Anodyne (PC) review "Trau-la-la-ma."

My analysis of Anodyne could be spot on, or maybe I'm reading too much into it. Either way, the game resonates hard with me currently. You see, I spent the last decade or so stuck in a rut with complex emotions I didn't want to handle. They went from being a few small concerns to mountains of issues after a while, eventually forming a whole range of them. What do you do when you're overwhelmed and probably living with an undiagnosed case of ADHD except find ways to distract yourself?

For some folks, that means finding the bottom of a bottle or hooking up with as many somebodies as possible. For me, it meant constant escapism and “doom scrolling.” It got to the point that I couldn't put my phone down because escapism was freely available at all times. I thought getting away was a solid method for dealing with this woes, but soon enough my problems ran so deep that I couldn't get away. My enjoyment of so much media began to fade because of the issues I wasn't addressing, almost as if the worries I ignored were now pushing their ways into my outlets.

That's pretty much what I get from this title. There's an undercurrent of escapism and how it can be wonderful for blowing off steam, but it can also become a disengaging distraction. “Nothing in excess,” as the old saying goes, but when you have excess, you end up with line-blurring nightmares like this.



I'll be perfectly honest in saying that I could be wrong in this analysis, and I only say so because the game doesn't beat you over the head with its point, nor is it a narrative-driven mess of wonky dialogue and pretentious, philosophical indulgence. First and foremost, it's a The Legend of Zelda knockoff with a few tweaks here and there. For one thing, there is no solid “overworld” aside from a hub called “The Nexus,” where a sage and his talking statue/trophy/whatever the hell it is reside and offer up campaign guidance, but only so much. They don't shove you in a direction so much as tell you that you need to save a briar and call it good. From there, you're left to your wits, using them to explore a 2D environment with only a broom for a weapon.

You first venture into a standard, albeit gloomy, Zelda-ish land. Ominous music plays, broken only by some silly banter from a girl riding her bike, which she named Wares. Get it? Pedal Wares? Yes, that's the joke... Anyway, the sense of foreboding continues as you scour the land for points of interest. For the most part, you end up puzzling your way through a large maze, locating some treasure chests containing collectible cards and pressing buttons that permanently open gateways. Eventually, you find a cave mouth that ushers you into a dungeon, complete with some of the usual features. There, you spend time hunting down keys to unlock doors, solve puzzles, and battle an area boss.

Though you sport a mere broom, it proves to be a handy weapon. It fights off stock bats and slimes effectively enough, and even deals with rabid dogs, fire-breathing lions, and various specters. Combat isn't complex, either. You mosey about each room, mind any traps or bullets that come your way, and simply poke the opposition to death with your bristles. Of course, you must be careful because foes occasionally emerge right on the borderline between rooms, repeatedly bumping you back into the previous square until you can figure out how to avoid them.



On top of that, the broom gathers piles of dust and places them in other parts of a chamber, even turning the dirt into a handy boat that allows you to sail all over, accessing screens you wouldn't otherwise be able to enter.

From start to finish, the experience takes you through locales that require thought and a thirst for exploration to complete. Sometimes you need to get to a specific part of a map, but you find your way either blocked or kept behind a wall, the pathway lying somewhere else. It's up to you to determine if you'll need a special item, like jumping shoes or a broom enhancement, to advance. Hell, occasionally gates require you to carry so many collectible cards before they open up. Of course, some areas come with roadblocks you can't cross until after you've gained certain goodies...

You know, standard Zelda/Metroid stuff...

But this one isn't all that “standard.” Voyaging out from the Nexus initially sends you to a wrecked highway with some ghostly figures sprouting up. However, this segment is so brief that it's easy to write off and forget about it. However, you get reminders as you progress. At one point, you visit a beach with no clear path leading to a new territory. You find one by shoving a fisherman into a whirlpool, which somehow reduces him to bloody chum. Leap into that crimson swirl and you'll be transported to a blood-red surreal world, where harmless beasts that resemble walking hairballs roam. Travel further and you'll end up in a dungeon where the inscriptions prattle on about the pain and guilt associated with birth, and how we put our mothers through intense suffering just to live a life we didn't ask for. You end this foray by battling a gruesome head that protrudes from water, joined by meaty tentacles.



It doesn't stop getting weird or troubling, either. The most normal part of the tale involves traveling to a dungeon that's a hotel. Along with that, you enter a labyrinth filled with pink, wandering monsters and bloody corpses aplenty. Another place takes you through a distorted replica of what could be the protagonist's hometown, only now your broom has been replaced by a knife. Instead of talking to the locals, you stab them and they lie bleeding and moaning about how they'll miss the next episode of their show. It becomes clear that the worst and most traumatic experiences comprise this “not-Hyrule” fantasy realm, transforming it from a realm of decompression into a wasteland of remembered horrors and irrational fears. Yeah, indie games that do things like this can come across as overambitious, but Anodyne remembers to maintain interaction rather than stuff its points into clumsy cutscenes.

These aren't the kinds of terrains or dungeons you associate with this subgenre. Link travels to water temples and crypts, but never a circus where horrific accidents occur, including a lion mauling a tamer or acrobats falling to their deaths. He also never battles through golden, idyllic cities that suddenly catch fire. Granted, he did embark on that one quest where he fought literal nightmares, but still, he doesn't often slip into worlds like this.

As you can tell, Anodyne bears own identity. It doesn't accomplish this feat with hours of useless, clumsy muttering, but shows you a world where real horrors blend in with an escapist quest to protect something. It's wonderfully weird, sometimes a bit eerie, but well worth checking out. For my part, though, it parallels what I've been through in recent years in a way that reinforces why it is we have media: to express and communicate. This one tells me I'm not alone, reminding me that it's okay to, say, open a book and read, as long as I remember to shut it and join the world outside of it. Otherwise, your life could invade your getaway...

Staff review by Joseph Shaffer (November 23, 2024) Rumor has it that Joe is not actually a man, but a machine that likes video games, horror movies, and long walks on the beach. His/Its first contribution to HonestGamers was a review of Breath of Fire III.