Anodyne 2 is a game that toys with your expectations a lot, gradually delivering a much deeper story than the almost ironical exposition early on would hint at. The hub world, which initially feels like huge swathes of meaningless emptiness, becomes both a welcome break from the 2D Zelda dungeons which is where the main gameplay takes place, and the emptiness gives you time to think about the game's heavier themes. The game toys with your expectations in many ways, breaking up both the suggested progression loop and your assumptions about how the game even would work to either deliver story beats or provide you with new tools to progress through it. 7 hours in, I've experienced it becoming up to four layers of meta deep at times, and I have no idea what lurks about the next corner. Telling you what happens would spoil the surprise, but let's just say it's good at wanting you want to know more, to explore more.

The game's 3D sections uses intentionally low-res polygons to first evoke old N64/PS2 games, and later to hint at the world itself being digital. It starts off feeling a bit bland, but it gets a lot more enjoyable later on when you realize that most of it has what-you-see-is-what-you-get collision checking, allowing you to reach all sorts of places you thought were out of bounds. The NPCs are weird creatures that doesn't look like anything in particular most of the time, giving off a surreal vibe that I'm not sure I'm enjoying (and which I fear makes people write the game off as "a weird artsy game" without giving it a chance), but you certainly can't blame them for being forgettable.

The real gem is the beautiful 2D sections, though, where each world has an unique theme representing the mind and memories of the person you're trying to save. Whether you're running errands on the balconies of a megacity for a fashion designer on behalf of a megalomaniac AI, or listening to a family argue about the state of the neighborhood as their posh villa sinks into a worm-infested mud patch, I can guarantee there is not a single level in the game that you will forget.

Anodyne 2 is a game that toys with your expectations a lot, gradually delivering a much deeper story than the almost ironical exposition early on would hint at. The hub world, which initially feels like huge swathes of meaningless emptiness, becomes both a welcome break from the 2D Zelda dungeons which is where the main gameplay takes place, and the emptiness gives you time to think about the game's heavier themes. The game toys with your expectations in many ways, breaking up both the suggested progression loop and your assumptions about how the game even would work to either deliver story beats or provide you with new tools to progress through it. 7 hours in, I've experienced it becoming up to four layers of meta deep at times, and I have no idea what lurks about the next corner. Telling you what happens would spoil the surprise, but let's just say it's good at wanting you want to know more, to explore more. The game's 3D sections uses intentionally low-res polygons to first evoke old N64/PS2 games, and later to hint at the world itself being digital. It starts off feeling a bit bland, but it gets a lot more enjoyable later on when you realize that most of it has what-you-see-is-what-you-get collision checking, allowing you to reach all sorts of places you thought were out of bounds. The NPCs are weird creatures that doesn't look like anything in particular most of the time, giving off a surreal vibe that I'm not sure I'm enjoying (and which I fear makes people write the game off as "a weird artsy game" without giving it a chance), but you certainly can't blame them for being forgettable. The real gem is the beautiful 2D sections, though, where each world has an unique theme representing the mind and memories of the person you're trying to save. Whether you're running errands on the balconies of a megacity for a fashion designer on behalf of a megalomaniac AI, or listening to a family argue about the state of the neighborhood as their posh villa sinks into a worm-infested mud patch, I can guarantee there is not a single level in the game that you will forget.