Mato Anomalies Reviews

Mato Anomalies is ranked in the 19th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
81%
Oct 23, 2023

The Digital Shadows DLC is a surprisingly welcome return to the futuristic city of Mato.

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75 / 100
Apr 24, 2023

Mato Anomalies is a good game that fails for trying to include, unnecessarily, too many elements in its formula. Despite this, its good characters and interesting plot manage to sustain it for its entire duration and the combat brings enough new elements to remain challenging.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

4 / 10.0
Apr 18, 2023

Mato: Anomalies is a very flawed RPG that tried. It had big ideas in its story but god bless anyone who is fat-brained enough to understand it. The gameplay has small sparks of creativity, but it is lost under the woefully low-budget presentation.

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Drew Leachman
Top Critic
6.5 / 10.0
Apr 13, 2023

At the end of the day, Mato Anomalies feels like a budget title with a lot of things going for it. It has some decent mechanics and some interesting story bits if you are willing to read a lot. The RPG side of the game can have some difficulty spikes and level grinding side dungeons will be needed in some instances, but for RPG fans and visual novel fans, if you can get past the different mechanics and are willing to learn some unconventional ones, this could be a decent experience for you even with the lower budget feel.

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2.5 / 5.0
Apr 10, 2023

This is a game that is very dense, with a time-consuming interface and a story that tries way too hard to be something grand, throwing strained dialogue and empty contrivances together to the point where most of the meaning is lost.

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80%
Apr 2, 2023

Mato Anomalies is a prime example of the journey being more important than the destination.

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75 / 100
Apr 1, 2023

If you’re in the mood for biting social commentary and atmospheric dystopian cyberpunk, play Mato Anomalies. Otherwise, you can safely skip this title. It will make a certain kind of gamer very happy. I certainly had fun in the city of Mato.

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5.8 / 10.0
Mar 28, 2023

Mato Anomalies is a video game with an interesting premise, but with an execution that is barely capable of keeping up with other turn-based RPGs. Its noir atmospheres mixed with a cyberpunk setting are extremely seductive, but under the bonnet of an interesting vintage car there is an engine whose roar really fails to impress.

Review in Italian | Read full review

7 / 10.0
Mar 27, 2023

Mato Anomalies biggest problem is not in its attempt to be a simplified Persona "clone" Persona, but in its performance problems — which, although not harmful to the gameplay itself, manage to test patience from time to time — and the excessive use of italics in texts. Even without much to offer for the genre, it is a charming and stylish RPG with a plot capable of instigating the player's curiosity from start to finish.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

5.5 / 10.0
Mar 26, 2023

Strong storytelling does little to make up for the poor gameplay mechanics that drag Mato Anomalies’ potential down.

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5.5 / 10.0
Mar 24, 2023

Mato Anomalies is an ambitious and stylish RPG, but one that ultimately has too many issues to really recommend.

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6 / 10.0
Mar 23, 2023

Mato Anomalies is not a bad game, but the impression is that everything in it could be significantly improved. Combat works, but lacks variety and some system that differentiates it from other examples of the genre. The story is interesting and manages to entertain, but it lacks some singular idea that makes it unique. The presentation manages to carry the title, but could have received a more thoughtful finish to make everything even more captivating.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

6.5 / 10.0
Mar 22, 2023

Mato Anomalies is relatively short, looks good but not amazing, and loads like I just caught it sneaking in after curfew and asked what it was doing. The voice work is okay but not fantastic, combat is good, card game is awful. It’s just a bit of everything but not enough of something, if that makes sense.

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7.5 / 10.0
Mar 22, 2023

Mato Anomalies mixes mystery, turn-based battles, and card-building all into one game with a great look and fun characters. If you like futuristic neo-noir games with a JRPG feel, this title is going to be one you will want to look into, even with a lack of distinct enemies.

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Mar 21, 2023

Mato Anomalies had picked the right kind of experience to ape. The Persona series is consistently the most intelligent and thought-provoking in the JRPG genre. The developers have also done a decent effort to understand the thematic basis of those games, and at least attempt their own spin on it. Unfortunately, whether for a lack of resources or an inability to bring the creative elements together cohesively enough, Mato Anomalies’ greatest achievement is simply demonstrating just how hard it really is to make a game like Persona 3, 4 and 5.

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6.5 / 10.0
Mar 21, 2023

Mato Anomalies is an intriguing RPG that has some cool ideas and an engrossing narrative, but some of its basic gameplay mechanics fall short of the mark. Nothing is outright bad at all, but with combat being a little basic and the dungeon design a little boring, RPG enthusiasts are unlikely to be blown away by the experience. It’s a shame too because I loved the narrative and the dual-protagonist approach is cleverly implemented, whilst the world itself feels great to explore. It just doesn’t offer enough to make up for the fact that the other elements of the game could get repetitive fast.

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Mar 20, 2023

I was starting to get bored and frustrated around the 8-hour mark on Mato Anomalies, thanks to the poor rewards and Gear System. Making the team share a health bar seemed like a good idea. However, it does more bad than good, with enemies barraging with attacks.

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5 / 10.0
Mar 19, 2023

With art to die for but pacing that will kill you, Mato Anomalies is a fun time hampered by its own ambition. The city of Mato is worth a short trek, but maybe not as deep a dive as it invites.

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6 / 10.0
Mar 18, 2023

There are several aspects of Mato Anomalies that do not work as we would have liked. Although interesting and engaging, the narrative scaffolding is in fact slowed down by the presence of long-winded dialogues (moreover not dubbed) in visual novel style, while the playful system does not offer particularly original solutions.

Review in Italian | Read full review

73 / 100
Mar 18, 2023

A highly powerful piece of visual imagery that manages to overcome its humble origins with a DNA-proof will and sheer hard personal effort.

Review in Spanish | Read full review