Masters of Anima Reviews
Masters of Anima provides unique gameplay that's focused on strategic combat and troop coordination.
There really isn’t anything quite like Masters of Anima on the Nintendo eShop at the moment, or, for that matter, on Nintendo Switch. The developer may have too much enthusiasm for throwing you into combat and could have done with exploring ways to lend a change of pace – that more often than not comes in the puzzles that momentarily boggle your mind. But, when you have a steadfast legion of Guardians at your command, it’s hard not to marvel at the thrill of it all in the thick of battle, and how the many systems that are at play are masterfully woven together.
Masters of Anima provides you with the tools to succeed but heavily depends on your ability to use them effectively.
For a world as unique as this and characters that seem to have only scratched the surface, I am interested and excited to see what the team at Passtech Games can do to expound on it further.
Masters of Anima brings something unique and charming to the Nintendo Switch with its mixture of RTS-like action and fantasy exploration, and it really makes for a good time. I had a lot of fun with the game and whilst it may not always be the most thrilling adventure you’ll head out on, there’s no denying that it’s always an enjoyable one. Sure, the narrative could be a little forgettable and cheesy whilst the combat itself could be a little bit too tricky at times too, but overall Masters of Anima offers an entertaining fantasy adventure that’s certainly worth being a part of.
Masters of Anima scratches the itch you may have for a Pikmin-style real time strategy game over and over again. Its unique art style and engaging characters are exactly what you want, but the gameplay leaves a little to be desired. If you are a fan of Pikmin or RTS games in general, we would recommend you pick it up!
Overall, Masters of Anima is a great game. It has a nice visual flair and presentation mixed in with some very solid and unique gameplay that’s not often seen these days. It’s not perfect though, it suffers a little with repetition, flow disrupting difficulty spikes and the odd command issues that shouldn’t be present in a game where real time quick actions and thinking is needed. These issues didn’t stop me from enjoying the game overall however and I believe Masters of Anima will be a solid addition to your Nintendo Switch download library. It’s a great game with a few little issues here and there that stop it from being an essential Switch purchase.
On the surface of it, most people would assume that Master of Anima would feel just like a Pikmin game but this simply isn’t the case. At times it feels like there is much more depth and strategy with the combat system and it feels extremely rewarding. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Master of Anima to anyone who enjoys strategy games or generally likes a new challenge because this will feel unfamiliar to a lot of people.
With its great gameplay, fun exploration, and nice art style, Masters of Anima pretty much checks all the boxes for a game like this. It is, however, brought down by some confusing controls and a couple useless guardian types.
In conclusion, Masters of Anima is an excellent experience which mixes Diablo and Pikmin excellently. I wonder why so few developers have attempted this before, as it’s so incredibly fun to play. A world full of charm, a bumbling, comedic protagonist and incredibly fun and interesting mechanics make this a must-try for Pikmin or RTS fans looking for a new style to try.
In hindsight, it might have been easier, or at least less frustrating, to play Masters of Anima on PC, given the accuracy benefits of a mouse and keyboard. If the learning curve hadn’t been so steep, I think we would have enjoyed the challenge that so many other titles lack. If nothing else, we definitely would have progressed further in the game. This is not necessarily a reflection of the quality of the game, but rather it could be related to our familiarity with a controller because Pierre-Yves barely broke a sweat when he played.
Despite a few small issues here and there with the difficulty and the empty plains, Masters of Anima was a delight to play and is simply stunning to look at. With it's Pikmin like mechanics, summoning various guardian types is seamless and lots of fun to perform for both the combat sections and the puzzles. True, you need to read the tutorials thoroughly and ensure you take in everything they tell you in order to survive, but once you have got the mechanics down the game gets so much better.
This isn’t a game that will be talked about for years to come, but it’s a worthwhile experience.
Masters of Anima is a fun minion commanding adventure which is well-polished and balanced enough to make the £15.99 asking price reasonable, sadly it’s not great value due to lacking anything after the main story beside the impressive and well-controlled gameplay.
Masters of Anima caught me completely off guard but in a very good way.
Despite a reliance on gimmicks and an, at times, overwhelming difficulty curve, Masters of Anima manages to overcome its shortcomings to deliver a wildly addictive action-RTS experience. Battles are genuinely demanding, but never impossible, requiring an understanding of the mechanics to survive, especially during the second half. The ranking system encourages clever play that would otherwise be lost in the inherent chaos of combat, and the puzzle-solving segments make for wonderful respites where Otto can play around with his Guardians and accrue Anima for any upcoming bouts. The script does suffer from an emphasis on exposition, but, like the rest of Masters of Anima, it carries with it an endearing amount of charm.
Passtech Games' latest title has a well-executed concept but falls short due to lackluster magic and skill management.
The story, though somewhat predictable, is still fun and well executed. It's an attractive game with a solid hook, that plays well regardless of your Switch playstyle preferences. It's an easy recommendation for anyone who loves dungeon crawlers, or fast-paced strategic combat.
Masters of Anima is a more than welcome addition to the PS4 library and, despite having a simple story and some gameplay problems in its console version, it should please those who love a good RTS, with its challenging and fun puzzles and battles.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review