ANNO: Mutationem – Review
ANNO: Mutationem’s futuristic cyberpunk setting and stylized pixelated visuals, RPG elements, and action-packed gameplay sound like a surefire recipe for success. As a whole, the game has a lot going for it, but it’s let down by a confusing narrative and wild pace, as well as numerous errors that appear outside of gameplay.
Entanglement follows Ann Flores as she seeks to understand a disease she suffers from in order to eventually find a cure. Her mood changes, and she attacks everything in her path while ignoring any harm that might befall her.
In addition to Holtz, Alan, and Ayane, Ann is surrounded by a cast of supporting characters who are eager to assist her in her quest to become a cyborg. Ryan, Ann’s younger brother, is also trying to find a cure, but he gets entangled in a slew of bad characters as a result of his efforts, which really kicks off and complicates this journey.
the year of our mutated abode
There are many main missions that become tedious as the questline goes on for a long time, making it difficult to keep up with all the side quests and side quests that are required.
Furthermore, despite the game’s simplicity, the narrative is confusing and lacks cohesion for the majority of the game. To find Ann’s brother, the majority of ANNO: Mutationem’s storey revolves around doing favours for various, seemingly-random NPCs in exchange for information, which becomes tedious after a while.
A lot of “Do this for me, and I’ll give you what you want,” but Ann and Ayane don’t really understand what’s going on outside of their next task or errand. And I felt like the main character when I was lost. As the film progresses, more and more information about Ann’s disease and who the nefarious secret organisation are revealed.
While Ann and Ayane are helping a group of underground machine people track down information about Ryan, we cut to a scene in which unrelated characters discuss previously unexplored concepts in an unknown setting.
When you’re in a game that doesn’t provide enough information, it’s both jarring and frustrating. My curiosity was piqued by a number of topics: the Mechanika Virus, which turns humans into machines, Ann’s strange upbringing, Ayane’s feelings toward her, and many others.
It’s hard to get to know the characters and care about them before the plot takes a crazy turn, because the game feels like it drops you right into the third act of a long plot. Even in the final act of the game, new characters are introduced, which left me even more befuddled than I was before.
ANNO: Mutationem goes so far beyond cyberpunk that it’s almost incomprehensible. You’ll either love or hate the final act for all the new concepts it introduces to the world, let’s just say.
That said, the art direction is superb regardless of your feelings on the storyline or the developers’ choice of developer. They combine 2D and 3D elements with pixel art to produce a stunningly beautiful world that is a joy to explore.
Some scenes are shot in first person, which adds a new perspective to the world. Speaking of light, the neon-lit environments of large cityscapes and underground labs are complemented by vibrant colours and vibrant neon lighting.
During combat, the game’s vibrancy is reflected in its gameplay. An instant kill against enemies with depleted shields is just one of the many abilities Ann has at her disposal. There is a skill tree that allows her to unlock and improve abilities like parrying and a variety of new combos in battle, as well as various chips that can be attached to weapons to improve stats or unleash elemental attacks.
Due to the nature of the combat, it can be a challenge to parry or time your dodges correctly in order to win the fight. Most of the time, you can get by with Ann’s equipment as-is, but if you can’t, there are better options available for upgrading or replacing it.
If you have enough resources, you can also use the game’s crafting feature, which can be accessed from the menu or while playing. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on new gear if you disassemble old items to get the parts you need to build something new.
Despite the game’s impressive visual and combat qualities, there are also glaring flaws in the game’s smaller details. Even if these issues are eventually fixed, I had to deal with them during my playthrough.
ANNO: Mutationem is riddled with typos and grammatical errors. There are numerous instances where words carry over from one line to the next, as well as numerous instances where sentences are misspelt or otherwise unintelligible. Ann’s father’s name was spelled Hotz or Holtz several times, and I couldn’t figure it out until the end of the book.
The subtitles are also frequently incorrect. In English, I encountered this problem, but I don’t know if it’s the same in the other languages. Subtitles are frequently inaccurate or missing dialogue-specific words throughout the game. When characters tell you to check your map for directions but you have no way of locating them, it’s even more infuriating! In these moments, it’s easy to get lost and lose track of what you’re doing. When it comes to ANNO: Mutationem’s use of vibrant colours and a unique blend of 2D and 3D to create a living world, the game shines, as does the game’s customizable and at times challenging combat.
As a result, it’s disappointing to see how it fails in so many areas, from distracting text errors and bugs to an overly convoluted plot. Its cyberpunk world also has a lot of great potential. The current state of the game is difficult to recommend, but it may be worth a try after a few updates to fix the most obvious issues.
