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.
Anomaly 2 offers a unique twist on the tower defense genre by allowing players to control a convoy of vehicles attacking enemy towers, providing a refreshing gameplay experience.
The game features impressive graphics and sound design, enhancing the overall immersive experience.
The morphing mechanic for units adds depth to strategy, allowing players to adapt their tactics on the fly.
The game suffers from excessive hand-holding in the early missions, with multiple tutorial levels that can feel tedious.
The campaign is relatively short, with only 14 missions, which may leave players wanting more content.
Some players have reported frustrating micromanagement and control issues, particularly with the interface and unit targeting.
story
391 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
71%
9%
The story in "Anomaly 2" is generally considered weak and clichéd, often described as a simple narrative about humanity's struggle against alien invaders. While some players appreciate the engaging gameplay and graphics, many find the plot and character development lacking, with voice acting that ranges from mediocre to cringe-worthy. Overall, the story serves more as a backdrop to the gameplay rather than a compelling element, with a few players noting that it can be easily overlooked in favor of the game's mechanics.
“The story was more tense and the idea of a reverse tower defense was still original.”
“Voiced characters introduce you to an apocalyptic near future story on Earth being held for some years now.”
“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.”
“The story is just a sliver below average, and really only there so players won't complain about there being no story.”
“The missions are designed that there is only one route through the mission and being unable to save as desired means that you will be forced to replay long boring sections while figuring out by trial and error which is the best way through.”
gameplay
236 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
61%
7%
The gameplay in Anomaly 2 is a blend of real-time strategy and tower defense, featuring innovative mechanics like unit morphing that enhance tactical depth and engagement. While many players appreciate the game's creative missions and polished visuals, some criticize it for repetitiveness and a lack of significant new content compared to its predecessor. Overall, the gameplay is described as accessible yet challenging, appealing to both casual and hardcore players, though it may not satisfy those seeking extensive variety.
“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 can be quite frantic as you manage your abilities in the heat of battle and scoop up additional abilities from destroyed towers, you can also pause the action to assign a new route for your troops or change the order your squad is currently in at any time.”
“The game is like reversed tower defense with a story, but the gameplay is boring.”
“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.”
“Low performance with constant freezes (less than 50% CPU, GPU, RAM and SSD usage overall) - unbearable for such repetitive gameplay.”
graphics
169 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
38%
5%
The graphics in the game have received widespread praise for their striking post-apocalyptic visuals and significant improvements over its predecessor, with many users noting the attention to detail and artistic design. While some players found the visuals impressive, others mentioned issues with cluttered screens that could obscure gameplay elements. Overall, the graphics are considered a standout feature, enhancing the gaming experience with vibrant environments and well-designed units.
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“The game runs smoothly but it feels like the graphics are not code-optimized.”
music
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
48%
6%
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. Many appreciate the soundtrack's ability to enhance the overall experience, particularly in terms of matching the game's graphics and gameplay dynamics. Overall, the music is generally considered good, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere, though it may not be the highlight for all players.
“The music is excellent (some Fallout vibes).”
“As a refreshing take on the tower defense genre, 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
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
51%
30%
The game's replayability is mixed, with some players appreciating the added multiplayer modes and multiple endings that enhance replay value, while others criticize the limited number of levels and lack of progression systems, which diminish the incentive to replay. The campaign's short length and absence of a single-player skirmish mode further contribute to a perception of low replayability, despite the challenge offered at higher difficulties. Overall, while some elements provide replay potential, many players feel the game lacks sufficient content to warrant multiple playthroughs.
“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.”
“[Replay value] – there are 2 different endings as far as I can see, so the last mission could be replayed.”
“Sadly, this game is shorter than its prequel Warzone Earth; it's even shorter than Anomaly Defenders, which has 24 levels in total compared to Anomaly 2 that has only 14 levels at maximum, thus no replay value (again!), that is if you want to collect all achievements in this game.”
“The whole campaign can be easily finished in less than ten hours, but can be very challenging at higher difficulty, although there is no replayability at all and no incentive to replay the game at a higher difficulty (nothing to gain from it apart from personal satisfaction).”
“I also just don't feel like it has much replay value.”
grinding
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players overwhelmingly criticize the grinding aspect of the game, describing it as excessively tedious and detracting from the overall enjoyment. Many feel that the micromanagement required in later levels turns the experience into a "grinding simulator," making it frustrating, especially for casual players. Overall, the consensus is that the game becomes more of a chore than a fun experience due to its reliance on repetitive tasks and time constraints.
“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
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent freezes and low performance, with users reporting less than 50% utilization of CPU, GPU, RAM, and SSD. While some players note the absence of detectable glitches, others experience persistent loading problems, particularly on Ubuntu, rendering the game unplayable after certain levels. Overall, these stability concerns detract from the 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
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
37%
38%
The atmosphere of the game is noted to be superior to many sci-fi B movies, particularly in terms of story presentation and voice acting. However, some players feel it lacks the compelling atmosphere of its predecessor and emphasize that while the game is enjoyable due to its mechanics, the atmosphere and narrative elements are less impactful.
“Also, the story presentations, voice acting, and atmosphere are probably better than most sci-fi B-movies.”
“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 story or atmosphere!”
“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!”
“Atmosphere matters a lot.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
16%
17%
The game's optimization is criticized for low performance and frequent freezes, with underutilization of CPU, GPU, RAM, and SSD resources, making the repetitive gameplay frustrating. However, some users note that it runs smoothly overall, despite feeling that the graphics lack proper code optimization.
“The game runs smoothly, but it feels like the graphics are not code-optimized.”
“Wasted, it runs smoothly, and the story is done well.”
“Low performance with constant freezes (less than 50% CPU, GPU, RAM, and SSD usage overall) - unbearable for such repetitive gameplay.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
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, making it a standout in the tower defense genre. Overall, the game's polished graphics and humor enhance its appeal.
“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
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of Anomaly 2 has been criticized as exploitative, with users labeling it an opportunistic cash grab, particularly due to its origins as a mobile app now released on Steam.
“Anomaly 2 is a mobile app that's been dumped on Steam as an opportunistic cash grab.”