ANNO: Mutationem Reviews
ANNO: Mutationem is a grave disappointment. The initial premise, stylish ambiance and cool presentation promise a stellar indie action-adventure game. Sadly, it is a hopelessly sloppy game with terrible localization; often on-screen text does not match character dialogue.
ANNO: Mutationem had a lot of promise, but ended up spread far too thin. Both the exploration and combat lack any sort of depth, the story is nonsensical, and the sprite work looks ugly in motion.
This first title from developer Thinking Stars is a mixed bag. Some of it works, while others don't. It's as though the game is only the beginning of something greater, like an anime pilot or a prequel to a novel. Its stunning 2.5D pixel graphics and deceptive depth get obscured by its overly complicated story and unpredictable course of Ann's journey.
While a convoluted storyline and ultimately straightforward gameplay keep it from rising too high, it’s nonetheless an intriguing game worthy of attention and well positioned to be expanded upon down the line.
As a cyberpunk adventure Anno: Mutationem lacks much coherent or satisfying plot but its responsive combat will stand out and entertain through its short playtime. It’s just a shame the overall package doesn’t live up to the promise of those stylish trailers.
While Anno: Mutationem sports an interesting art direction, the disjointed story and uneven combat make this game hard to recommend.
As it stands, this is a tough one to recommend as long as the bugs persist, but it may be worth checking out after a patch or two to resolve the more blatant issues.
There's surprising scope in the game — you can dismantle items to get materials, which you can then combine into new weapon modules. There are side missions and mini-games, like serving cocktails to earn money. It's also kind-of open world, albeit a very small one. While the ambition is admirable, overall we feel the game comes across as quite unfocused. It's an enjoyable experience, and everything here is reasonably good, but the result is a game that doesn't really shine, save for its rainy, neon-infused aesthetic.
A game with an interesting visual and soundtrack that makes you want to play, the experience on the Switch deserves a positive note and we can count on a great indie game, different from what we are used to. The grade is less good for translation errors and some frame drops, on Nintendo Switch.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Anno starts rough, and that’s something you definitely need to know if you plan to dive in. Particularly story-wise, where it shoots off a firehose of ideas in an attempt to set up a core mystery. But if you’re able to stick through the first couple hours, things begin weaving together to create a much more graceful package. Aside from the graphics, I can’t say there’s any one aspect that the game particularly excels at. Taken as the sum of its parts, though, the developers at ThinkingStars have created quite an intriguing experience.
Developer Thinking Stars have come out swinging with Anno: Mutationem, a lot of it works, and some of it not so much. The game feels like the first act of an anime series, or the first part of a bigger story. There is a tease that there could be more to come, but we’ll have to wait and see. As it stands now, Anno: Mutationem is a little rough around the edges, but despite its flaws, I kept going back to it and was endlessly impressed by its scope, ambition, and excellent combat.
New additions are the various difficulty modes. ANNO: Mutationem could be a pretty spicy action game at times, so less skilled players can enjoy a more casual experience with the new easy mode. The “Hell” mode lives up to its name and returning players will find Ann will have no hope of success. Not the best mode to play on Switch, due to the increased load times.
I really did want to enjoy Ann’s story, it’s visually beautiful and has some clever little in-game tricks to its aesthetics. It’s just a damn shame the narrative couldn’t quite keep up, leaving ANNO: Mutationem a visually stunning but muddled, confusing game.
ANNO: Mutationem's sublime blending of 2D and 3D visuals is a delight to behold and a joy to experience. Fast-paced combat and competent RPG systems all deliver so, as long as you can accept the incomprehensible plot and naff dialogue, there's a lot to enjoy.
So, is ANNO: Mutationem any good and worth playing. We’re going to say yes it is, despite some moments which don’t gel so well with the overall feel of the game. You do get your monies worth and the visuals are spectacular at times. If you like cyberpunk themes, then this ambitious game should be in your library.
I'd love a sequel to this from ThinkingStars that irons out some of the issues and continues to expand the world they've set up here. ANNO: Mutationem is a unique game that I appreciate for all its ideas and attempts to do something so large in scope.
I was intrigued by ANNO: Mutationem when it came to other platforms earlier this year, and the Switch version seems to largely offer the same experience but with added portability. Its interesting story and decent challenge, in addition to some compelling world building make a strong case for adding the game to your digital library; a free eShop demo is also available for those who want to dip their toes in first. If you can stomach the miniscule text size and a somewhat flat middle portion of the story, ANNO: Mutationem offers an enjoyable and brisk cyberpunk-flavored adventure.
ANNO: Mutationem is a gorgeous-looking, original indie title that, while bearing issues with the narrative design, is a display of promising potential for developer ThinkingStars.
ANNO: Mutationem is an extremely fascinating project, divided between the freedom of its open map structure and the direct simplicity of its 2D action sections.
Review in Italian | Read full review
ANNO Mutationem features a gorgeous cyberpunk world full of colourful, interesting characters, vibrant locales and stunning pixel art and animation. The visuals are rounded out by fantastic side-scrolling combat sequences and great exploration into the depths of a city I’d love to spend more time in.