Anodyne

A surreal Legend of Zelda inspired game where the player explores the subconscious of Young, the game's protagonist.

Mac

Overview

Anodyne is a top down Action-Adventure RPG with an open world. The world that Young, the protagonist, explores opens up as he advances through his adventure. The areas that he explores start off mundane but progressively get more surreal. Bosses must be defeated, equipment obtained, cards collected, and it all culminates in a final boss. The ending is open to interpretation.

Gameplay

The game plays similarly to the first Legend of Zelda, having Young travel between regions that are thematically different. Collecting equipment to bypass barriers with keys and different broom attachments. There are many barriers in his way such as holes that require jumping over, locked doors that open either with defeating every enemy in the room or using a key. He gets health upgrades by defeating bosses and opening card gates hidden across the worlds. There are multiple dungeons to explore until he reaches the end of his adventure.

Equipment

	The Normal Broom attacks directly in front of Young. Similar to the attack range a sword slash in different game would be. In this case it acts more like a lance.
	The Extend is one of the extensions for the broom that are found after defeating one of the bosses. It attaches to the broom and extends his attack further in the direction he is attacking.
	Widen is another extension obtained from a boss. This spreads his attack to the left and the right of the broom. Effectively this makes the attack affect 3 tiles.
	Swap is the final broom extension. Attack or defense is not possible with this selected. However it can swap any tile in the game making impassable barriers a thing of the past. Although it is only necessary for one puzzle near the end and relegated to secret areas throughout the game.

Regions

	The Nexus is where Young's journey begins and it is the central hub that connects all the different areas. Essentially it's a fast travel system which is useful since the game does require to go back to previous areas to explore more in depth. Sage introduces himself here and will periodically show up later.
	The Street is the first area where Young will find his legendary weapon a broom. It is also where he meets Mitra and Wares for the first time.
	It's a forest that surrounds a ruinous temple. Edward sits here and he doesn't mind the trees staring at him.
	The temple area is one of the first three dungeons Young can explore. Puzzles introduce concepts of using the broom to snag dust and place it as obstacle in front of traps. After the boss there's an impassable statue and a warp point.
	A grass lands place where he can have a talking cat, Xiao Xiao, follow him. This region is more of a hub to get to other areas. However he can ride dust clouds on the water like a raft which becomes necessary as time goes on. Mitra and Wares can always be found here.
	Another forest area but necessary to travel through to reach the mountains. Plus there's a talking bear with poetry and couple of statistics to share.
	A mountainous level with some vistas and a lot of ladders. There a couple of caves to venture into while battling back some unfriendly canines. There is one talkative dog though.
	The caves introduce platforms powered by dust. There are strange inhabitants that hinder his way but do no harm.
	A beach is found that opens up new avenues to explore. There's a fish humanoid with some facts and a little direction if needed.
	A portal from the beach leads here in this unsettling area with strange creatures. There are a few dungeon entrances that are mouths that he has to walk into to complete this space.
	Inside this dungeon is a mish-mash of differing organic compounds. Further inside he goes he will encounter unknown liquids and couple of tentacles at one point.
	From the grass lands area he easily finds this eternally rainy spot. Locked gates bar the way but the previous dungeons hold the keys to pass through. At the top of the windmill makes a few inaccessible areas a thing of the past.
	A sepia tone infusion of a nightmare. His broom is a sword and he can murder the townspeople roaming outside. The people do respawn but they will utter their last words to him as they lie still on the ground. There are shadow people that can not be harmed but will continually hurt him.
	Sepia town leads to a housing complex. Inside are new type of on/off switches to contend with. Most enemy encounters are giant bugs and Hazmat suit pest control men.
	An even more retro looking level that is actually a dungeon. Spike floors, pits, and untouchable zombies lead the way for trouble around here. Dead bodies are strewn about the place showing some dire decor.
	Somehow 8-bit land leads to this carnival of terror. Introducing speed boosts and trickier jumps than before. Lions and clowns are the main enemy cast in this area. Journal entries can be found that are from 1957 before a terrible accident.
	Dual Cube Kings reside in this trans-dimensional plane of existence. They are very existential about their duty. Other cubes communicate via hologram triangles to various effect.
	Abstract dimension space is connected to a Hotel. Young makes his way from the roof to rest of the building. Maids that hate when he cleans dust off the ground and frogs make up the primary threats here.