Anima Flux Impressions
What is a Metroidvania? At its core, it contains exploration, progression, and non-linear paths. You explore to progress and progress to explore (usually in the form of new abilities). There is an end goal but the journey there can be one of many. Most Metroidvanias are action-adventure and/or platformers (this has branched into other genres/sub-genres - arguments could be made for Arkham Asylum or the Souls games). What you do not see often is a co-op Metroidvania. Yes, there are multiplayer ones like Guacamelee or the Salt and Sanctuary series but not usually where co-op becomes its identity, even during single-player.
In their self-titled game, developer Anima Flux brings us a co-op Metroidvania in which you play as two genetically enhanced soldiers, Eileen and Roy, an archer and swordsman, respectively. They are humanity’s last hope against a mutant attack and must protect the last human stronghold but there may be more to the story than what both Eileen and Roy are led to believe is true. In single-player, you can control either character at the touch of a button making the other an AI companion. In co-op mode, each player controls Eileen or Roy.
THE GOOD
Anima Flux boasts quite an impressive art style (uh oh, starting with visuals…). Dark, futuristic sci-fi is the motif coupled with a retro feel, and they absolutely nailed it. The city is in disarray, and some of the background objects can be destroyed by Eileen’s arrows and Roy’s sword slashes, which further showcases the bleakness caused by the invading mutants. Some platforms even crumble as you mantle onto them (they respawn!).
The concept of co-op in the game is, well, more concept than not. There are some great co-op moments but those are fleeting. For example, if you are controlling Eileen (or Roy), you can have Roy (or Eileen) stop following and remain at a location. This can be used to stand on a pressure plate so the other character can reach a switch or to even have both characters flip a switch at the same time. As you venture forth, these moments occur less and less. In actual co-op, the game did require both players to confirm movement between zones or interact with a shop but it felt forced at that time and all for show. Your co-op partner can serve as a cheat death/extra life mechanic though. It is only game over if both Eileen and Roy die. If one dies, you automatically take control of the other who can revive the downed character. In actual co-op (when playing with another person), our protagonists are not tethered to each other. For those who played Contra, do you remember when you climbed the waterfall, and if one player could not keep up, they would just die and respawn? In Anima Flux, if the players go out of range (offscreen) from the other, the game has a picture-in-picture pop-up to show you what they are doing. The first time it occurred, I proclaimed, “that’s awesome!” For what purpose does it exist, I still have not figured that out. You cannot leave an area without your companion and their health can be seen on-screen. Also, this only exists when playing with someone even though you could, in theory, tell the other character to stay and move all the way across the level, creating the same scenario.
Speaking of playing with another person, your choices are local co-op or via remote play through Steam. Both methods worked flawlessly and I was able to have remote play sessions with a friend on his Steam Deck and on his PC.
THE BAD
For genetically enhanced super soldiers, you have quite a rudimentary skill set. Yes, I have played Metroidvanias and I understand the concept of unlocking abilities as the game progresses but being able to dash seems like a simple thing especially with how combat works: getting swarmed by hordes of mutants and killing them before they kill you. There is no block button (you get armor much later on) and, while Eileen and Roy do have defensive abilities baked right into their attacks (a backflip away and a stun move), you cannot just spam them infinitely. When you do get the dash, it seems that it was just to advance part of the story (there is a chasm that you cannot clear by jumping - trust me I tried repeatedly). My survivability in battle increased significantly with the dash but at this point, I was already thoroughly frustrated.
Backtracking is pretty standard in Metroidvanias but Anima Flux makes it feel more tedious than necessary. The map auto fills in as you explore and there is a glowing arrow indicating where you should head. The problem lies in getting there. The game teases a fast travel called an Animachine. It is not a fast travel. What it does do is let you travel between the spawn point (where you start if you perish) and whichever Animachine you happen to be at currently. If you find a new Animachine, you can hit the spawn point, restore health, and head back. Oddly, you only restore health and not health packs or ammo. Ammo I get but health packs? You either find new ones or buy them. If you die, you respawn and then take the spawn point back to the last place you activated the Animachine. BUT WHAT IF YOU DIED ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE MAP?? Too damn bad. This is where you restart your journey and you have no choice but to like it. Furthermore, the spawn point kind of exists in its own plane of existence. When you first start the game, using the Animachine brings you into a central area where you find NPCs that will give you quests and vendors that can provide upgrades for our two protagonists. Any use of the Animachine from this point forward is to the spawn point and back with the only way to reach this hub area being to walk. Do you know what you can do in the hub? Buy health packs. Do you know what fast traveling gets you? NADA. Also, the hub area seems to exist in a Murphy’s Law kind of way. If you have no currency to spend on upgrades, you are always near it. If you finally acquire enough currency, which by the way has an abysmal earning rate, you could not be further away if you tried. I am completely fine with no fast travel. No Rest for the Wicked, which was released earlier this year, had a similar system of fast traveling between 1 fixed point and 1 other point with one major exception. The fixed point had access to upgrades. Sometimes, you just look at the map and go, “screw it, that is a long walk, time to move on.”
THE UGLY
The idea of co-op in a Metroidvania that goes beyond just multiplayer is fascinating. The possibilities are endless. Unfortunately, in Anima Flux, it appears to be just an idea. In the time I have spent in the game, I played Eileen 99% of the time. I have an affinity for hunters and/or bow wielders in practically any game where that is an option but after all I have seen in the game, this is the only option of who to play. To be fair, Eileen is a blast to play. She can hit almost any target from across the room and she has a cool backflip dodge to avoid attacks. Roy, on the other hand, is right in the thick of it, hacking and slashing away. Nearly every encounter has you fighting for your life though. It is not like they gave Roy extra armor or the ability to block attacks. He and Eileen have the same chance of survival in melee range but at least Eileen can pick targets off before they get close enough. Plain and simple, Roy sucks. Roy is that third-party controller you used to give friends who came over because you were using the one that came with the system. Roy serves as cannon fodder so Eileen can pick them off from the distance. That is fine if you play solo but it loses its appeal when he is player controlled. Anima Flux is advertised as a co-op game. It is on the Steam page in the description. It says so on the Anima Flux website. It is in the Twitter bio! A fair amount of enemies in the game can fly. When I played with my friend in co-op, he asked, “What do I do?” Was Roy an afterthought? Did they forget this was going to be a co-op game and just made an extra character with no thought as to how he would fare? His only purpose is to revive Eileen if she dies so you can swap back to her.
It kills me to tear down a game, let alone an indie game, but I would be remiss if I praised this and did not point out these major issues. It is an absolute shame that something that looks so great has this many issues with gameplay. Full disclosure, I did not finish the game and probably will not. I planned to play a bit solo but do most in co-op. These were the reasons that will not be happening.
