Anomaly Agent Review

I love coming across games that have a unique art style and personality, setting them apart from other titles that you have played in the past. Anomaly Agent is a side-scrolling platformer/beat-’em-up title that has you playing as Agent 70. This character has a unique taste in fashion compared to his fellow agents; instead of the standard black, he wears an all-white suit. A bold choice; he must have a great dry cleaner! He is tasked with a final mission before he is promoted to head office. The chief of police has tasked you with taking down the anomalies that have appeared in this futuristic, cyberpunk world. These anomalies aren’t your typical goons; some have the power to alter time and gravity.

Anomaly Agent has three different difficulty settings to select from Easy, Normal, and Hard. If at any point you want more of a challenge or less, you can change this in the menu settings. Here, you can turn on the Enemy Attack Warning, which will display an exclamation point over the head of the enemy when they are about to attack you. I played the game with a controller where A was Jump, Dodge RB, Parry LB, B to interact with characters or items, and Melee attack with X. These are just the base options; as you progress, you will learn other attacks like RT to use ranged weapons like guns you pick up from defeated enemies or the special Anomaly Weapons that you acquire with LT, D-pad down, or Y. It may seem like a lot to remember, but the game does a good job of letting you know what move you will need to get through an area. Like many other beat-‘em-up titles, there are combos that you can pull off against the opponents that you face. You will learn these by drinking the vials that stage bosses drop. Once obtained, they are quite simple to learn as each combo requires alternating pressing two buttons like X, RB, X, RB, X, RB.

When you defeat an enemy, they may drop guns that you can pick up and use against the other foes or health packs that are used to replenish your health bar at the top left of the screen. Each time you clear a screen and move on to the next, that is considered a checkpoint. So, if you are defeated, you still start at the beginning of that screen. Depending on the difficulty you have selected, moving to this next area will fully replenish your health so you are ready to take on all the foes in the next location. If you are unsure of where to go, even though the game is very linear, the door may be a bit tricky to find, and it could require you to jump up or go down a staircase. Look for the glowing pink light, as this shows the exit. There may also be a colourful swirl to jump into; this is a portal that will transport you to a totally new location.

I enjoyed how Anomaly Agent offers you multiple ways to kill the clones coming after you. Besides beating them up normally, you can also destroy them by using the environment around you. Standing on a platform? Just hit them off the edge, leaving them to fall to their death. Encounter an electrified barrier? Smash them into it! There is always a fun and creative way to take the foes out so that it never feels old. I especially loved using the floating enemies that are holding spikey bars beneath them. They are held on with cables that are easily cut by throwing your handy business card, crushing all the clones that happen to be standing beneath them.

There are multiple chapters to play through, each having you fighting an Anomaly Boss at the end to complete it. These bosses all have fun, unique personalities and powers that will make you adapt your fighting style to deal with them. For instance, one boss is a wrestler who will jump and try to slam down on you or dash right into you — dodging is going to be required here. You'll also need to pick up the guns dropped by your fellow agent, Eva, as it'll be key to victory! One of my favourites was fighting the Gravity Anomaly: this large orb, upon losing his mask, will flip the entire stage. Originally, it was on the bottom, but once flipped, you will need to jump up the platforms to attack.

Anomaly Agent looks great. I love pixel graphics like this that aren’t super detailed but still convey the unique look of all the places you visit and enemies you fight. The stages you play through have you travelling through a subway, on a train — and on top, on the street, in a nightclub, and even on the city rooftops. All these environments look awesome and have lots of neon lights and graffiti, adding to the cyberpunk feel of the game. Agent 70 is the only person wearing all white, so it is very easy to keep track of where he is at all times.

The soundtrack, along with the visuals, is pumping. It has a great 80s sound with synths added to an upbeat techno dance track. The music was super energetic, keeping you excited to see what you would be facing next. I love the sound effects that are added to every area you visit — it was a nice touch, pulling you into the game. The chatter of the people on the streets, the sounds on the subway, along with the futuristic flying vehicles above the rooftop were very well done.

Anomaly Agent has a lot of fun and unique mechanics. What other titles give you points for making people happy or sad with your responses to what they say that you can spend to upgrade your character? There are a lot of opportunities where you speak with someone and get to select your response. Like usual, I tried to be super nice, but the odd time, a sad face would appear over their heads. I was super surprised to visit the Upgrade Robot and see that I could redeem these emotions for something to benefit my character, even the sad reactions! Here, you can also spend the money you acquire in the level to upgrade your ranged attacks with guns, your health, or even power up your business card to do more damage when you throw it.

This cyberpunk beat-‘em-up is one of the most creative titles that I have played as of late, and I highly recommend it for fans of this genre. Besides the fun action, the crazy story, and the great humour, this is an enjoyable experience that I think gamers would have a great time with. Anomaly Agent has unique game mechanics and fun characters to face; you should try this one out.