Loved it! I was just fascinated from start to finish. I really enjoyed the writing, the design of the worlds, and the music. There are so many twists and turns and surprises throughout the adventure, and I'm really glad I played through it. The themes of purpose, expectations, and connection really resonated with me. I don't think you need to play Anodyne 1 first but I would still recommend it since it's also a good game and adds some more depth to the world. Anodyne 2 is a heartfelt and sincere piece of art with a lot to say and think about and I'm glad the devs put it out into the world.

Anodyne 2 is a difficult game to recommend, in one hand it delivers so much on the art, music and story department, however it suffers from a lack of polish, where the gameplay can feel a bit tedious at times and the story lost on what’s trying to convey in some points.

One of the strongest points in this game, it’s their art , they take the PS1/N64 graphics to a new level, using lights and reflections to craft some gorgeous landscapes that it can only be possible nowadays, not only that, but it also finds success playing around with other art styles as well. On other hand, the menus and HUD look crude to say the least, it lacks the attention to detail that they pour over the game world.

The and the game by extension, has this very dreamy and whimsical quality to it, helping the player immerse in the surreal world of Anodyne 2. Combine that with the landscapes previously mentioned, it’s a shame that the game doesn’t have a camera mode to capture those moments.
Another cool thing is that depending on the style that the game is using, the music will change according to that, it’s such a neat detail and shows the repertoire of the BGM.

With that being said, one of the toughest sells of Anodyne 2 is the , and while it is completely functional, easy to use and responsive, i found myself bored due to how not engaging the puzzles were made. It never challenges the player in any meaningful way, and there’s few to none moments where it was used as a storytelling device.

Being an open world game, Anodyne 2 allows the player to turn into a car, it gets the job done for sure and makes it easy to get anywhere on the map. It’s main focus it’s less about the exploration of the world, but more so to allow the player to soak up the atmosphere in the world. Personally I wish there were a bit more movement options like a 3D platform, it’d help to break up the pace from driving to story point A to B more, which in turn would offer different ways to engage with the world, without taking away it’s atmosphere too much.

Finally the of the game has a lot of strong moments that are very clear on what’s trying to tell, yet they’re so spaced out between what is essentially flavour text, where most of the NPCs will say something random and quirky, that doesn’t add much to the main plot.

Overall, Anodyne 2 is a game about , it’s not focused on delivering a super tight narrative and gameplay experience, but rather invites the player to explore its dreamy world, full with weird npcs, and a surprisingly emotional story in the end. I overall had a great time with this game, but you’ve to come with the mindset, it might have some bumps in the road.