I didn't have much expectations going into this game. I heard about it when it was added to PS+ Extra and didn't show on the list. I don't usually play pixel art 2D exploration games, but I didn't expect to be engaged in it so much to finish it in one sitting.

I'll start by saying the premise is odd. You play as Young, who uses a broom to fight enemies and move dust. The main goal of the game is to explore in order to become powerful enough to face the Briar, and collect all the available cards in each area. So exploration is mandatory to finish the game.

The map design is great. The game has plenty of checkpoints in case you die. Luckily falling from platforms doesn't decrease health. The main hub area is called The Nexus and it has portals to 18 other areas in the game. Each area is significantly different from one another, especially with the enemy variety and the method of collecting cards. There are places like mountain caves, space, a hotel and a ghost town. You can talk to different NPCs and see their experiences. Each area has a boss fight along with it. They weren't too difficult, other than the final boss fight which took some thinking.

Anodyne feels like a fever dream that keeps giving, and it has a great sense of main progression that comes from exploration. I would definitely recommend it if you liked retro 16 bit 2d open world games.