Anodyne is a game where you explore and fight your way through nature, urban and abstract themed areas in the human Young's subconscious, evoked by a 16-bit-era visual style and a moody, dream-like soundtrack.
History[]
Melos Han-Tani began the development of Anodyne in March 2012 and met Marina Kittaka in late June. As they are both students, they have worked together on Anodyne since, in between summer and academic year responsibilities. Anodyne was released for PC, Mac, and Linux on February 4th, 2013, and can be purchased through the website, Desura, GamersGate, or Just Adventure. It was greenlit on February 26th, 2013, and was available on Steam shortly.
Story Outline[]
Pre-Windmill[]
- The next area is the Nexus where you meet Sage.
- The next area is the Street where you get the Broom and see the Follower guy.
- Next, you enter the Woods and meet Mitra. You enter the Seeing One Dungeon, defeat the Seer, and get the Green Key.
- This gives you access to the Fields where you meet Miao Xiao Tuan Er, Icky, Goldman, and Finty.
- West of the Fields is the Beach, where you meet Hews and accidentally murder a Fisherman to gain access to the Red Sea. You can also loop back to the Fields through an alternate path to meet Rank.
- The Red Sea contains Red Walkers, a cave containing the Widen upgrade, and the Red Cave dungeon.
- In the Red Cave dungeon, defeat the Rogue to receive the Brown Key.
- From the Fields, go north and east to reach the Deep Forest, where you meet James, Crickson, the Thorax, and Olive. Continue east to reach the Cliffs.
- While climbing around on the Cliffs, Mitra will give you the Jump Shoes. You can also meet a Talking Dog and a Golem here. The Cliffs also contains a cave where you find the Extend upgrade and access to the Mountain Cave dungeon.
- In the Mountain Cave, defeat the Wall to receive the Blue Key.
- From the Fields, go south and east to reach the Windmill. Using all three keys, activate the Windmill to open up alternate exits from the three dungeons so far.
Post-Windmill[]
- From the Seeing One Dungeon, take the alternate exit to eventually reach Young Town, where you meet and murder many Suburbanites. From there you can reach the Apartment.
- Complete the Apartment by defeating the Watcher.
- From the Mountain Cave, take the alternate exit to reach Space where you meet several Entities and two Cube Kings. From there you can reach the Hotel.
- Complete the Hotel by defeating the Manager.
- From the Red Cave, take the alternate exit to enter the Underground Labyrinth, where you meet a Hiding Man. Traverse the Underground Labyrinth to reach the Circus.
- Complete the Circus by defeating the Servants.
Endgame[]
- From the Fields, go north and west to reach Terminal. With 36 or more cards, defeat Sage to advance to GO.
- In GO, receive the Swap upgrade and solve the Color Puzzle to gain access to Blue.
- In Blue, you meet several gloomy Snowmen. Complete Blue to gain access to HAPPY.
- In HAPPY you meet several HAPPY NPCs. Complete HAPPY to start the final boss fight with Briar.
- Defeat Briar to complete the game.
Post-Game[]
See New Game+.
Reception[]
The game garnered generally positive reviews, with most praising the art and music, alongside the game's surreal atmosphere. Critics criticized the game for its irritating platforming and vague story.