I recently received a review code from developer ThinkingStars and publisher Lightning Games for their game, ANNO: Mutationem. You play the role of Ann Flores in her mission to find her missing brother. Another plot point is that people are dealing with the Mechanika virus, a virus that has ill effects on people, transforming them into machinery. Ann is dealing with her own form of the virus, Entanglelitis, and the side effects rear their ugly head when battles put too much of a strain on her. That being said, you’ll traverse multiple locations to help Ann find her mission brother as well as figure out all there is to the Mechanika virus.
To begin, ANNO: Mutationem combines gameplay elements from many genres, like role-playing games, beat ‘em ups, hack and slash and more. For those who weren’t aware, this is ThinkingStars’ first developed game and it feels like an ambitious effort on their part. You can tell a lot went into this game, in terms of thought and care from the team and it feels like a real winner in my opinion. The developers were going for a “PlayStation 1” feel in terms of graphics/gameplay style and I feel they got it right.
The characters have that retro feel but at the same time feel brand new. Ann and her hacker partner, Ayane, have a best friends relationship. However, Ayane would probably like to be more than friends. She helps Ann out anyway she can and you can think of Ayane as Ann’s guardian angel, if guardian angels could hack electronic devices and be by your side, via the device she gave you.Throughout your cyberpunk-like adventure, you will run into all kinds of characters to interact with. They range from your sister who runs a bar in a Manhattan styled city to the guy who runs the weapon shop.
You’ll be able to get to know these characters through conversations and you might gain some valuable information along the way.The locations in the game look really cool as they have 2D characters inhabiting the 3D locales. Getting into your car, which can hover, as it’s the future, looks great in 3D.There are a lot going on in the cities and there isn’t lag to account for the all the action going on. One of my favorite characters in the game is guy who sells a corn drink that replenishes hit points and he’s a guy wearing an ear of corn on his head. You meet him for the first time in the same city your sister’s (and surprisingly, your android father) bar is located and he’s hosting a fighting tournament/mission for you to win some of that world famous corn drink. As I mentioned prior, you’ll be able to take on missions and quests throughout the game and you’ll be rewarded for completing them. They can be as simple as bringing a book to the book store to finding out who murdered your neighbor in your apartment building. ANNO: Mutationem feels like the type of game that you’ll want to find everything in as it could help you in the story.
The game has role-playing game elements you’ll be able to use that to your advantage. What I mean by that is you’ll be able to upgrade Ann through a skill tree and gain new abilities and attacks. You might need a stronger combo to beat a boss or more bullets for your gun. There is a wide range of weapons that Ann has at her disposal, like swords, daggers, katana, and guns. You’ll come across microchips and other items hidden in chests throughout and those chips can help you upgrade weapons. However, depending on the weapon, you won’t be able to equip that many chips so choose wisely. There is a crafting mechanic where you can use things you find strewn about the world to help you get an advantage in battle. Finding metal could help you create a stronger grenade or finding food could help you create a better healing item. An issue I have with crafting is that you start the game with a backpack that can’t hold too much and if you craft a lot, you will fill that pack very quickly. That brings me to another gameplay element, the skill tree.
During the game you’ll get thrown into beat ‘em up sections where you attack groups of enemies as you progress through the location. You’ll gain grombits and in turn, you’ll use those to purchase new skills The blue ones allow you to upgrade skills whereas the red ones that you get from boss fight victories allow you upgrade your attributes. Those range from having more hit points, more attack power and more item space.
You’ll have to level up to fight some of the boss battles as these are some of the tougher boss fights I’ve seen. You will want to have plenty of healing items as well since these fights are tough and could go a long time. If you die at any point of the boss fight, you’ll have to start the whole thing over and as I said, some of these fights are pretty long so restarting them can be a real pain. The game also feels like a hack and slash game in the side scrolling action portions as you find an attack/weapon you like and go to town on the enemies. Learn the patterns of the enemies and you’ll be able to save healing items. That will come in handy during boss fights so learn the boss patterns too.
Graphically, ANNO: Mutationem really pays homage to the retro games and pop culture it’s trying to emulate. As you progress, you’ll find posters hanging up that reference different things like movies and books. You’ll find one in the sewer that reminds me of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The writing is well done as well, particularly the relationship between Ann and Ayane. They come off as best friends that have known each other for years and really care for each other.You could also make the argument that the way Ayane cares when Ann is hurt or needs help; you could say they have a big sister/little sister dynamic. Players will have the option to customize Ann in terms of what weapons she uses and what she wears. There are a few outfits Ann can wear and you really get to see them when the game shifts from 2D to 3D as Ann walks toward and away from the screen.
ANNO: Mutationem is a game I really like but there are a few issues I had with it. There were certain times when it felt like attacks/weapons weren’t being used when I was pushing the right buttons. There is a transformation for Ann that helps in battles and it seemed like I had the gage full but the transformation wasn’t happening. The load times between scene transitions were very long. It wouldn’t have been so much of an issue but every transition had a cut scene/load screen. That being said, I’m giving ANNO: Mutationem for the PlayStation 4 an 8.5/10, a very good first game for Lightning Games and look forward to seeing more from them. Every game should have some form of bartender mini game and a kick-ass heroine.