Armed With A Broom and His Wits: A Look At Anodyne for Nintendo Switch

What do you get when you combine Zelda and Earthbound? If you said Rainbite’s Reverie, then you’re right. But if you also said Anodyne from publisher Noooo you’d be right too. While Anodyne has a slightly darker look to it then Earthbound or Zelda, it shares much in common with both. Anodyne is coming to the Nintendo Switch this Thursday. I received a review copy of it and wanted to give you a glimpse into this unique game’s world.

Anodyne has a retro look that’ll remind you of Zelda a bit. It also has the humor of Earthbound.

In Anodyne, you play as a man named Young who is out to save the world. He only has his trusty broom as a weapon…

Yes, I said a broom. Right away, the humor or just plain oddness of Anodyne is evident. Young finds himself killing enemies with his broom, using dust to block laser beams or move platforms, and traveling to dungeons full of puzzles and enemies. Anodyne is one part Zelda, one part Earthbound, and one part something really unique.

The unique part comes in the way that areas are seperated and in the way the game is presented. There is world hub which you’ll see a lot. The area has portals which you unlock by finding teleport circles during the levels. You’ll find yourself backtracking to some areas to unlock gates with keys or cards you find and exploring new areas.

Anodyne is presented in the style of an NES, Gameboy, or DS game. The screen isn’t stretched and so everything takes place in a smaller area of your screen. I found this odd at first and then it became charming. Anodyne feels like an older game such as A Link to the Past.

I’ve been enjoying the game a lot so far. Some of the puzzles are tricky but none of them are too hard yet and its cool to see what you’ll find around the next corner. Plus the game’s characters are totally wacky. The dialogue in this game is very Earthbound-like.

Anodyne comes to the Nintendo Switch this Thursday. Please keep an eye on GamesReviews.com for more on Anodyne including a review!