Mato Anomalies Reviews
The Digital Shadows DLC is a surprisingly welcome return to the futuristic city of Mato.
With its engaging story, charming cast of characters, and solid RPG mechanics, Mato Anomalies is a game that all role-playing game fans will enjoy, especially fans of the Persona series, by which the game is greatly influenced. Lack of innovation, dull turn-based combat and a wonky English localization impact the experience, but not enough to make it unworthy of a look from fans of the genre.
Mato Anomalies is a prime example of the journey being more important than the destination.
Despite the disappointing performance issues, Arrowiz should be extremely proud of what they’ve achieved with Mato Anomalies. They’ve taken inspiration from a beloved series while, admirably, still managing to create a JRPG that feels like nothing else out there at the moment. With its novel card battler mechanics, the snappy and accessible combat system, and the refreshingly straightforward take on character and party progression, Mato Anomalies is an easy recommendation for both fans of the genre who want something a little different, and those who are on the lookout for a more newcomer friendly entry point to the genre. Here’s hoping Mato Anomalies gets the attention it deserves because I, for one, would relish the opportunity to step back onto the streets of Mato with Doe and his crew all over again in a sequel.
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.
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.
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
Mato Anomalies brings us a well-measured mix of genres, without much fanfare, but showing correctness in all the aspects it shows, resulting in a very enjoyable game as long as we like visual novels and Japanese-style role-playing games. It won't change our lives but it will give us a good handful of hours of entertainment.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Mato Anomalies has great strengths in its story and gameplay, introducing homegrown elements that achieve interesting nuances and sensations within the conventions of the genre.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
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
It gets points for some slick sensibilities in presentation and attitude, though some aspects are weaker than others
Mato Anomalies was a kind of game that pushed me away and pulled me in frequently. I found Doe’s investigative side to be boring outside of good story bits and the Mind-Hack card battle segments. Meanwhile, between the Gear system and skill cooldown system, exploring the Rifts and fighting the Bane Tide would be really fun, if not for the lack of enemy variety and non-stop one-liners. The story was good enough to help me look past some of the issues, but ultimately Mato Anomalies has a lot of repetitive annoyances that keep it from being better than many of the RPGs it borrows from.
If there’s one reason to pick up this game, it’d have to be the turn-based JRPG combat. The story is good in Mato Anomalies—don’t get me wrong—but the simple, yet highly complex battle system is where it’s at.
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
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.
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.
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.
Mato Anomalies can be tiring with its proposal, but it also glues you to the controller with its story and its characters, its atmosphere and its melodies.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Mato Anomalies tries too hard to please everyone through various genres. It tells a good story when it wants to, but presenting it in three different styles doesn't always work for the best. The long-winded conversations will make your mind wonder quite a bit until it gets to the point. Thankfully its character design is good, and the soundtrack keeps you occupied. Though it features a decent combat system, getting going can take some time. The biggest downfall of Mato Anomalies is the card battle mechanic that constantly leaves you in an unfair position dragging your progression to a standstill.
Mato Anomalies is a solid visual novel with an engrossing story that will keep you hooked as you meet new characters and experience how they interact. While other mechanics in the game fall somewhat short, players are afforded certain options to clear through them faster and get back to the story without much hassle.