Anomaly Agent Review
I do not know about you but if I got to work and gravity was reversed, I am heading home. Luckily, I have an office job and do not work for a super secret agency that deals with world-ending catastrophes. Speaking of disasters, does said agency even have an agent that could handle gravity on the fritz with a little dash of broken time travel?
Developed by Phew Phew Games, Anomaly Agent is a cyberpunk action platformer where you punch, kick, and just cause chaos amidst a retro backdrop and killer soundtrack. Become Agent 70 of the TDY where your boss hates you and your co-workers are not too fond of you. Perhaps it is that warm and fuzzy personality. Somehow, Agent is being promoted today BUT must finish out all current missions including figuring out why gravity has gone on the fritz.
I cannot speak to the actual training of TDY agents but Agent 70 can fight. He’s extremely agile and can punch, kick, and dodge without breaking so much as a sweat. Belonging to a super secret agency has its perks too as Agent 70 has a few gadgets at his disposal. First up is the business card. Huh? This is no ordinary business card though. When thrown, it can stun enemies. As you progress through the game, the business card can be upgraded and even electrocute unsuspecting foes or be used to cut wires or reach hard-to-reach buttons/levers/etc. Your briefcase may or may not contain documents (I am leaning towards not) but what it does do is block melee attacks and deflect bullets. Who needs guns when you can just pilfer them off the bodies of enemies? Agent 70 is proficient in all types of firearms and when all else fails, you can just throw the gun at your target. The combat described may seem like it would lend itself to a standard beat ‘em up but it is quite deep while remaining easy to navigate. If you try to just punch and kick your way through everything, you probably will die (even on the lowest difficulty setting). Anomaly Agent’s combat just feels super fluid and smooth and as such, utilizing all the tools at your disposal felt natural. Both melee attacks and weapon attacks make use of combos that can be performed. The longer you can maintain a combo (aka staying aggressive), the more damage you will dish out plus it will earn you more and more coins used for upgrades. The aforementioned blocking and deflecting are also incredibly simple to pull off as the game has a warning system for incoming attacks. I am horrible at using parries in any game (Lies of P made me get better though) but this is more just a responsive button press when the on-screen prompt occurs. Blocking and deflecting can be upgraded later in the game to cause damage and stun making use of it even more worthwhile. You can also just use Agent 70’s roll dodge to avoid everything but you miss out on the satisfaction of stunning an enemy and going all Babe Ruth on him as you send him hurtling to his demise.
In addition to the masterful combat the game offers, the platforming was quite enjoyable. Agent 70 is quite agile which can be seen in the responsive controls. There are plenty of lasers to dodge and moving platforms to navigate (perfect places to send enemies over the edge). I will not go into full detail but there are a few “chase” scenes that have you ducking and jumping down a corridor and it was an absolute blast each time it happened. For those who feel their skills in this type of gameplay are lacking, the checkpoint system is very forgiving. Most restarts will only take you back mere seconds before your death.
How do you feel about shaping your narrative? During the story, Agent 70 often must ask/answer questions or participate in conversation with various characters. You can either give a normal response (read: boring) or be a sarcastic wiseass. Now, before you think, I’m just going to be a smartass all the time, there is a point to this. Your response will trigger a reaction from the character you are speaking to. Answering in a manner that is agreeable with this awards you with a positive emotion. Being a jerk earns you negative emotions.
These emotions can then be spent on either health upgrades (positive emotions) or more coins (negative emotions) used for upgrades. While it may seem fun to talk back to your boss, sometimes it is worth it to go along with the other person. There does not seem to have a lasting effect on the general plot but it was a fun way to introduce choice into the game.
Health upgrades are not just limited to emotions. They can also be found hidden in chests throughout the levels. Every four you collect will increase your total health. It is worth keeping in mind when “gathering” emotions as it costs 5 positive emotions for each upgrade. On the other hand, it only takes 3 negative emotions to exchange for 300 coins. Coins are dropped by enemies and also by items destroyed and found in most chests. Coins are then used to upgrade Agent 70’s ability such as decreasing the recharge time of the business card or increasing the damage of ranged weapons. To access additional tiers of upgrades, one must purchase a set amount from the previous tier.
If you are looking for a fun platforming, action-packed brawler with a clever dialogue system and witty humor, look no further than Anomaly Agent. Phew Phew Games has nailed it on all fronts here between the super-responsive controls, fun factor, and retro but futuristic cyberpunk aesthetic. While the campaign is relatively short (approximately 5 hours), there is a new game plus (that costs 0 dollars) allowing you to bring all your upgrades to a new playthrough, and the upcoming Rogue Agent mode (roguelite anyone???). This is worth every penny and one of the first cannot miss titles of 2024. It is available now on PC and Switch.
