It’s finally time for the West to get a new Science Adventure though. The last domestic release, the CHAOS; HEAD NOAH/CHAOS; CHILD Double Pack was actually the first two releases in the series and we’re finally getting the most recent, Anonymous; Code from Mages and publisher Spike Chunsoft. It’s been a long wait for this one thanks to COVID delays and a Japanese release that ended up being last summer. It’s finally here however and there’s plenty to talk about! First things first however. This review has SPOILERS. Not of the plot because that would be mean but the mechanics of the game itself are spoilers and give away a handful of things about the gameplay and overall experience.
Be aware that by reading this review, you will get a bit of insight into the structure of Anonymous; Code and by doing so, you’ll be robbing yourself of a bit of the surprise of the experience. Having gone in cold, it is not unreasonable to say that the concept of the game is fascinating and should be experienced that way. But it’s also impossible to review Anonymous; Code without talking about the gameplay so if you are a fan and want the true experience, stop now and take our word for it that Anonymous; Code is the best Science Adventure game since Steins; Gate, hands down. Just go buy it and you won’t be sorry, even if the character development isn’t quite as good overall and it doesn’t carry quite the same punch as Steins; Gate.
For the rest of you, let’s take a journey to future Tokyo. Anonymous; Code has you playing Pollon Takaoka, a ‘hacker’ with a heart of gold who only does his job to help people. He’s a teenager, but he’s got some skills and instead of going to school, has founded his own company, Nakano Symphonies, which contracts out work to help people by hacking. He’s eking out a living this way with his partner Cross but it’s not going as well as it could. Pollon is a noticeably juvenile protagonist with some very black and white views of the world but thanks to the unbelievable voice acting in Anonymous; Code, he’s not just likeable but ends up somewhat endearing.
Pollon ends up telling a bizarre lie that only a teen trying to show off to his buddies would say about a made-up girlfriend but things take an unexpected turn with Momo Aizaka showing up and absconding with him! Things go rapidly from bad to worse for Pollon and Momo though since the Japanese military is after her and it’s up to Pollon to get her away and find out what the hell is going on. Even all this doesn’t really give anything away however as the intro to Anonymous; Code is a high octane experience with Momo and Pollon ripped right from the story. This game is a hell of a ride overall and the storytelling over at Mages has only improved in terms of keeping things exciting. One of the toughest things about some of the previous VNs in the Science Adventure series is that the pacing lacked a fair bit. That’s not the case here and it seems like the adventure part is definitely the highlight, even at the expense of some character development. This is a complex adventure too, even if it seems like one of the most linear in the series.
Here’s where things get a bit spoil-ey. The game mechanics of Anonymous; Code are integral to the plot but it’s hard to explain what the game is like without detailing them, so let’s get to it. Skip the next paragraph or two if you have to, your choice. While Pollon and Momo are escaping from the military, Pollon discovers something. He can save and load reality itself. In fact, he can use the same save and load screen that you use for regular gameplay, leading to a complex meta-interplay between game reality and our reality. It sounds kind of deep but it’s not as deep as you might think since the Save/Load screen for regular gameplay is different from the hacking Save/Load screen that You and Pollon use together (surprising to be honest). Using save points, Pollon and friends can avoid certain failure or even death itself in order to survive and eventually maybe even save the world. Wild, right? There are even some strange save slots that you can’t mess around with because they’ve been meta-locked and are part of the plot as well. That’s something you’ll have to figure out on your own though.
Unlike other entries in the Science Adventure series however, this actually makes for a more linear experience. Because there are only limited pathways for Pollon and friends to succeed, that means that there are only limited ways you can interact with the game while reading through the story as well. Want to load and see what happens? Pollon won’t let you and breaks the 4th wall to talk to you directly. This leads to a fair amount of frustration however because saving and loading are key interactions in the game. Fail to do so at the right time and it’s game over. The game will give you some tips if you fail but for the most part, you’ll have only a response or two as an opening to time your actions, essentially forcing you to spam the ZR or ZL buttons in order to perform the right action at the right time and proceed in the story. It’s a clever idea that ends up a bit frustrating due to the unique implementation of the gameplay mechanics in Anonymous; Code.
That frustration also bleeds into the potential here for an anime or manga, something that has been common for the rest of the Science Adventure series. How do you make an anime about interactive saving and loading? It’s a problem that Mages hasn’t been able to solve yet, leaving Anonymous; Code as the only entry in the series with no anime or manga entries. That’s unfortunate because this thriller approach to the series is not only compelling but fun as well. Anonymous; Code is a great overall experience that uses some unique visual mechanics to keep things fresh and new. Key sequences in the game shift to a manga-style motion comic presentation, complete with word balloons, reinforcing the need for a manga. On top of that, characters are well animated with detailed motion and background, as well as unique sections of the game where Pollon is driving his gyroscopic-based motorcycle around in 1st person 3D and some other neat effects.
The overall visual experience in Anonymous; Code is easily one of the best in the Science Adventure series and Mages has really outdone themselves on this one, creating a complex and nuanced backdrop (one of the characters has a damned Astro City cab in their office…lucky bastard) that feels both realistic and sci-fi at the same time and the entire world looks and feels like an actual potential future. Such excellent anime-style scenes and characters really enhance the immersion levels in Anonymous; Code and make it hard to stop playing this 20+ hour (depending on your reading speed) visual novel.
The audio is no slouch here either though. Anonymous; Code has a fully voiced script for all character speech. That’s not just in Japanese either. You have the option of fully voiced English or Japanese, a first for the series and very unexpected! The voice work here is some of the best in any visual novel ever and Pollon, Momo, Cross, and the Cyber Dolls are all outstanding characters. Even minor characters are fully voiced, making this an immersive experience. Some VN fans are hardcore Japanese voicework fans but for this playthrough, we focused on the English voices and it was a truly great experience. But there’s always that one voice in these games that drives you nuts and in the options menu, you have the ability to raise, lower, and even turn off any main character voice in the game. The customization here is excellent, allowing for modifications of text and skip speeds, audio sync, and a whole lot more, really enhancing the game by letting you tailor it to your personal preferences. The soundtrack is no slouch either and you’re definitely going to want to give it a whirl. Composer Takeshi Abo has given it his all in this one and if you spring for the slightly pricier Digital Deluxe Edition of Anonymous; Code, you’ll get access to the full soundtrack and a digital art book separate from the game.
Not only is Anonymous; Code an outstanding visual and audio experience but the script is interesting and touches on a variety of conspiracy theory ideas, reaching both into the real world and the world of the Science Adventure series. There are subtle references to other games in the series as well, most notably Steins; Gate but it’s up to you to find those. Dedicated fans will definitely catch them right away though. The shared universe of the series makes for a more interesting experience overall and honestly, you’re just going to want to see what happens next in Anonymous; Code. That’s not to say the game is perfect however, as it’s definitely not.
As mentioned earlier, the Save/Load function creates a more straightforward and linear experience than say, Steins; Gate where answering Okabe’s phone at the right time and making certain choices in your responses had an unclear but direct impact on gameplay leading to one of multiple endings. Anonymous; Code feels a bit more led-by-the-hand than that game with clear expectations on how to proceed and limited windows to do so which result in game over situations if ignored. Because of this, the game only has two different endings down from up to 9 in other entries in the series. While that’s a bit of a bummer, the religious twists and conspiracy-based stuff will make up for it.
Sadly, the character development is also a bit lighter in Anonymous; Code as well. Pollon, Momo, and other main characters are somewhat fleshed out but you feel more along for the ride here rather than almost inside their heads as in other Science Adventure games. This seems like a conscious choice from Mages as the pacing has increased significantly and the balance between the two has shifted. If you’re expecting deep emotional ties to characters however, you might want to temper your expectations a bit as characters feel a bit more written and less organically real than you might hope from a Mages game. That’s not to say things aren’t enjoyable, but with a game with this much potential, it’s a shame that there isn’t optional character development and an expansion of potential endings. It’s definitely one hell of a ride!
For those of you with multiple consoles, it’s also important to discuss the technical aspects of the game as well. Anonymous; Code is being released for Steam , PS4 and Switch and we had the good fortune to experience both the PS4 and Switch versions of the game for this review. There are definitely some key aspects that should be addressed in terms of which version you’re going to buy for consoles. Naturally, the Switch portability is a key concern for many VN players. Unlike previous entries in the series however, Anonymous; Code is not touch contextual and touch controls do not work in the game. That means standard button pressing to advance the game and you cannot play without controllers. In fact, you’ll need them to control the Save/Load functionality in the game.
For the PS4 (played on the PS5 for this review), visuals even in 1080p are crisper with cleaner line detail and overall image quality than the Switch. There’s no question that the PS4 version of the game looks a bit better than the Switch version so if image quality is your thing, the PS4 is absolutely the way to go. Both versions of the game play otherwise identical and saving and loading is quite fast, so it’s more a matter of balancing portability with visual quality here. It should be noted that in undocked mode, the Switch OLED looks great however and the smaller size of the images mean that unless you have hawk eyes, you won’t notice the difference if your primary gameplay is undocked.
Anonymous; Code is a spectacular new entry in the Science Adventure series and even without that, an excellent visual novel on its own. At $60 it’s a premium price but you’re getting nearly the best VN experience you can for those dollars and while it might not be exactly the same experience as other entries in the series, it holds its own well and is a delight to play with a much more excitement-driven experience overall, at least as much of one as you can have while mostly just reading everything. In a genre where everything is typically slow and methodical however, that’s a refreshing change and with excellent visuals and creative approaches to storytelling and mechanics, Anonymous; Code is well worth your coin. The Digital Deluxe Edition adds some decent content for hardcore fans for their extra $20 as well with an art book and soundtrack, but it won’t be for everyone. However, the wider overall appeal of the game means that more players are likely to enjoy Anonymous; Code than other VNs and this is a title that you definitely don’t want to miss. Regardless of where you play it, Anonymous; Code is a standout title that will suck you in fast and not let go until the credits roll.
This review is based on digital copies of Anonymous; Code provided by the publisher. It was played on both PS5 and Switch (docked and undocked) using a 1080p 55” Sony TV and played equally well on both systems. Anonymous; Code is also available for PC on Steam.
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Nate Van Lindt has been a gamer since the days of yore (aka Commodore 64), and has played a bit of virtually everything out there. He's also an avid comic book collector, both vintage and current, and reads a fair amount of sci-fi and fantasy. On top of that, he watches a fair number of movies and TV shows as well. Oh, and he has a family, a full-time job, and lives somewhere in the urban wilds of Southwestern Ontario, Canada, foraging for old video cables and forgotten game soundtracks.