Anomaly President

[h1]Not Recommended — Yet[/h1] First of all, I want to point out that I [b]do not recommend this game YET[/b]. I understand that Anomaly President is still in Early Access, and the roadmap already shows that more content and improvements are coming. Some of the issues I have with the game seem relatively easy to fix, but others — especially the in-run upgrade system — need much bigger changes in my opinion. [h2]The Positives[/h2] There are definitely things I like about the game. The [b]minigames[/b] are fun and rewarding. I haven't really seen something like this in many other roguelites, and they're a nice change of pace from the normal gameplay. However, I can also see them becoming repetitive pretty quickly. Personally, I would rather have them at the end of a run as a way to earn bonus rewards instead of doing one after every boss. That being said, they're optional, so this isn't really a major issue. Another problem is [b]enemy variety[/b]. There currently aren't enough different enemies, so encounters can start feeling repetitive. However, the roadmap specifically mentions adding more enemies, so I don't think this is something worth criticizing too heavily right now. [hr][/hr] [h2]The Main Problem: In-Run Upgrades[/h2] This is where I have a much bigger issue with the game. The progression [b]between runs[/b] seems fine. You finish runs, get permanent upgrades, unlock new weapons, etc. The problem is the progression [b]during a run[/b]. You start with two weapons, and as you kill enemies you gain upgrade points. These upgrades can improve your weapons, powers, passives, elemental effects, and Fluffies. Fluffies are basically supporting pets that you acquire during a run. Different Fluffies have different activation conditions. Some trigger when you auto attack, some when you parry, some when you dodge, and so on. The concept itself is completely fine. [b]The problem is their strength compared to direct weapon upgrades.[/b] Early in the game, when I didn't have many things going on in my build, I was getting a lot of direct weapon upgrades. The progression felt good because I could clearly feel myself getting stronger throughout the run. But as a run progresses and you acquire Fluffies, passives, and other effects, your upgrade choices become increasingly filled with upgrades for those things instead. And that's where the system starts working against itself. [b]Getting a Fluffy can actually feel like a debuff to your future upgrade choices.[/b] The Fluffy itself isn't making you weaker. The problem is that once you have it, you can start getting upgrades for it instead of upgrades for your weapons. And most Fluffies simply aren't strong enough to justify that trade-off. Even the better Fluffies usually feel worse than getting a direct upgrade to one of your weapons. So instead of being excited about getting another Fluffy, sometimes I'd rather avoid it because I know I'm potentially adding more upgrades that I don't want into my choices later. This becomes especially noticeable at the upgrade stations where you're given three options. After the second boss, I've had situations where almost everything I'm offered is related to Fluffies when what I actually want is an upgrade to my main weapons. For a roguelite, this is a pretty major problem. [i]The upgrades you receive during a run should make you excited about developing your build.[/i] Instead, a lot of the time I'm looking at three choices and thinking: [quote]"Which one of these is the least useless?"[/quote] rather than: [quote]"Which one of these will make my build stronger?"[/quote] [hr][/hr] [h2]Powers Are Mostly Fine[/h2] The powers that use mana are actually in a much better place. They have good AoE, can provide i-frames, and generally have enough utility that getting an upgrade for them doesn't feel like I'm wasting an upgrade. Even if they're not directly increasing my weapon damage, I can understand why I would want to invest in them. Fluffies don't give me that same feeling. [hr][/hr] [h2]Elemental Damage Is Very Unbalanced[/h2] The game currently has three main elemental effects: [list] [*][b]Fire[/b] — applies a DoT. [*][b]Electric[/b] — works basically like chain lightning, hitting multiple enemies. [*][b]Ice[/b] — provides crowd control while also giving you a percentage-based damage multiplier. [/list] At their base level, they all seem fine and have different purposes. The problem is how they scale. [b]Fire and Electric feel extremely underwhelming when you start investing upgrades into them.[/b] Even after putting multiple upgrades into their damage, the result often feels like the equivalent of only a couple of extra auto attacks. Meanwhile, Ice can completely CC enemies [b]while also giving you a damage multiplier[/b]. So the difference in value between the elements becomes huge. Why would I heavily invest in Fire or Electric for relatively small amounts of extra damage when Ice gives me strong crowd control AND increases the damage I'm already dealing? The three elements don't need to do the same thing, but the amount of value you get from investing in them should at least be comparable. [hr][/hr] [h2]Fluffies Shouldn't Be Locked to a Weapon[/h2] There's another thing I dislike about Fluffies: [b]you don't get to choose which weapon they belong to.[/b] When you're picking a Fluffy, you can see whether it's going to Weapon 1 or Weapon 2, but you have no control over that assignment. I don't really understand why this choice is taken away from the player. If I find a Fluffy that activates when I auto attack, heavy attack etc., I would rather decide myself which of my two weapons I want to pair it with. Letting the player choose would give us more control over our builds and create more interesting decisions during a run. [hr][/hr] [h2]Food ?[/h2] Lastly, this might be something I've missed, but I don't really understand the purpose of the meat and kitchen system. During runs, you collect meat. After the run, you take that meat to the kitchen and turn it into food. Unless I've missed another use for meat somewhere in the game, this feels like an unnecessary extra step. If meat's only purpose is to be converted into food, why not just have enemies drop food directly? [hr][/hr] [h2]Overall[/h2] I think Anomaly President has potential, and there are things here that I genuinely like. The minigames are a cool addition, the core gameplay is enjoyable, and some of my current complaints, like enemy variety, are already being addressed according to the roadmap. But the [b]in-run upgrade system is the biggest thing holding the game back for me right now.[/b] The core idea of a roguelite is that your build becomes more interesting and powerful as the run progresses. Getting a new upgrade should feel rewarding. Right now, [b]too many upgrades simply don't feel like upgrades.[/b] Fluffies need to be significantly stronger or their upgrades need to be handled differently. Fire and Electric need better scaling compared to Ice. Players should have more control over where Fluffies are assigned. And most importantly, picking up new things during a run shouldn't make me feel like I've made my future upgrade choices worse. I want to reach an upgrade station and struggle to choose because [b]all three options look good[/b], not because I'm trying to figure out which option is the least bad. For now, I [b]don't recommend the game[/b], but the [i]"yet"[/i] is important. It's Early Access, the developers have a roadmap, and the core game has enough going for it that I could absolutely see myself changing this review if the upgrade system improves.