ANTHEM#9

ANTHEM#9’s combat innovates in some interesting ways, taking some cues from match-3 and some from turn-based role-playing battles to create something new, fast, and mostly fun. I like how the two decks, their skills, the blessings, and unique character traits interact to allow players to deal huge amounts of damage and cancel out incoming attacks, if everything goes right. The world-building is limited, and there’s not much in the way of story to uncover as players push through the mission. And the presentation seems to be directly aimed at bringing in gamers who like the Persona franchise. Players who pick ANTHEM#9 looking for good tactical puzzles and strong core mechanics, will not be disappointed.

ANTHEM#9 delivers a tight, addictive puzzle-strategy loop that constantly rewards the player. The minimal storytelling holds it back slightly, but the smart mechanics more than compensate. An impressive solo project and a strong recommendation for fans of deckbuilders and tactical puzzlers.

ANTHEM#9 doesn’t chase mainstream appeal. It complicates the familiar, bends genre expectations, and asks players to think more deeply rather than just play harder. It’s smart, it’s stylish, and it’s proudly distinctive, which are qualities that will delight some and frustrate others. There are rough edges: the UI occasionally buries information you want to see, and the early learning curve can feel opaque. But these are the trade-offs for a game that dares to be smarter than its peers. In a climate that often favours easy accessibility, ANTHEM#9’s refusal to dumb down its systems is both its greatest asset and its biggest barrier. For strategy lovers, deck-build aficionados, and anyone who enjoys the sweet tension where puzzle and combat collide, ANTHEM#9 is a gem worth digging into.

ANTHEM#9 feels like a small-scale game overloaded with too many good ideas at once. It’s undeniably fun to play, and its audiovisual presentation is impressively polished—but why is there a turn timer or an oversized UI that often fills more than half the screen with text? Thankfully, though, everything else carries it to greatness.