Tan superior a su antecesor que se ha convertido en mi juego del año. ‘Anodyne 2’ consigue dejar atrás la faceta de “clon zeldíaco” que hereda para presentarse como un juego en constante evolución, sin miedo a romper su estructura y trasladarte a entornos y jugabilidades difíciles de anticipar. La aventura de Nova, la purificadora, no es tanto la complejidad argumental o jugable que hace gala el juego (no superlativa), sino la creación de imágenes evocadoras que templan el alma del viajero y abren espacio a la reflexión, por encima de un mar de nubes de polvo. La secuela que proponen Melos Han-Tani y Marina Kittaka sigue evocando los panoramas extraños, surrealistas y mansos del primer juego; ocasionalmente enturbiados por la oscuridad que ofrece nuestra naturaleza humana. La inseguridad, la insatisfacción o la melancolía que impregna el aire de malos recuerdos y el arrepentimiento. Jugar a ‘Anodyne 2’ (y su antecesor) es trasladarse a un espacio de trance en el que todos estos sentimientos se magnifican por la ausencia de malos malosos o mundos que salvar. Es una delicia vivirlo y apreciarlo en primera instancia.

No sólo eso, ‘Anodyne 2’ también es un juego realmente agradable de jugar por su alternancia de ideas y su nostálgica presentación, que mezcla gráficos 3D low-resolution típicos de la era PS1/N64/Saturn, con mazmorras zeldíacas en 2D y un pixel-art más colorido y mejorado que su antecesor. Nova es controlada en los espacios 3D como si fuese un plataformas, sin riesgo alguno, pudiendo explorar los entornos a gusto y placer en busca de secretos y recovecos que llevarse a la boca (y hay muchas sorpresas escondidas). Para seguir el planteamiento inicial, no obstante, Nova debe colarse dentro de las criaturas de Nueva Zilan y liberarles del polvo que acumulan sus corazones, reduciendo su tamaño a miniatura para meterse en dichos organismos. Estas fases en 2D funcionan de manera similar al primer ‘Anodyne’, y aunque las mazmorras no posean una complejidad muy allá, sí están estructuradas de maneras tan diferentes que ninguna resulta repetitiva de por sí. De hecho, llegado a un determinado punto de la aventura, ‘Anodyne 2’ se vuelve más trasgresor y sorprendente con cada paso que das, hasta el punto de no saber qué tipo de juego tienes en tus manos. Y lo mejor es que todo tiene sentido, dentro de lo raruno que resulta todo a gran escala.

‘Anodyne 2’ es un juego que merece la pena probar una vez en la vida, aunque los focos (y el éxito) hayan ido a parar en otras partes, y se puede disfrutar perfectamente sin haber tocado el primero. No será para todo el mundo, pero quienes abran su corazón a Nova, la purificadora, igual encuentran algo bien especial que preservar en su adentro.

One of Anodyne 2’s driving forces in engaging its players is its unapologetic absurdity. Designed to be half a Link’s Awakening dungeon crawler and half a polygonal Playstation 1 creepypasta fan-fic come to life, Anodyne 2 barrages you with flowery dialogue and abstract imagery right up front and it does it so intensely that the you’ll go from “oh wow, I don’t know if I can take however-many-hours of this nonsense” to “alright, it know what it’s doing, I’m here for this” all in the span of a tutorial.

The first Anodyne conveyed its abstract themes through pixelated madness in its explorative overworld that takes inspiration from games like Link’s Awakening, however the sequel (which has nothing to do with the first) brings its overworld into a 64-bit 3D realm. Jump, run and drive around the crudely designed terrain of New Theland in a strangely nostalgic, and surprisingly endearing addition to its own formula.

The 3D overworld is solely designed for exploration and advancing the story so you won’t find much challenge there (you have no health meter here) but it is an absolute joy to just gaze upon the low rez textures pasted on nonsensical buildings or meeting the absurdly designed denizens that don’t seem to obey any sensible notion of anatomy. You’ll also find yourself trying to see what any of these adorable abominations have to say in their clever sometimes 4th-wall breaking, sometimes existential-crisis-inducing but always world building banter.

It’s here with the NPCs that you’ll be able to delve into the true action of the game. By entering the shrinking down to size and entering the psyches of certain characters, the game takes the 2D dungeon levels from the first game and works them into the main puzzles of the game that act as ever evolving combat areas and obstacles that don’t stop coming until the very end. It may the super simple premise of just vacuuming up objects, shooting objects out of your nano cleaner and attack enemies with stars.

Not only are you treated to most of the gameplay variety found in the game in these areas but you get to really experience the stories of some of these NPCs and understand the dilemmas they are going to in their personal lives that caused them to be so corrupted by the dust.

And dust is the flowing theme of the game’s story. Just as you sucked up dust in the original game, Anodyne 2 embeds its entire lore in the idea of dust and how it creeps into every nook and cranny with the sole purpose of corrupting everything in the world of New Theland. And you are Nova, a creature born of an egg with the nurtured purpose of cleaning the world of the dust. Nova is sent to fulfill this purpose by The Center, the origin of everything, as well as the Glandilock Seed attached to her very self and fills her with the urge to destroy the dust.

While there are a few inconsistencies with the story as well as a player choice at the end that really misses the mark, it is a pleasant and wholesome coming-of-age story focused on being able to follow one’s own path amidst staggering peer pressure and expectations.

Anodyne 2 offers just enough quiet absurdity to its story as well as enough puzzle elements to keep the player engaged all the way through its 12 hour playthrough. With a game that looks as crude and janky as it does, it runs surprisingly well and his held together solidly. Not to mention the devs weren’t afraid to get too weird or existential with its story and gameplay elements and some of the scenarios are must-plays. If you choose to play through Return to Dust you’re into one of the most endearingly weird gaming experiences of the last year or so.

I'd put off Anodyne 2 for long enough. Sephonie was one of my favorite games I'd ever played, Anodyne had a bunch of really fun moments, EtO had the best core gameplay of any of the Analgesic games, and even All Our Asias proved meaningful w/o any inherently fun aspects. No matter what, I felt that Anodyne 2 was going to be disappointing to me, as I had envisioned it as one of my favorite games ever before even playing it.

It was better than I really thought it could be.

Gameplay is pretty simple, with some fun platforming and a slight expansion of Anodyne 1's 2d sections, both of which mostly serve as a method to experience the true joy of the game - the music, visuals, and characters that make up each of the game's lovely locations. So many places in this game will forever be seared into my memory, as each place feels so distinct and so foreign - while also being instantly nostalgic, something accomplished through both 'beautiful ps2 but better' graphics, as well as one of my favorite soundtracks from any game ever.

But despite all the praise I just gave, the part of this game I can't stop thinking about is the writing. It was my favorite part of Sephonie, and lo and behold, it's my favorite part of its predecessor as well. It's ability to go from hilarious to sad to 'rethink your entire life' is awe-inspiring, and there are so many moments that you can't do anything but just pause the game and think about. Anodyne 2 is truly a special experience among special experiences, and a game that will be hard to displace as my favorite thing I played this year. And it's January.

10/10
Game #3 of 2024, January 15th.

It's been a while since I finished playing Anodyne 2 but the game, which centers around taking you through fantastical vignettes detailing beautifully written stories tied together by a strong central plot, continues to stick around in my head in the same way a nice song does (the soundtrack is also a joy to listen to). Even more laudable is how well the writing manages to bypass the more irritating genre conventions that other indie media from similar spaces often have. I think going in without any specific knowledge helped endear it to me, so all I'll say otherwise is that it's very, very good.

some of the writing especially early on comes off as overly twee earthbound-derivative shit a la undertale BUT the third act goes into some really surprising places, with some memorable sequences that explore when one becomes uncertain of who they are. and then its "figured out" nice and neat by the ending, which wants to feel revelatory but just comes off as whatever to me. im hesitant to say the game is not worth playing at all, but i wish its cooler aspects werent layered under gameplay and storytelling sensibilities that are the essence of "quirky yet largely unchallenging", becoming too comfortable with predictability in its conclusion when its much more compelling at doing the opposite.

e: kinda want to keep this review mostly intact to give credit to my disappointment with the game, but now i feel like i shouldve turned down the vitriol a bit, so ill elaborate and chill a little. if you asked me whether i liked or disliked the game, no in between, id probably just barely say i liked it, bc the highs, the parts of the game that feel outside the scope of the main story but arent, are SO high. the writing just annoys me w its preciousness often, and i feel like the conclusion of the game rides too hard on that writing being better than it actually is once you center back onto the main story. i know its part of the charm of its influences as being awkwardly written yet evocative nonetheless, but in this case i was left wanting by this game's central argument. idk. maybe could use a replay but im not confident my opinion will change

Middling Blaster Master and classic Zelda dungeons barely keeping together a shambling pile of misguided liberal musings on far too many topics. The player is bounced between scenes about maternity, capitalism, modernity, suicidal ideation, whatever, without a compelling or particularly confidence instilling thru line ever being established. The evil of the world is all encompassing, but in a deeply unscientific and nihilistic way.

I enjoy a lot of the style and intent behind the biggest swings here, but they always fall into the same hollowness the game desperately wants to criticize. Speaking to the evils of expansion and then doubling up on half-finished mechanical additions when the core tools aren't particularly well developed is so incredibly insincere. There's just no space in the game to meaningfully reflect upon the information and character beats presented to you. I would love to have played a version of this game with better management of duration and time which this release desperately needs.

Became one of my favourite games of all time about 5-6 hours in.
Beautifully written, filled to the brim with charm. Manages perfectly to be funny, unnerving, and emotionally charged all at the same time while elegantly avoiding tonal dissonance.
This is overall an incredible sequel to Anodyne 1 that improves in every single possible aspect and fixes all the small issues and nitpicks one could possibly find within the first game, letting the talent and passion of the developers shine through beautifully.
It's creative, it's genuine, it's funny, it's consistently amazing and it made me teary-eyed as I read the final blurbs of text in the ending.

Also it's subtly but unapologetically queer as fuck which nets it +.5 points in my book, so this is actually a 5.5/5.

I played the original Anodyne probably ten years ago at this point and have memories of it being a wholly unique and engaging experience, so it's surprising it took me this long to pick up its sequel. Anodyne 2 is also a remarkably unique, unrelentingly earnest, and deeply engaging video game. The way that it experiments with narrative, game design, fourth wall breaks, and so much more makes it a delightful experience from start to finish. It asks some thought-provoking questions without being pretentious, and does so in a way to deftly handle complex concepts with both humor and respect. It's also a game which is respectful to the player, making it a breeze to play through with none of the content feeling tedious. I loved this game and I absolutely need to play the rest of Analgesic Productions' games.

unfortunately doing very bad with video games lately! the early energy i felt toward them this year has dissipated into feeling like kinda a chore more often than not...which is not the fault of the games i've been playing but i think i need to do better at finding my niches

and this is not really for me...like, i've more or less been informed that having a history with this sort of game makes it significantly more intuitive and without that background it feels more like, tedious than inviting...i got stuck countless times and the solutions were ultimately arbitrary and unrewarding, but again, maybe that's on me for lack of experience

oh well, going back to the beginning to better understand what i want out of games...DS Director's Cut soon!!

The range!!! This studio always makes games that tell wonderful, nuanced stories about existing slightly outside of systems, but also: the games are funny as hell. They are weird and delightful and silly and cutting and satirical. Also, mechanically, they are super diverse and do a great job of setting up interesting elements, making you stretch your brain a bit, and then moving on before beating you to death.
And yet every time, I spend years agonizing over "am I in the right space to play this?" Yeah, man, they're excellent. You should be running towards their latest release, not letting them languish on a backlog.

This game is super underrated. Its ps1 retro atmosphere and sound design is strangely encaptivating. The NPCs that inhabit the world go from humorous references and silly meta comments, all the way to philosophical dialogue. The writing is amazing at creating profound encounters. The game also does not stick to one thing for long and changes mechanics around when you least expect them, such as the ability to go out of bounds although not required.

Great enlightening piece of work that encaptivated me into its world and troubled characters.

I had a lot of goodwill in the reserves heading into this, being incredibly fond of the team's other works. And as such I'm conflicted about I feel now it's over.
My top line take is that I love everything about this game other than playing it - the characters, story, music, a world that transcends dimensional space... but the experience is marred by hostile design choices and so, so many puzzles that got me riled up by their obtuseness or finicky solutions. Not to mention the backtracking, janky traversal in the overworld, and potential late-game grind if you aren't mindful of the game's primary resource. Also some sections are just agonisingly long.
The writing is again the star of the show here, but for such an explicitly anti-capitalist game, I didn't expect to feel so... alienated, I guess, by the game's design philosophies.

Good ending, 100% of achievements unlocked. Deeply weird in its thematic premise, Anodyne 2: Return to Dust is clearly a personal labour of love for the developers, following up on the original Anodyne with significant divergence in gameplay. Where the first game was a fairly simple 2D Zelda-style experience, this sequel takes place with an explorable 3D overworld, though individual 2D 'dungeons' are much more in keeping with the prequel. Anodyne 2 sees the player taking control of a 'nano cleaner', a being birthed with the purpose of cleaning 'dust' from the minds of various NPCs via an ability to shrink down to microscopic size - and the overall setting's surreal themes are very much in keeping with this unusual premise.

There's not really much here in the way of mechanical challenge and it takes until the final 'dungeon' before the puzzle elements move beyond fairly simple concepts, and the game would benefit from some greater variety of abilities, but what's here is decently enjoyable to play and exploration is rewarded with various collectibles - including several which offer 'behind the scenes' areas and commentary which speak to the investment that Analgesic Productions evidently has in their creation.

First and foremost, wow. This game has had a hold on me for the last two years since ive played it. I havent even been able to properly put my thoughts into words since ive finished it until now. Anodyne 2: Return to Dust is a collectathon done right. Without getting into TOO much detail your character, "Nano Cleaner Nova" is given the task to cleanse the word of this Dust that effects and "hurts" people by this organization called "The Center". And as she is helping people throughout New Theland, she discovers the truth behind the Center and the Dust.

And now that im done with like the general review, I FUCKING LOVE THIS GAME SO GOD DAMN MUCH! From all the diverse landscapes to all the funky and unique characters, Anodyne 2 has held a special place in my heart ever since i opened it up for the first time. I 100% suggest giving this game a shot because every single character has such like personality and i abolutely loved interacting with every single npc <3