Anomaly Agent
John Wick meets James Bond meets Pinocchio
Why
- Nails the frenetic, improvisational combat it's going for
- Also nails the cyberpunk disco vibes
- Never stops introducing new mechanics
Why Not
- Feeling as cool as it makes possible isn't easy
- Maybe a few too many mechanics to keep track of in a ~5 hour game
Impressions
You deflect a bullet with your bag, use your shapeshifting bat to combo down an enemy, pick up their gun so you can unload it into an elite then throw it at them and unleash a giant robotic fist to clear the room. You are the coolest man alive, 007 has half your skills and none of your style.
Next room you block too early and eat a wall of shotgun pellets, then try a melee combo only to have the enemies combo you. In desperation you reach into your bag for a special move only to time the inputs slightly wrong and ineffectually flap it in the air as you're pummeled by attacks from all sides.
Anomaly Agent's greatest strength is giving you the tools for the first scenario, but its greatest weakness is not giving you the training to actually do it. Most of my fights ended up somewhere between those two extremes; taking some hits while pulling off some cool sequences, but bad leaves a stronger impression than good and unless you're a quick learner with a quicker reaction time there'll be plenty of bad to remember.
Luckily there's a very forgiving checkpoint system, some light platforming, an entertaining story and some great background design to distract you from it, making the game overall a great experience. I have a feeling if you have the time to sink into the "Rogue Agent" mode you'll eventually make it to the point where you're almost always pulling off the first scenario, but this game could've been amazing if they paced it in such a way that you found that groove in the main story.
Overall a short, entertaining experience which oozes style, right down to the protagonist taking a smoke break on the main menu & flicking his cigarette away when you hit "Continue". Definitely recommend giving it a shot if anything about the screenshots/trailers appeals to you, they're very true to the actual experience. Just be prepared for some frustration if your old man fingers can't keep up with everything on screen trying to murder you.