Anima 2021: find the test of this Hack & Slash which has just been released, with an old school style and a long lifespan!

Gameplay and character

As usual, key element of my tests, the gameplay of the game. This one is very old school type, and I had a big impression of replaying Diablo 2, which is not necessarily unpleasant but will not be able to not please everyone! The spells are quite simple in effect but you can create your build, in particular thanks to the possibility of playing two classes at the same time, which is one of the strong points of the game. Remember to have your synergies between your two classes to make a character worthy of the name!

You will also be able to attribute your statistics, strength, dexterity, vitality and intelligence, as well as craft, improve and drop a whole range of objects with a rarity ranging from normal to set item, through legendary. These same legendaries and sets will boost the skills of your characters and can add new spells to you, which helps to compensate a little for the lack of customization of the spells. The characters can be improved very far in terms of level, allowing a real customization, without, for the moment, becoming off-putting (level 100 of my character during this test).

Bestiary side you will have the classic monsters, they are not extremely original but do the job of a classic hack & slash. On the other hand, the bosses are rather innovative and pretty cool to knock out! Or when it is they who kill you, the difficulty of the game being quite high.

The gameplay is fun to play and you won't be out of place if you like the old style, however I still note a lack of depth.

The bosses are pretty cool

Content and shelf life

A particularity of Anima is the way to evolve in the game. You will not have a linear adventure but three options to play in parallel:

• the story mode, composed of 8 zones with 4 levels each, which you will have to do several times in order to unlock the additional equipment thirds. For example a tier 4 will be much more powerful than a tier 3, but you will need to have completed story mode 3 times in order to be able to wear it
• arena mode, where you have to survive increasingly harsh waves, you can also choose your starting arena level (bronze, silver, gold, diamond), allowing you to recover experience and special currency. oboli
• the outside world, accessible once the story mode is finished once, and offering monsters up to level 800. What to take care of!

Even if at the beginning you will be a little lost with these three game modes very quickly accessible at the same time, it is rather original and quite nice to break this linear code a little too present in the hack & slash.

In terms of content, two other points I wanted to address:

• the translations are strawberries, even if they have the merit of being present, and still allow you to understand the game if you do not speak English. There will still be wrong translations ("Chest" translated as "Chest" instead of "Chest": ')).
• no multiplayer system, and I think that's the worst part of the game, with the possibilities, playing with two or more would be really perfect!

Arena mode is pretty cool to play and offers a good alternative

Global design

The graphics of Anima are in the Old School style, suddenly quite refined or even a little simplistic, but remain worked and varied, allowing to appreciate the environment where you walk and the monsters to kill. The animations of the spells remain a little sketchy but are part of the graphic charter of the game. The music is rather pleasant, there are even one or two really nice!

On the interface side, we are on the clear and minimalist, no frills in all directions but a little simplistic as a result!

Note also that I saw only one bug, the skeleton archers tend to freeze, which is very clean for a game in version 1.0.

The game interface, clear but simple

Balance sheet and note

What makes <span style="font-family: 'arial black', 'avant garde';">inlingua</span> different	The -
- Proven oldschool gameplay and overall design - The combination of the three styles of play - A very good lifespan - The possibility of class combination - Almost no bug	- A lack of depth on the gameplay side - No multiplayer

By Alchemists, June 2021