Anima: Gate of Memories

Reminding me of cult hit Nier, Anima: Gate of Memories has its issues, but a lot of them can be forgiven thanks to how charming the game is and how interesting the world surrounding it is.

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The Arcane Edition includes both Anima Gate of Memories and Anima The Nameless chronicles. Play two different full campaigns, each one with its unique story, characters, scenarios and bosses.

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

67%

Audience ScoreBased on 229 reviews

story54 positive mentions

optimization4 negative mentions

The game features a rich and engaging story with interesting lore and character development.
The combat system is enjoyable, allowing players to switch between characters and utilize different skills effectively.
The graphics and art design are visually appealing, creating a captivating atmosphere throughout the game.

The voice acting is often criticized for being subpar and detracting from the overall experience.
The platforming sections can be frustrating due to awkward controls and camera angles.
Some players find the difficulty spikes in boss fights to be unfair and frustrating, leading to a challenging experience.

story
150 mentions
36 % positive mentions
60 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The game's story is a blend of familiar anime tropes and engaging narrative elements, featuring well-developed characters and multiple endings that enhance its depth. While some players found the writing and voice acting lacking, many appreciated the emotional impact and intriguing lore, particularly for those familiar with the source material. Overall, the story is seen as a strong point, capable of captivating players despite some technical shortcomings in gameplay and presentation.
- “The game's narrative is well-written, and the characters are well-developed, making it easy to become invested in the story.”
- “The story is also engaging, with plenty of twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat.”
- “The story was interesting and once I began to understand what was going on, everything made sense and I started to become more intrigued into the story of the game rather than just trying to get through each new area as quickly as possible.”
- “The story is a mishmash of all anime clichés from Final Fantasy, Claymore, Evangelion references, Silent Hill Homecoming bosses, Devil May Cry 3 tower, and many others.”
- “The story is pretty minimal and makes little sense with random existential dialogue about nothing; I lost interest pretty fast and I don't think there was much to miss.”
- “The incoherent storytelling is horrendous.”
gameplay
98 mentions
31 % positive mentions
55 % neutral mentions
14 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its engaging combat mechanics and character-switching features, reminiscent of titles like Devil May Cry. However, criticisms highlight issues such as clunky controls, unresponsive mechanics, and frustrating platforming sections that detract from the overall experience. While the game offers a unique blend of genres and a compelling story, its execution in gameplay leaves room for improvement, particularly in terms of polish and balance.
- “Anima: Gate of Memories is an action RPG game that offers an enjoyable and immersive gameplay experience.”
- “The game offers a great blend of gameplay, story, and aesthetics, and it's sure to keep you entertained for hours on end.”
- “The gameplay is fluid and easy to grasp, yet as the game progresses the bosses become very hard and interesting.”
- “The gameplay is clunky and doesn't flow well in the slightest, making chaining moves or even approaching an enemy feel like a chore.”
- “It's literally dodge into attack into dodge into attack, with unresponsive controls, a horrible knockback mechanic, no stagger, and bosses with 55 million health and AOE melee attacks if you're stupid enough to get close to them.”
- “The only area where the gameplay really disappoints is the platforming sections, which are tough as nails due to the controls being suited for combat and not platforming.”
music
62 mentions
63 % positive mentions
32 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its haunting beauty and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere and immersion. The soundtrack is described as outstanding, fitting well with the game's themes and environments, and some players even expressed a desire for it to be available for purchase separately. While there are mixed opinions on other aspects of the game, the music consistently stands out as a highlight, contributing significantly to the overall experience.
- “One of the game's standout features is its soundtrack, which is both haunting and beautiful.”
- “The music perfectly captures the game's dark and mysterious tone, adding to the overall immersion.”
- “The music is wonderful and fits the atmosphere of the various areas perfectly.”
- “Music is tolerable and can even provide occasional atmosphere, but general sound direction is atrocious.”
- “This game is really trash ... I don't know why I played it before because now I'm regretting buying the second part... the OST is fine, but for a game, it's poorly made in all parts.”
- “The only thing I don't like about this game is why they don't have a DLC where I can buy that music; take all my money for that soundtrack!”
graphics
61 mentions
38 % positive mentions
49 % neutral mentions
13 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the art style and detailed environments while others criticize the overall execution and technical issues, likening it to early PS3 or PS2 visuals. Many players appreciate the aesthetic and atmosphere, noting that despite graphical shortcomings, the game's charm and engaging story can overshadow these flaws. Overall, while the graphics may not be cutting-edge, they are often described as visually appealing with a unique artistic direction.
- “The game's graphics are visually stunning, with highly detailed environments and character designs that are a feast for the eyes.”
- “Graphics are amazing, love the colors, smoothness of animation... consider however it's an indie, you may remember old PS2 games.”
- “Really funny game with nice gameplay, stunning visuals, and a truly interesting story.”
- “The graphics are very anime-like, but really bad if you look at it from a certain angle. The gameplay mechanics are also not up to par with other third-person platformer RPG hybrids. However, the game in itself has got such a good vibe that you'll end up looking past the flaws and enjoying it.”
- “Graphics are basic, as well as the animations.”
- “My biggest problem is the entire game had stuttering, frame drops, and no matter what changes I made to anti-aliasing and v-sync, as well as playing on the lowest graphics settings, it made no difference. I have never had this problem even playing FPS games on medium-high settings.”
humor
21 mentions
95 % positive mentions
-10 % neutral mentions
14 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, featuring both intentional and unintentional comedic moments, with some dialogues being genuinely funny while others fall flat or become cringeworthy. Players appreciate the quirky interactions between characters, particularly the snarky demon, though the quality of voice acting varies, sometimes enhancing the humor and at other times detracting from it. Overall, the game balances touching and dark themes with lighthearted moments, making for an entertaining experience despite its flaws.
- “The humor in the dialogue is fantastic and it has a unique setting.”
- “Really funny game with nice gameplay, stunning visuals, and a truly interesting story.”
- “Funny conversations and bad puns.”
- “It's like they tried to inject humor into a serious game, but it just fell flat.”
- “The jokes feel forced and out of place, making the experience more awkward than amusing.”
- “Instead of clever humor, we get tired clichés that don't land at all.”
atmosphere
11 mentions
82 % positive mentions
9 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its impressive environment design and nostalgic graphics reminiscent of the PS2/PS3 era, contributing to a captivating and immersive experience. Players appreciate the intriguing and dark story setting, enhanced by a fitting soundtrack that complements the various areas, although some critique the sound direction. Overall, the combination of art direction, music, and environmental detail creates a unique and engaging atmosphere that supports the gameplay and narrative.
- “For an indie, the environment design is amazing, along with the atmosphere it creates.”
- “The final boss stage deserves special attention: by supporting the character almost as if part of it, it creates a really unique atmosphere, especially when combined with the soundtrack.”
- “The overall setting and atmosphere of the game is wonderfully presented.”
- “Music is tolerable and can even provide occasional atmosphere, but the general sound direction is atrocious.”
optimization
9 mentions
33 % positive mentions
22 % neutral mentions
44 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant stuttering and frame drops despite adjusting settings, while others noted well-optimized graphics for a small team. However, several users criticized the game for being poorly optimized, leading to freezing issues and performance problems. While some found a way to improve their experience, the general consensus leans towards dissatisfaction with the game's optimization.
- “Well optimized cel-shaded graphics with impressive amount of assets for a small team.”
- “+ well optimized.”
- “Well, this game was a bit less optimized than I expected, but after getting it to play properly I can say I don't hate it and it did not fall flat in terms of my expectations.”
- “My biggest problem is the entire game. I had stuttering, frame drops, and no matter what changes I made to anti-aliasing and V-Sync, as well as playing on the lowest graphics settings, it made no difference. I have never had this problem even playing FPS games on medium-high settings.”
- “Uninspired and badly optimized game with no substance.”
- “You can't make two steps before stumbling into one, all because of bad optimization, which would cause freezing issues.”
emotional
6 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its touching and nostalgic moments, with players expressing strong attachments to the characters and experiencing sadness during key scenes. While many found the character development compelling and heartwarming, some players felt a lack of emotional investment, leading to mixed reactions overall.
- “It's really hard for me to say goodbye to the characters (although I still have a New Game Plus to play), and at the end of the good ending, I felt a bit sad, emotional, and nostalgic.”
- “By the end of the game, I have grown attached to the characters, and I cried a little in some scenes.”
- “It was really heartwarming when the cutscene at the end of the credits of the 'true end' hit me.”
character development
6 mentions
33 % positive mentions
17 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is highlighted by impressive character and monster designs, which are visually appealing. However, the depth of character progression is lacking, as weapon upgrades only affect stats without meaningful integration into gameplay. Overall, while the aesthetics are strong, the character development feels superficial and underwhelming.
- “The game's graphics are visually stunning, with highly detailed environments and character designs that are a feast for the eyes.”
- “And of course, those character designs are a ++!”
- “There's sexually crude, gross dialogue; the combat is okay, but other than that and some interesting boss and character design, the game is just a mesh of bad ideas and mediocre implementation.”
- “3- character design”
- “Character designs, monster designs, and the environments are all great.”
stability
4 mentions
75 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
25 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is commendable, with no major glitches or crashes reported, and it runs smoothly, even on Linux. However, some users experienced freezing issues in open areas due to asset loading, leading to frequent loading screens, which detracted from the experience.
- “There were no glitches, bugs, or shutdowns.”
- “Keep in mind that this is a title with a much smaller budget, so it does not outshine any of those games, but it does have all the same parts. It works quite well, runs great, and is very enjoyable.”
- “Runs great on Linux!”
- “A:gom can't handle open areas with objects in them (as apparent from one of the starting zones in the game, where you meet the lady for the second time). I kept getting freezes on my PC, and lowering the resolution changed nothing, because apparently it was just the game loading up assets as I progressed, deleting them once I move past a certain point, then loading them in again if I backtrack, instead sentencing the players to dozens of small loading screens.”
grinding
3 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game frustrating due to a lack of balance and insufficient grinding spots, particularly on higher difficulty levels. While the game is marketed as an action RPG, it offers minimal role-playing elements beyond grinding for skill points, leading to a tedious combat experience early on, though it improves as players progress.
- “The balance of the game is absent, so if you want to play it, play only on easy because the controls, the platforming, and the difficulty spikes without proper grinding places make the experience very infuriating.”
- “Although marketed as an action RPG, this game only has a tiny amount of RPG elements. Other than grinding and leveling up to gain skill points (you get 2 points each level-up for each character, and XP/level are shared for both playable characters, but the skill trees are different), and multiple endings that only depend on your choice at the very end of the story, there is no branching plot or choices before that point. Besides that, there are no other role-playing elements I see in this game.”
- “The combat is a bit tedious at the beginning, but as you get further in the game, enemies get more interesting.”