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MATO ANOMALIES (XSX)
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Publisher: Prime Matter.
Developer: Arrowiz. Released: March 2023. Genre: RPG. Other versions: XONE; PS5; PS4; SWI; PC. Posted 24th June 2024. By Shane Battams © 2024 |
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Mato Anomalies is a boiling pot of ideas, genres and styles, and certainly makes for a distinctive experience. It In attempting to blend together aspects of visual novels, role-playing games and card games, and wrapping it in a stylised, futuristic setting, the game could have made for a uniquely fun time. However, with these kind of genre mash-ups, the quality of each piece determines the enjoyment and, unfortunately for Shanghai-based Arrowiz, this is where the game begins to crack. Each component, while functional, suffers from a myriad of problems that see the game descend into a slog, and unless the eye-catching visuals really grab you, this sci-fi journey is harder to recommend.
The adventure takes place in the city of Mato, and follows Detective Doe. Initially taking on a case to find the source of a new drug called HANDOUT, under the orders of Lady Nightshade who uses forged documents as a bargaining chip, things soon get otherworldly when Doe steps into one of the containers. Seemingly doomed as his handgun proves ineffective against a monstrous creature, a bandage-clad shaman known as Gram emerges to save Doe. The job becomes immeasurably more complicated from there, and it’s up to Doe and Gram to use their differing abilities to get to the bottom of this mystery. The game itself is presented in a plethora of visual novel scenes with gorgeous stills and some more animated sequences which range from stylish comic-book panels to less flattering cutscenes which suffer some noticeable issues with lip syncing.
Combat is just one of the many facets that make up this promising but flawed RPG
Considering how key a role the story plays in Mato Anomalies, you’d hope for an enjoyable yarn, and it does indeed start promisingly. The setting holds potential, a Blade Runner-esque location (complete with giant holographic lady) which mixes futuristic technology with an oriental flavour that proves evocative. The characters are voiced well and prove distinct in their personas, and discovering more of their backstory through Companion events can be interesting. Unfortunately, the narrative itself grows increasingly convoluted through repeated twists, an over-reliance on technobabble terminology and a meandering pace that doesn’t really build into anything meaningful until near the end. It’s a shame, as the world and characters certainly could have offered an intriguing mystery, but the actual story just doesn’t deliver the goods.
Outside of frequent story beats, Anomalies offers role-playing that mixes exploration, turn-based battling and card mechanics. Divided into eight chapters, each sees you exploring locales in the real world to get clues and interact with NPCs. Sadly, there’s only a handful of explorable locations. Some are brimming with life and characters to talk to, while others are just static backgrounds for more dialogue. Once you gain a lead on Bane Tide, the demonic force, you then journey into Lairs as actions in that place can change events in the real world. You also sometimes need to persuade individuals to talk which takes place in the Mind/Hack mini-game. A turn-based card battle, you aim to whittle down their health while defending yourself, though with Bane tide proving a problem here and adding special buffs to the Host, it can be easier said than done. It’s a peculiar combination of elements, and it does create something distinctive at least.
Outside of frequent story beats, Anomalies offers role-playing that mixes exploration, turn-based battling and card mechanics. Divided into eight chapters, each sees you exploring locales in the real world to get clues and interact with NPCs. Sadly, there’s only a handful of explorable locations. Some are brimming with life and characters to talk to, while others are just static backgrounds for more dialogue. Once you gain a lead on Bane Tide, the demonic force, you then journey into Lairs as actions in that place can change events in the real world. You also sometimes need to persuade individuals to talk which takes place in the Mind/Hack mini-game. A turn-based card battle, you aim to whittle down their health while defending yourself, though with Bane tide proving a problem here and adding special buffs to the Host, it can be easier said than done. It’s a peculiar combination of elements, and it does create something distinctive at least.
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Unfortunately, the dungeon crawling is let down by lacklustre designs and drab backgrounds, with each sporting basic pathways and rigid design that offers meagre exploration. Combat placement is completely static, as monsters are held in one place and cannot be ambushed. Battles themselves are functional but are let down by uninspired monster design and frustrating difficulty spikes, especially when some of the bosses can one-hit kill you. Every chapter bears only a handful of unique monster designs, and though they aim to capture an otherworldly vibe a la Persona, the results typically fail to intimidate. Grinding becomes a necessity as you progress, and while you can open Random Lairs to explore more and fight monsters, progression and levelling feels so slow that it grows tiring. While you can lower the difficulty to Easy to mitigate this, it doesn’t stop dungeon crawling from becoming a chore long before completion.
Mind/Hack suffers its own woes. It certainly isn’t lacking depth, with a myriad of demons which offer buffs to overcome, decks themed after party members with their own perks and plenty of experimentation available. Sadly, much like combat, difficulty spikes rear their ugly head, proving particularly severe early on. Potent demons see the Host taking multiple attack turns against you with little chance for defence, negating damage until you defeat them or even randomising your attack, which can quickly ruin a strategy. It seems like the developers sensed how unbalanced this mode was as, after succumbing to defeat three times in a row, you can opt to skip the sequence altogether. Many of the side quests consist of Mind/Hacks, so those wanting to fully explore this game might find themselves running into a brick wall sharpish.
Mind/Hack suffers its own woes. It certainly isn’t lacking depth, with a myriad of demons which offer buffs to overcome, decks themed after party members with their own perks and plenty of experimentation available. Sadly, much like combat, difficulty spikes rear their ugly head, proving particularly severe early on. Potent demons see the Host taking multiple attack turns against you with little chance for defence, negating damage until you defeat them or even randomising your attack, which can quickly ruin a strategy. It seems like the developers sensed how unbalanced this mode was as, after succumbing to defeat three times in a row, you can opt to skip the sequence altogether. Many of the side quests consist of Mind/Hacks, so those wanting to fully explore this game might find themselves running into a brick wall sharpish.
It adds up to quite a mixed bag, but if you can find enjoyment from Mato Anomalies, there’s a decent chunk of content here. A thorough playthrough will take 50 hours or more, as plentiful side quests pop up throughout most chapters. There are some interesting stories, though a reliance on the same handful of character stills for different people can result in the storytelling feeling somewhat disjointed. You also unlock something of an endless mode, where you can go through multiple floors while earning unique loot and powering up abilities for this specific mode. How much all this ancillary content is worthwhile, will naturally depend on your tolerance for the myriad of flaws within this game.
Mato Anomalies proves a distinctive yet flawed mix of genres and styles, and unfortunately these issues ultimately negate the pros. The visuals are eye-catching and the world itself is promising, but the narrative fails to make good on this and, by the end, descends into a convoluted. If the gameplay held its end of the bargain, this could have been forgivable, but repetitive dungeon crawling and unbalanced card combat turn the game into a slog. If you find the style and gameplay genres appealling, a cheap purchase still might yield some value. For everyone else, this role-playing game is harder to recommend.
Mato Anomalies proves a distinctive yet flawed mix of genres and styles, and unfortunately these issues ultimately negate the pros. The visuals are eye-catching and the world itself is promising, but the narrative fails to make good on this and, by the end, descends into a convoluted. If the gameplay held its end of the bargain, this could have been forgivable, but repetitive dungeon crawling and unbalanced card combat turn the game into a slog. If you find the style and gameplay genres appealling, a cheap purchase still might yield some value. For everyone else, this role-playing game is harder to recommend.
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VERDICT
"Despite eye-catching visuals and a promising world, Mato Anomalies is let down by an increasingly convoluted story, repetitive dungeon crawling and unbalanced card combat, turning the game into a slog." OVERALL: 5/10 |
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