" is a co-op Metroidvania game set in a dystopian space city, where two genetically enhanced soldiers fight to save humanity's last stronghold from a mutant invasion. Players can combine unique abilities and skills, and transfer their anima to cheat death. The game offers a fresh twist to the Metroidvania genre with its couch co-op gameplay.
Mac OS
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Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
Linux
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Reviews
- Anima Flux offers a unique co-op experience, allowing players to switch between two characters with distinct abilities, enhancing gameplay variety.
- The game features beautiful visuals and atmospheric locations, complemented by engaging hand-drawn cutscenes that evoke nostalgia for 90s sci-fi cartoons.
- Combat is dynamic and challenging, with a satisfying sense of progression as players unlock new abilities and upgrades through exploration and boss battles.
- The game suffers from a confusing map system and a lack of clear objectives, leading to frustrating backtracking and difficulty in navigation.
- The melee character, Roy, is often seen as underpowered and less effective in combat situations compared to the ranged character, Eileen.
- Local co-op is limited, and the AI partner can be unreliable, sometimes hindering gameplay rather than assisting, which detracts from the overall experience.
- story26 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The game's story is a mixed bag, featuring intriguing twists and environmental storytelling but often hampered by confusing objectives and unlikable characters. While some players appreciate the humor and action, others find the narrative hard to follow, with poorly executed cutscenes and a nonsensical plot. Overall, the story has potential but requires improvement to enhance player engagement and clarity.
“The story has a few twists and turns to offer, and you won't only encounter larger-than-life insects in the end.”
“Story: well-suited to co-op play, offering a story that feels connected and suitable for teamwork.”
“Great plot twist, interesting story.”
“The story can be quite confusing, especially because your characters in the game obviously have some background knowledge, but you as the player don't know that... rebels?”
“And that’s thanks in no part to its story, which suffers from a nonsensical plot, unlikeable and unchanging protagonists, and some occasionally awful text-based dialogue that does little to add to the otherwise interesting atmosphere.”
“The idea and plot of the game are certainly well thought out, but I would like the plot to be improved.”
- gameplay25 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a blend of classic metroidvania elements, featuring exploration, combat, and unique level designs that encourage player engagement. While the visuals and atmospheric locations enhance the experience, some players noted issues with combat mechanics, particularly a lack of early-game dodge options and disjointed dialogue that detracts from immersion. Overall, the game offers a fun and challenging experience, especially with its local co-op mode, though improvements in early mechanics and narrative coherence could enhance the gameplay further.
“Gameplay is fun (a little slow at the beginning) and challenging.”
“It combines the usual metroidvania gameplay (jump and run, hack and slash, explore the labyrinthine environment) with the additional feature of a local two-player mode.”
“The game offers unique gameplay with the ability to explore the world and fight bosses alone or with a friend, which seems like an undeniable plus.”
“Gameplay/combat: as mentioned, there's a jank to combat that just doesn't feel right.”
“No dodge mechanic early on, leading to a lot of face-tanking until you get the dash later on.”
“It's weird how much superfluous text the game puts you through and how little gameplay is to be had.”
- graphics23 mentions
- 52 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are widely praised for their unique and atmospheric art style, featuring vibrant yet dark visuals that enhance the gameplay experience. The animated cutscenes, reminiscent of 90s science fiction cartoons, are particularly noted for their quality and appeal. Overall, the visuals create a memorable and immersive setting, despite some mixed feelings about the gameplay itself.
“The game features excellent visuals with atmospheric locations that perfectly complement the gameplay, along with cutscenes that are visually reminiscent of 90s science fiction-themed cartoons.”
“Anima Flux is a joy to look at due to its crisp visuals with high fidelity assets and great compositions.”
“- atmospheric visuals: the stylized, dystopian city looks impressive, creating a memorable setting for exploration.”
“I found the story decent, though some of those cutscenes were a bit hard to watch action-wise, but that's just me being picky about the art style used for the cutscenes and not really getting into it.”
“The level design and visuals, meanwhile, combine to create some memorable biomes and points of interest, which is important given how utter shite the map is.”
“Lucky for anima flux, narrative has never meant much to metroidvanias, which tend to instead prioritize combat, level design, and visuals.”
- music11 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 27 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with atmospheric soundtracks that enhance the environment and exploration. However, some players feel that the combat music is underwhelming and infrequent, leading to a sense of eerie silence during gameplay. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the experience, there is room for improvement in its presence and composition.
“The musical cues are good and keep up the ambience of this infested colony or space station.”
“The graphics are very pleasing, the soundtrack atmospheric, and exploration fun.”
“It's great to spend an evening with a friend relaxing to beautiful design and music.”
“The only thing that occasionally tunes in is the very plain combat music, but many encounters are so short that it barely has time to play a few notes before fading out again.”
“Unfortunately, the music wasn't as present, only picking up every now and then in combat and mostly lacking during exploration.”
“It didn't feel like deliberate silence as much as it did a lack of music composed for the game.”
- atmosphere8 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its impressive visuals and stylized, dystopian settings that enhance exploration and gameplay. The soundtrack complements the visuals, creating a memorable experience, while the interactions between characters add depth. However, some critiques mention that the story and dialogue detract from the overall atmosphere, despite the game's strong aesthetic appeal.
“The game features excellent visuals with atmospheric locations that perfectly complement the gameplay, along with cutscenes that are visually reminiscent of 90s science fiction-themed cartoons.”
“The graphics are very pleasing, the soundtrack atmospheric, and exploration fun.”
“Atmosphere was nice, fighting and movement felt awesome; scenes and animations were cool.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Players express frustration with the grinding aspect of the game, noting that it often feels unnecessary and repetitive, particularly against similar enemies. However, they appreciate the manageable combat and the presence of frequent save points and shortcuts, which help alleviate some of the tedium associated with grinding.
“The difficulty and combat are enjoyable when I'm not grinding for no reason or standing in the corner waiting for the archer to kill everything because 75% of the enemies fly or I can't get close to them.”
“So I have to do more useless grinding against similar enemies?”
“While each of them looks quite similar—large, clunky, and full of acid—the fights themselves are manageable thanks to frequent save points and convenient shortcuts that make returning after defeats less tedious.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is well-balanced, blending wit and action seamlessly, which enhances the storytelling experience. Players find the dialogue engaging and entertaining, making them eager to replay the game for more humorous interactions.
“The story was the perfect amount of humor, wit, and action.”
“I think I'm ready to replay the game again and again to take part in this heartfelt conversation with so much humor!”
- emotional1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the game emotionally engaging, highlighting its heartfelt conversations infused with humor, which encourages replayability to experience these moments again.
“I think I'm ready to replay the game again and again to take part in this heartfelt conversation with so much humor.”
“The emotional depth of the characters really resonated with me, making their struggles feel incredibly real.”
“I was moved to tears by the story; it beautifully captured the complexities of love and loss.”
