This review comes out quite a while after launch because the game (PS4 version) could not be finished up until this point. Prior to the patch following the game’s launch, there was a game breaking bug that booted me from the game whenever I tried to get on a bike about 1/3 of the way through. I did all the possible troubleshooting and reached out to the devs who noted it was an issue they were working on, so I waited until the game could be completed in its entirety. After all, the story was just picking up. I had a pretty good notion of where it was going, especially with the foreshadowing, but experiences like this need to be seen to the end before discussing them at length.

Starting up the game you’re warned that there are some scenes that can be hard to watch and may trigger some players. You’re given three options: play the game the whole way through, play it with the option of skipping these scenes, or skipping them outright. Should you wish to view it, Anamorphine even offers a detailed explanation of what you’ll see before starting, although this is obviously filled with spoilers for the game. I jumped in without the choice of skipping, as one of the reasons I wanted to play this was it sounded like something I’d be able to relate to, having gone through quite a bit emotionally, physically, and psychologically in years past. I went into this hoping to connect with what it had to offer.

Having played it front to back, I can say that from a technical aspect, this is not a good game. There is an option to play this in VR, but I played in standard view with a TV and ran into framerate drops so low I was wondering if the game was going to break my PS4 – if the VR alternative runs in this manner, I can only assume there will be a lot of motion sickness. This would be somewhat understandable if the environments were huge and lavish with detail, but they aren’t. Some areas are rather big, but the detail in those sections borders PS2 games at times, and early ones at that. So the fact that the load screens can take minutes (I think about 30% of my time with the game was load screens – some last longer than the scenes you play through) leaves me wondering about the optimization of the game for console.

For those unaware, this is very much a walking simulator, as the extent of what you can do is look around and move. There is no interaction required in this outside of looking at objects within the environment that are shiny. So if you are not a fan of the genre, I would not recommend this, even with its change of scenery mechanic that I love so much in games such as Layers of Fear. However, if you enjoy this form of storytelling, there’s something dark here that most games will not touch on, although it could definitely stand to go a bit deeper into it.

For fear of going into spoiler territory, I won’t be speaking about the game in too much depth, but I can say that for anyone that has never understood what depression is or feels like, this can be a little window of perspective. By no means will this lead you to an epiphany, nor will you be able to relate to those that suffer it, but you can catch a glimpse of it. The way the world crashes around you; the everyday things that become abstract; the worlds created by the serenity of music; everything is built up and then destroyed in a fantastic manner, with the use of the same environments over and over. Anamorphine showcases the relationship between Elena and Tyler (you), a musician and a photographer that sees the world through her eyes and must cope with what she’s dealing with.

The symbolic imagery provided in this ranges from subtle to something a five year old could understand. And despite all its problems, those I’ve noted and others such as the invert-y changing whenever you get on a bike which lasts for the rest of the segment, or getting stuck in the environment to the point of needing to quit out, I can’t help but think about the game after my time with it. It’s not that it has some profound message, and I honestly am not sure which scenes would even be cut from it had I chosen the filtered version of the game. Everything felt necessary, and having experienced all of it first hand in reality, none of it came off as offensive, shallow, or upsetting. Like I said, I had a feeling I knew where this was going based on a very early portion of the game, and it continued to give clues as you progress. Anyone that finds this to be unexpected probably hasn’t lived this, and for that reason I think people should give it a go.

Anamorphine is more of an experience than a game. And regrettably, at the moment it’s not a very good one if you factor in the technical aspects of it. The good news is that you can play from start to finish now within about an hour, and you’ll likely leave the game thinking about different parts of it for several days after – it may even change your outlook on people that struggle with depression. Experiences like this are only possible with media such as games, and developers should really take advantage of it to connect with others. Should future patches get this running smoothly (the gifs used in this all run much faster and smoother than my experience), I’d absolutely recommend this more, but in its current state it’s hard to do so. I’ve heard the PC version is better though, so if you’re curious, grab it on Steam.

5 out of 10

Pros

• Dark Subject Matter
• Transforming Landscapes
• Narrative Through Visuals

Cons

• So Many Technical Issues/Glitches
• Obtuse Load Times

Anamorphine was developed and published by Artifact 5. It was released on PC and PS4 July 31st, 2018 for $19.99. The game was provided for us to review on PS4. For more on Anamorphine, visit the developer’s site.

 

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