Anomaly 2

Anomaly 2’s campaign isn’t especially original, but its multiplayer provides a fresh take on tower defense gameplay.

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Anomaly 2 is a real-time strategy game where players lead a military convoy through a post-apocalyptic world overrun by alien machines. The game features tower offense mechanics, allowing players to tactically plan their path and manage their units to complete objectives. A multiplayer mode is also included, where players can take control of the alien faction for strategic battles against human forces.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Reviews

73%

Audience ScoreBased on 500 reviews

story40 positive mentions

replayability4 negative mentions

Anomaly 2 offers a unique twist on the tower defense genre, allowing players to control a convoy of vehicles attacking enemy towers.
The game features impressive graphics and engaging gameplay mechanics, including the ability to morph units into different forms for strategic advantages.
The multiplayer mode adds replay value and allows for competitive play, enhancing the overall experience.

The game suffers from excessive hand-holding in the early missions, making it feel tedious for experienced players.
The story and dialogue are weak, with clichéd elements that detract from the overall experience.
Some players have reported technical issues, particularly with the game not functioning properly on Linux systems.

story
198 mentions
20 % positive mentions
71 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The story in the game is generally considered weak and clichéd, often described as a simple narrative about aliens invading Earth, with many reviewers noting that it feels like a typical B-movie plot. While the voice acting and graphics receive praise, the overall storytelling is seen as secondary to the gameplay, which is more engaging and varied. Despite its shortcomings, some players found the story entertaining enough to keep them invested through the missions, although the lack of mid-mission saves and repetitive elements detracted from the experience for others.
- “The story, while nowhere near the main attraction, is decent; they don't bring any interesting plot device to the table, but it doesn't confuse you to the point of not knowing what's going on.”
- “The story is full of clichés, but it has a good ending and is relatively interesting for a tower defense game.”
- “The story is getting more and more interesting; it's a great sequel to Anomaly: Warzone Earth.”
- “The story is terrible with some awful writing and cringe-worthy voice acting, but that's really not a big deal for a game like this in my opinion.”
- “The story is full of clichés.”
- “The story that this game tries to tell is more interesting, but as with the first, it's done with fairly weak dialogue and characterization, and the mid-level intrusions never quite feel 'worth it'.”
gameplay
121 mentions
32 % positive mentions
61 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The gameplay in Anomaly 2 is a blend of tower defense and real-time strategy, featuring innovative mechanics like unit morphing that enhance tactical depth and engagement. While some players appreciate the fresh take and polished execution, others find the gameplay repetitive or lacking in variety compared to its predecessor. Overall, it offers a mix of accessible yet challenging mechanics, appealing to both casual and hardcore players, though opinions on its execution and enjoyment vary significantly.
- “If you're looking for a thrilling take on tower defense, you'll love the blend of real-time strategy and tactical gameplay here.”
- “Anomaly 2 successfully manages to carve out its own place in a rather saturated genre thanks to its new ideas and interesting tactical gameplay mechanics.”
- “The gameplay is challenging and hectic with good pacing and focus on tactics and micromanagement, not to mention a good amount of depth, while keeping it highly accessible.”
- “Good idea overall, but on the first level there is much more nonsense talk than gameplay... it's not my cup of tea, I guess.”
- “While the graphics are okay and there's a bit of polish, remarkable for a mobile app, the mobile heritage shows through here quite strongly, manifesting in lame gameplay and technical deficiencies.”
- “The gameplay is still solid, it's fun, though perhaps a little light on length (I think I finished it in 7-ish hours).”
graphics
86 mentions
57 % positive mentions
38 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game have received widespread praise for their striking visuals, particularly in the post-apocalyptic setting, showcasing improved quality over its predecessor. Many reviewers noted the attention to detail, vibrant environments, and impressive effects, although some mentioned that the cluttered screens could detract from visibility. Overall, the graphics are considered a standout feature, enhancing the gameplay experience significantly.
- “The graphics are great, both the friendly and enemy unit designs look really good, the weather effects and the explosions look awesome.”
- “Anomaly 2 is graphically a gorgeous game with a sleek interface and impressive environments, gameplay is challenging and hectic with good pacing and focus on tactics and micromanagement, not to mention a good amount of depth, while keeping it highly accessible.”
- “One of the most striking improvements is the visuals: while the original sent you through some nice but generic cityscapes, you're now smashing towers in post-apocalyptic wastelands coursed by mysterious metallic structures, as well as some very recognizable ruins.”
- “Thanks to Humble Bundle, this highly anticipated sequel to a game with ugly visuals and a fecal brown color palette comes to the Steam library near you - now also in blue!”
- “While the graphics are okay and there's a bit of polish, remarkable for a mobile app, the mobile heritage shows through here quite strongly, manifesting in lame gameplay and technical deficiencies.”
- “By the looks of it, developers focused so much on graphics and visuals that they probably ran out of money to add more levels or other game modes, but wait, what about multiplayer?”
music
24 mentions
46 % positive mentions
42 % neutral mentions
13 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising it as excellent and reminiscent of titles like Fallout, while others find it somewhat generic and not particularly standout. Overall, the soundtrack is often described as fitting well with the game's atmosphere, enhancing the experience alongside good graphics and voice acting. Sound effects are noted to significantly heighten the intensity of gameplay, contributing positively to the overall presentation.
- “The music is excellent (some Fallout vibes).”
- “I love the music for this game, as well as the style of graphics and the dynamics of each separate troop.”
- “The soundtrack doesn’t really stand out, but the sound effects really heighten the intensity of the carnage even further.”
- “Update 2: the only way to get a soundtrack for this game is to buy the anomaly 'bundle'.”
- “The background music to this game is gorgeous.”
replayability
14 mentions
21 % positive mentions
50 % neutral mentions
29 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate the added multiplayer modes and multiple endings that enhance replay value, others criticize the limited number of units and lack of progression systems, which detract from the experience. The campaign's brevity and absence of single-player skirmish modes further diminish replay incentives for many players.
- “With added multiplayer modes, it offers great replay value and a competitive edge.”
- “Choose the suitable approach towards the end; it offers high replay value to the overall experience.”
- “Scores are still here and they help by offering replayability value.”
- “The total number of different offensive units limits the playstyle, while the hard limit of only a couple of units (6?) restricts the exhilaration. The lack of progressive upgrades (upgrade tree/research tree) makes it seem like Anomaly 2 has no progression value and even less replayability.”
- “Sadly, this game is shorter than its prequel Warzone Earth; in fact, it's even shorter than Anomaly Defenders, which has 24 levels in total compared to Anomaly 2's maximum of only 14 levels. Thus, there is no replay value, especially if you want to collect all achievements in this game.”
- “The whole campaign can be easily finished in less than ten hours, but there is no replayability at all and no incentive to replay the game at a higher difficulty, as there is nothing to gain from it apart from personal satisfaction.”
grinding
11 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players consistently find the grinding aspect of the game to be overly tedious, detracting from the overall enjoyment. Many reviews highlight that excessive micromanagement and time constraints lead to frustration, making the experience feel more like a "grinding simulator" than a fun game. Overall, the consensus suggests that unless significant changes are made, the grinding elements may alienate casual players.
- “This makes the game more tedious than fun.”
- “It reaches the point of just being completely tedious.”
- “Until this game becomes a game instead of a grinding simulator, I do not recommend it.”
stability
5 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern, with users reporting frequent freezes and low performance despite adequate hardware resources. While there are no detectable glitches, players experience persistent loading issues and crashes, particularly on Ubuntu, rendering the game unplayable at advanced levels. Overall, these stability problems detract from the otherwise enjoyable gameplay experience.
- “Low performance with constant freezes (less than 50% CPU, GPU, RAM, and SSD usage overall) - unbearable for such repetitive gameplay.”
- “Keeps loading or freezes loading after the intro.”
- “I love everything about it other than the fact that it has constant glitches in Ubuntu that makes it unplayable after a certain level.”
atmosphere
4 mentions
75 % positive mentions
-50 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game has received mixed reviews; while some praise the story presentations and voice acting as superior to typical sci-fi B-movies, others feel it lacks the compelling atmosphere of its predecessor. Overall, it seems that while the game's mechanics are enjoyable, the atmosphere and narrative elements do not significantly enhance the experience.
- “The story presentations, voice acting, and atmosphere are probably better than most sci-fi B movies.”
- “Atmosphere matters a lot.”
- “This game is fun because of its mechanics, but the atmosphere adds an extra layer of enjoyment.”
- “It just doesn't have the atmosphere that the first one had for some reason; also, the open ending explains nothing.”
- “Jeez, next time I'd be happy to provide my services, but in the end, this game is fun because of its mechanics and not because of the story or atmosphere.”
- “Also, the story presentations, voice acting, and atmosphere are probably better than most sci-fi B-movies.”
optimization
3 mentions
67 % positive mentions
-67 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game is a mixed bag; while some users report smooth performance and a well-executed story, others experience significant issues with constant freezes and underutilization of system resources, leading to a frustrating gameplay experience. Overall, the graphics appear to lack proper optimization, impacting the overall performance.
- “The game runs smoothly, and the story is well done.”
- “The game runs smoothly, but it feels like the graphics are not optimized.”
- “Low performance with constant freezes (less than 50% CPU, GPU, RAM, and SSD usage overall) - unbearable for such repetitive gameplay.”
- “The game struggles to maintain a stable frame rate, making it frustrating to play.”
- “Optimization issues lead to long loading times and frequent crashes, ruining the overall experience.”
humor
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by its witty storytelling and hilarious voice acting, which contribute to an engaging and entertaining experience. Players appreciate the combination of comedic elements with action-packed gameplay and impressive graphics, making it a standout in the tower defense genre.
- “It's the first game with a pithy little story, hilarious voice acting, gorgeous graphics, and nicely polished gameplay.”
- “Very funny and action-packed tower defense game.”
monetization
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Anomaly 2 has been criticized for its monetization strategy, with users labeling it as a cash grab, particularly due to its release on Steam after initially being a mobile app.
- “Anomaly 2 is a mobile app that's been dumped on Steam as an opportunistic cash grab.”