This is a tough one. Anomaly is a bit of a hidden gem...but also my brain hurts. Also some of it is a bit clunky. Also the graphics and presentation aren't always on point.

So TL;DR of a TL;DR: Buy it if you are okay with a slight lack of polish in exchange for a fairly beautiful brain-busting 3D rotation-based puzzle solving platformer experience.


+ Graphics: In the second half of the game, where individual light sources are carefully placed, there's a real beauty and variety.
+ Audio: Simple satisfying sounds, some pretty decent music, and nothing bad to speak of.
+ Story: At what cost does one value freedom at? Is freedom the end goal?
+ Controls: Functional, rotation happening separate from the controls with 3D triggers in the world was a good call.
+ Dialogue: Ano's initial reactions and curiosity to everything is very cute.
+ Puzzles: There are multiple solutions, and the game really ups the difficulty by the end.

- Graphics: The first half of the game is primarily only blue and has more of a flat world lighting feel with fewer particle effects and other sources of different colors.
- Story: While the execution is decent, and the story is more of a reason/backdrop for Ano, the premise is fairly generic.
- Controls: Never before has rotating something 90 degrees the wrong way been so easy! (This isn't 100% the fault of the game)
- Dialogue: Stop or something bad will happen! Okay, wait, NOW something bad will happen...I'm warning you!
- Puzzles: The puzzles in much of the first half to 3/4th of the game are a bit too easy once you grasp the mechanics.
- The End: No, not the ending of the game. The part where you think it's the end...then you have to do more platforming through a long hallway for no reason at all.
- Tutorial: I like a game that doesn't hold your hand overly much, explains through show, not tell, and action. On the other hand, I thought my game was broken for a while because it doesn't indicate in any way that it is normal at first to not be able to understand the dialogue/language on the walls.

± Holes: Not necessarily plotholes, but after beating it I want more explanation...or more appropriately, exploration of the story's characters and lore.


Hi everyone and welcome to this review of Anomaly 1729!

So Anomaly 1729 is a hidden gem, albeit perhaps a slightly unpolished diamond. If there was ever a sequel or a reboot in the far off future, let's say it is a title with a lot going for it that could easily be capitalized on. In Anomaly you are a humanoid...robot(?) with a very natural curiosity to explore the world around you. You quickly find that the world, however, has other ideas. It wants to keep you where you are, with your freedom and curiosity intanct. Or maybe it only wants to keep you away from the truth?

Well, the world does this by changing all around you, at first against your will. Doors close as you clear areas, new passages open, and you're often maybe not quite sure where to go first or if it's possible to get there. This makes an interesting parallel with Ano, as you the player has to have a natural curiosity to see more to drive you forward as forward is often...not forward, but in any number of places, and in all places. So the question in Anomaly, is where do you go first to progress when you have to go everywhere anyway? It's nice, because you are often left free to explore the areas that seem most interesting first.

As you progress in the game, you slowly get more ability to control the world. You can stop or start moving platforms, rotate them, or make something push instead of pull. Eventually this results in you rotating whole rooms and floors to your brain's utmost dismay. It's absolutely beautiful, but hard to keep track of. What was just the ceiling is now the floor. What is now the floor is now again that wall to the right in the room. And all of it so that you can get through that door in the left side of the room that needs to be the floor. Welcome to Anomaly 1729. The game that asks: How badly you want to get to the end while challenging you, teasing you, and inviting you in for more with it's intriguing story, simple and effective graphics, good music, and openly oppressive world ready to be conquered.

The graphics in Anomaly 1729 are simple, and I would argue effective...just not at first. Blue, blue, and more blue, with perhaps a touch of gray. Eventually you get to darker blue. To be fair, in that stage of the game, things are simple and you are learning by doing and too much variety would detract from your ability to do so. It also works well with the story, as you are early on in a more innocuous area. I challenge you to bear with it, though, as once the game opens up the graphics really start to shine, literally. Textures that were repetitive get broken up by more individual feeling light sources, there's objects and particles everywhere, the level design becomes complicated, convoluted, and labyinthine resulting in a much more diverse and beautiful experience. Later on, it even becomes more obviously thematic. The visuals do a great job of representing the state of the world and its characters. Word around the block is that it makes for a gorgeous VR experience as well, although I wouldn't know personally.

Okay, I'll come clean here: I absolutely love the sound the dialogue makes. I don't know why. It's just deeply satisfying for no other reason than some odd biological imperative or psychological effect/manipulation it was possibly designed to have. Moving on, though, there's not a whole lot to the audio of Anomaly 1729. The sounds are understated, concise, crisp, and then over. Again, this works well, as it leaves you free to think about the challenge and the world before you. That's not to say the audio feels empty or barren, although you may find yourself thinking that at a few points if you get stuck, as the music feels very dynamic and appropriately engaging if you pay attention but zen if you don't. The strength of the audio of Anomaly 1729 is that like the world, graphics, characters, etc. it all blends together to create a cohesive experience focused on solving the challenges and getting to the end of the world. So, how badly do you want to find out what's at the literal end of the world?

I am hesitantly recommending Anomaly if you want something that challenges you at:

Half price if you want a fun 4-8 hour experience that may leave you scratching your head or:

Full price if you are a diehard puzzle game fan, like gravity/rotation puzzles, are addicted to games like Portal/The Talos Principle, etc.

But for either category you fall into, don't expect Anomaly 1729 to have quite the same level of polish or big budget value. Anomaly does, however, very much make up for it with it's raw and free design that clearly has some heart and soul poured in.

This endorsement approved by The Reviewers' Union,
providing better standards for reviews and reviewers.

[h1]=================[b]TL;DR[/b]=================[/h1] This is a tough one. Anomaly is a bit of a hidden gem...but also my brain hurts. Also some of it is a bit clunky. Also the graphics and presentation aren't always on point. So TL;DR of a TL;DR: Buy it if you are okay with a [i]slight[/i] lack of polish in exchange for a fairly beautiful brain-busting 3D rotation-based puzzle solving platformer experience. [h1]===============[b]Pros n Cons[/b]===============[/h1] + [b]Graphics:[/b] In the second half of the game, where individual light sources are carefully placed, there's a real beauty and variety. + [b]Audio:[/b] Simple satisfying sounds, some pretty decent music, and nothing bad to speak of. + [b]Story:[/b] At what cost does one value freedom at? Is freedom the end goal? + [b]Controls:[/b] Functional, rotation happening separate from the controls with 3D triggers in the world was a good call. + [b]Dialogue:[/b] Ano's initial reactions and curiosity to everything is very cute. + [b]Puzzles:[/b] There are multiple solutions, and the game really ups the difficulty by the end. - [b]Graphics:[/b] The first half of the game is primarily only blue and has more of a flat world lighting feel with fewer particle effects and other sources of different colors. - [b]Story:[/b] While the execution is decent, and the story is more of a reason/backdrop for Ano, the premise is fairly generic. - [b]Controls:[/b] Never before has rotating something 90 degrees the wrong way been so easy! (This isn't 100% the fault of the game) - [b]Dialogue:[/b] Stop or something bad will happen! Okay, wait, NOW something bad will happen...I'm warning you! - [b]Puzzles:[/b] The puzzles in much of the first half to 3/4th of the game are a bit too easy once you grasp the mechanics. - [b]The End:[/b] No, not the ending of the game. The part where you think it's the end...then you have to do more platforming through a long hallway for no reason at all. - [b]Tutorial:[/b] I like a game that doesn't hold your hand overly much, explains through show, not tell, and action. On the other hand, I thought my game was broken for a while because it doesn't indicate in any way that it is normal at first to not be able to understand the dialogue/language on the walls. ± [b]Holes:[/b] Not necessarily plotholes, but after beating it I want more explanation...or more appropriately, exploration of the story's characters and lore. [h1]================[b]Overview[/b]===============[/h1] Hi everyone and welcome to this review of Anomaly 1729! [h1][b]Gameplay:[/b][/h1] So Anomaly 1729 is a hidden gem, albeit perhaps a slightly unpolished diamond. If there was ever a sequel or a reboot in the far off future, let's say it is a title with a lot going for it that could easily be capitalized on. In Anomaly you are a humanoid...robot(?) with a very natural curiosity to explore the world around you. You quickly find that the world, however, has other ideas. It wants to keep you where you are, with your freedom and curiosity intanct. Or maybe it only wants to keep you away from the truth? Well, the world does this by changing all around you, at first against your will. Doors close as you clear areas, new passages open, and you're often maybe not quite sure where to go first or if it's possible to get there. This makes an interesting parallel with Ano, as you the player has to have a natural curiosity to see more to drive you forward as forward is often...not forward, but in any number of places, and in all places. So the question in Anomaly, is where do you go first to progress when you have to go everywhere anyway? It's nice, because you are often left free to explore the areas that seem most interesting first. As you progress in the game, you slowly get more ability to control the world. You can stop or start moving platforms, rotate them, or make something push instead of pull. Eventually this results in you rotating whole rooms and floors to your brain's utmost dismay. It's absolutely beautiful, but hard to keep track of. What was just the ceiling is now the floor. What is now the floor is now again that wall to the right in the room. And all of it so that you can get through that door in the left side of the room that needs to be the floor. Welcome to Anomaly 1729. The game that asks: How badly you want to get to the end while challenging you, teasing you, and inviting you in for more with it's intriguing story, simple and effective graphics, good music, and openly oppressive world ready to be conquered. [h1][b]Graphics:[/b][/h1] The graphics in Anomaly 1729 are simple, and I would argue effective...just not at first. Blue, blue, and more blue, with perhaps a touch of gray. Eventually you get to darker blue. To be fair, in that stage of the game, things are simple and you are learning by doing and too much variety would detract from your ability to do so. It also works well with the story, as you are early on in a more innocuous area. I challenge you to bear with it, though, as once the game opens up the graphics really start to shine, literally. Textures that were repetitive get broken up by more individual feeling light sources, there's objects and particles everywhere, the level design becomes complicated, convoluted, and labyinthine resulting in a much more diverse and beautiful experience. Later on, it even becomes more obviously thematic. The visuals do a great job of representing the state of the world and its characters. Word around the block is that it makes for a gorgeous VR experience as well, although I wouldn't know personally. [h1][b]Audio:[/b][/h1] Okay, I'll come clean here: I absolutely love the sound the dialogue makes. I don't know why. It's just deeply satisfying for no other reason than some odd biological imperative or psychological effect/manipulation it was possibly designed to have. Moving on, though, there's not a whole lot to the audio of Anomaly 1729. The sounds are understated, concise, crisp, and then over. Again, this works well, as it leaves you free to think about the challenge and the world before you. That's not to say the audio feels empty or barren, although you may find yourself thinking that at a few points if you get stuck, as the music feels very dynamic and appropriately engaging if you pay attention but zen if you don't. The strength of the audio of Anomaly 1729 is that like the world, graphics, characters, etc. it all blends together to create a cohesive experience focused on solving the challenges and getting to the end of the world. So, how badly do you want to find out what's at the literal end of the world? [h1][b]Conclusion:[/b][/h1] I am hesitantly recommending Anomaly [b]if you want something that challenges you[/b] at: [b][i]Half price[/i][/b] if you want a fun 4-8 hour experience that may leave you scratching your head or: [b][i]Full price[/i][/b] if you are a diehard puzzle game fan, like gravity/rotation puzzles, are addicted to games like Portal/The Talos Principle, etc. But for either category you fall into, don't expect Anomaly 1729 to have quite the same level of polish or big budget value. Anomaly does, however, very much make up for it with it's raw and free design that clearly has some heart and soul poured in. [h1]======================================[/h1] This endorsement approved by [url=http://steamoss.com/groups/trureviews]The Reviewers' Union[/url], providing better standards for reviews and reviewers. [h1]======================================[/h1]