Masters of Anima

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. Video Chums
    May 10, 2018
    90
    Masters of Anima caught me completely off guard but in a very good way. It controls fabulously considering how much is going on, the challenge level is accessible but far from easy, levels are fun to explore, and the combat is a joy to master.
  2. Games Master UK
    Apr 19, 2018
    85
    Wizardly nonsense aside, this is one of the defter real-time strategy games we've ever played with a pad. [May 2018, p.85]
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  3. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    May 21, 2018
    80
    Beneath this modest exterior lies an absorbing adventure. Its endearing narrative will draw you in and its superb fusion of action and tactics will keep you hooked. [June 2018, p.96]
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  5. DarkStation
    May 14, 2018
    80
    Master of Anima has pleasantly surprised me. It's a great real-time tactical game at the core, merged brilliantly with action-adventure elements, resulting in a very delightful gaming experience. The gameplay is immersive, challenging and fun. It's a solid choice for strategy/adventure fans everywhere.
  6. Wccftech
    Apr 11, 2018
    80
    A beautiful game with a simple, engrossing theme running throughout it all. You might think you've seen something like Masters of Anima before, but it has more to offer than it would seem at first glance.
  7. Trusted Reviews
    Apr 10, 2018
    80
    It isn’t exactly new or original, but Masters of Anima deserves to be a sleeper hit. It’s a fun, polished fantasy riff on Pikmin, with the sort of visual style that made the Torchlight games so charming. Well-paced, thrilling and full of heart, this little gem comes warmly recommended.
  8. Everyeye.it
    Apr 10, 2018
    80
    A very solid action game.
  9. Multiplayer.it
    Apr 10, 2018
    80
    ​Masters of Anima is a funny and appealing game but it has a bunch of control flaws.
  10. DualShockers
    Apr 9, 2018
    80
    This niche of the RTS genre isn’t often catered-to outside of the Pikmin series, so it’s nice to see these developers branch out and be successful.
  11. Jeuxvideo.com
    Jun 3, 2018
    75
    Don't be fooled! Masters of Anima is far more technical than it appears. Combat appears like a game of chess. You'll need a solid knowledge of what your units may do in order to place them wisely and win.
  12. JeuxActu
    Apr 19, 2018
    75
    Don't let Masters of Anima's looks deceive you as it is a true strategy games which offers a strong challenge that will test players to their limits. The gameplay is very good and the only drawback are some difficulty spikes that go from a true challenge to outright frustrating.
  13. Vandal
    Apr 11, 2018
    75
    It isn't particularly deep or complex, but considering the lack of RTS on consoles, Masters of Anima can be a good choice.
  14. PlayStation LifeStyle
    Apr 9, 2018
    75
    Masters of Anima is for those who love to multitask. Ordering various groups of guardians to attack multiple groups of enemies while also moving around, dodging attacks and performing combos can make for a very hectic game. But for those who live for the thrill of a job well done amidst a bunch of chaos, Masters of Anima was made for them.

Awards & Rankings

95
#95 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2018

User Reviews

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User Score
5.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 16 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 16
  3. Negative: 7 out of 16
  1. turansoylu
    Sep 17, 2020
    9
    Güzel bulmacamsı bi serüven, her bölümde üç dört boss, 'guardian' isimli büyücü, asker ve devlerden oluşan çete gibi bir parti... Üç gündeGüzel bulmacamsı bi serüven, her bölümde üç dört boss, 'guardian' isimli büyücü, asker ve devlerden oluşan çete gibi bir parti... Üç günde başından kalkmak istemeden tek solukta bitirdim. Gayet başarılı.… Full Review »
  2. tadnid
    Jun 27, 2020
    10
    This is a brilliant game, I totally fell in love with it. You play as Otto, a kind of summoner (technically a shaper) on a mission to save theThis is a brilliant game, I totally fell in love with it. You play as Otto, a kind of summoner (technically a shaper) on a mission to save the world and your betrothed ! Classic story, but the world you explore is very beautiful, feels like Moana somehow, paired with a calm soothing music.

    The gameplay consists of some simple puzzles, but the main interest is in battles. You can summon different types of "guardians" to attack the enemy, and you can attack yourself using your staff. You gain experience as you win battles (and puzzles), this helps you reinforce your skill tree both on personal skills and guardians skills. Concerning personal skills, these are mostly for your constitution/melee damage, and more importantly battle cries to boost your guardians. You (Otto) has no magic, only melee attack. You have no equipment. You can reset your skills distribution at any time. This dungeon crawler is very special in that it's pretty tactical. Each enemy will require a special strategy to win, especially on later levels. The difficulty can indeed seem infuriating later on, but I always found that by varying the composition of my team of summons, I eventually kicked the boss' ass. Other times I had fun just spamming the guy with tons of melee fighters and fighting with them, cornering the guy without mercy.

    You will need to stay alert in battles if you want to win good victories (there is a rank). You have to move your troops when in danger, strike when you find an opening, and so on.

    I beat the game in a rather completionist fashion in 13 hours, on Normal difficulty. This may seem a bit short, but I'm satisfied, and keep in mind this game is not expensive. Perfectionists can always beat the game again on Hard. Collectibles places are not contrived, and they are useful so you are encouraged to gather them. Trophy hunters will be pleased that although I'm not a hunter myself, there are only 2 hidden I have left, so getting a platinum is doable.

    Lastly, I found you can play the game perfectly fine with the PS4 controllers, you'll get a bit confused at first, but then everything becomes very intuitive; no need for mouse/keyboard as another review suggested.    … Full Review »
  3. GBG_Jason
    Jun 1, 2018
    6
    I remember my first time ever seeing an Xbox 360 at my friend’s house in high school. It didn’t really impress me all that much, although II remember my first time ever seeing an Xbox 360 at my friend’s house in high school. It didn’t really impress me all that much, although I was intrigued by the achievements that popped up while playing games. After graduation I went over to his place and saw the seemingly Pikmin inspired Overlord, a game where you play as a warrior that commands a horde of minions. Admittedly, it was one of those games that watching someone else play made me think I’d hate it. Of course these are the types of games that usually end up being quite a bit of fun when given the chance.

    Masters of Anima is a new entry into this sub-genre of RTS, with a newly graduated shaper that can use the world’s energy source (anima) to create different types of guardians to assist in battle. This resource is limited and Otto (you) can only carry so much at a time. Going through the levels you will be able to stray off the beaten path to solve little puzzles and use anima to gain pieces to enhance your storage space. It’s vital that you find as many of these as possible, as the game is far from kind once you get past the opening. It’s also important to choose the proper upgrades between levels, as these can seemingly make or break your progression.

    Starting the game you are given control of protectors, which are essentially your tanks in battle. You’ll have large amounts of these shielded characters and will use them generously while battling golems. The game is pretty manageable at this point, as you will attack, spawn, and use your battle cry at the opportune moment to knock over golems for extra damage with no fear of taking any yourself. However, once you acquire the sentinels, your archers, things become a bit more complicated, and continue to do so after you unlock more characters. As these classes don’t have any sort of AI outside of following your commands, they’ll sit around and die if you don’t direct them to safety. You may be thinking you’ll just grab everyone at once and keep them out of the line of fire, but the game adds in an extra timed factor in the enemy rage bar. Once the bar is depleted, all hell is brought down upon you, making the battle more difficult than it already is. Eventually it becomes impossible to win. While Otto is fully capable of attacking himself, time is your biggest enemy once you run out of anima in a fight.

    The gameplay loop is not what I expected, with wandering around the map and minor puzzle solving to what almost seems like a boss fight each time you face an encounter. None of the battles really allow for you to relax and button mash, and even more so when you get to the final portion of a level. This is hardly a bad thing, as I want to be engaged in the games I play, but at times I wondered if I was as bad as it seemed at the game, or the difficulty spiked much higher than I anticipated. It seems to be the latter, at least in regards to using a controller. I love using controllers for games, but certain genres lend themselves to a keyboard and mouse, and the RTS genre is one of them. The only recent RTS game that didn’t make me want to play on a keyboard and mouse was Tooth and Tail.

    Story wise, the game is pretty straightforward. Opposed to Otto feeling the need to save the world, he is set on saving his fiancée from the clutches of evil. When told that everyone’s existence is at stake, he only replies in a nonchalant manner, stating if it’s a necessary part of saving his future betrothed, he’d consider it. Otherwise, he’s heading to a beach and waiting for the whole thing to blow over after he gets his lady back. The plot device is a bit weird in that the woman is portrayed as one of the best shapers to ever live, while Otto is a bit of a joke having not even passed the test during the opening of the game, but she’s sundered like she’s nothing and Otto is soon shown to have a special gift and must save her. It’s all pretty familiar, but it doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously which is nice.

    Determining what makes something like Pikmin fun is hard to do for me. It’s a bit like finding why Smash Bros. is so much better than Brawlout. They’re very similar in gameplay, but one has a special factor that makes it soar above the other. If you choose to play it, I highly recommend doing so on PC or hooking up a mouse and keyboard to your platform of choice. Masters of Anima is a fun take on the genre, but ultimately falls short of what makes its inspiration memorable.    … Full Review »
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