Anno: Mutationem
Anno: Mutationem
Développé par le studio indépendant ThinkingStars et édité par Lightning Games, Anno: Mutationem est sorti le 17 mars 2022 sur PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One et Xbox Series X|S. Propulsé par le moteur Unity, ce titre hybride mêle action-aventure, jeu de rôle et hack'n'slash dans une esthétique cyberpunk où le pixel art 2D côtoie des environnements 3D. L'intrigue se déroule dans une métropole futuriste proche, marquée par une catastrophe passée, et intègre des éléments issus de l'œuvre collaborative SCP Foundation. Le joueur incarne Ann Flores, une combattante solitaire surnommée Ann, épaulée par la hackeuse Ayane, partie à la recherche de son frère disparu au cœur de complots impliquant méga-corporations, groupes marginaux et créatures étranges.
La structure du gameplay repose sur une alternance fluide entre phases d'exploration en 3D — dans des lieux comme la ville néon de Noctis, un cargo ou d'immenses structures souterraines — et séquences d'action et de plateforme en 2D. Le système de combat autorise une grande variété d'approches, combinant armes blanches (grandes épées, doubles lames), armes à feu (pistolets, lance-roquettes), grenades et combos, le tout modifiable via un système de puces d'amélioration. L'aventure principale, qui demande environ onze heures et demie pour être bouclée, s'étoffe d'activités annexes : discussion avec un corgi cyborg, travail de barman, traque de criminels ou enquête sur un V-streamer, portant la durée de vie à une dix-huitaine d'heures pour une complétion totale. Une édition de collectionneur numérique propose par ailleurs un artbook, une bande-son de vingt-et-un morceaux, des tenues, armes et puces exclusives.
Côté réception, le jeu affiche des moyennes honorables avec 71 sur Metacritic, 74 sur OpenCritic et une note agrégée de 74,44. La presse spécialisée a salué la proposition : Noisy Pixel y a vu une « addition excitante et bienvenue au jeu vidéo cyberpunk » au contenu « étonnant » pour sa durée, tandis que Gamersky a loué un « gameplay riche », une « histoire tortueuse », des combats « fluides » et un « style pixel unique » offrant un monde « qui vaut le détour ». En revanche, une partie des joueurs a rapporté des problèmes techniques notables, évoquant des blocages progressifs (« soft locks ») réguliers entravant la progression, ainsi que des pertes de sauvegardes, un avis négatif sur Steam résumant l'expérience à « C'était pas très bien ». Le titre est proposé au prix de 20,99 EUR.
Médias
Avis des critiques et joueurs
Critiques de la Presse (Metacritic)
« ANNO: Mutationem is an exciting and welcome addition to the world of cyberpunk gaming. The amount it presents within the short timeframe is astonishing. There's always something to keep you attentive, whether it be the gorgeous pixel art, the enjoyable boss fights, or the deep narrative. Yet, ANNO does well to not overstay its welcome and instead presents a beautiful experience that engulfs you into a different reality. »
« ANNO: Mutationem features rich gameplay, a twisted story and smooth combat. With its unique pixel style, it offers a cyberpunk world worth exploring. »
« Excellent, punchy side-scrolling combat against diverse and interesting enemies is almost enough by itself to make Anno: Mutationem an easy recommendation. When you add in the neon urban sprawl of Skopp City, bursting with flavor and character around every corner, it gets even easier. An unwieldy plot and less than amazing script show that if the project was missing one thing, it was probably an editor. But none of that stopped me from thoroughly enjoying all the things it did well. »
« YEAR: Mutationem is an extremely fascinating project, divided between the freedom of its open map structure and the direct simplicity of its 2D action sections. »
« A nice action/RPG in a cyberpunk background, with a beautiful and unique personality, but with a plot that falls short. »
« ANNO: Mutationem is the classic half-baked cake: excellent in its premises, flawless in some aspects, but weak in others. »
« With its impeccable artistic direction, ANNO: Mutationem houses an animated universe that is very pleasant to browse for its superb pixel-art in 2.5D and its bluffing depth. Too bad the storyline it houses, though prominent in experience, is so disjointed and hard to follow. The experience makes up for it with a good RPG dimension and its correct combat sequences if not fully sensational. »
« As it stands, this is a tough one to recommend as long as the bugs persist, but it may be worth checking out after a patch or two to resolve the more blatant issues. »
Avis des Joueurs (Metacritic)
« It's hard to play this game without it soft locking on you from time to time which ruins part of the fun and part of your progress. Then add to the fact that there's no way to change the speed of text. Also, instead of the writer choosing to write characters based on real people, the writer just chooses to write them as tropey. »
« so i am writing this review after i couldn't recover my save game file because i was done resetting my pc and forgot about the file, i was already a bit further in the game so i don't know if i will ever play it again because that's my habit, maybe i will. when i first found out about this game i already fell in love with what it comes with, a pixel art game in a futuristic cyberpunk world, that's the magic recipe for me. from what i've already played, i really liked the mix of those two and how well done the game was in terms of world building and visuals, the game play was cool and the fighting system was also good and almost addictive. but, my only problem with this game was the story telling and events in general. maybe that was the reason for the low rating, maybe i was just playing the game in a time where i lost that passion for video games. i have to play it again so i can get a full experience because i really liked the idea and the concept of the game. »
« Это отличная игра, с хорошим сюжетом, приятным геймплеем. Но с одним большим НО. Играть вам предстоит за девушку в киберпанк будущем. У нее есть любящая семья. И верная подруга хакер. И неприятная болезнь. И вот с такими водными данными начинается наше короткое путешествия. Во время вашего путешествия будут, как и сегменты с боями так и просто с исследованием и попытками разобраться, что же происходит в этом мире. И они довольно грамотно сбалансированны. Вы не устаете от бесконечных сражений. И не устаете от бесконечной болтовни с хождением по одним и тем же локациям. Локаций в игре не много. Но они довольно интересные. В игре две концовки. Что приятно радует. Игра в псевдо 3D. Да тут есть моменты, когда вы можете перемещаться в любом направление обычно это города. Там есть несколько улиц, и вы вольным бегать по ним. Но в основном это типичное 2D. Боевая систем построена на уворотах и парировании. Тайминги довольно щадящие. По крайне мере на средней сложности. В игре есть простая прокачка. Она условно разделена. Есть прокачка характеристик персонажа. И прокачка боевой системы. Ну а теперь про главный спорный момент. Если вы играли в Control у вас появится много вопросов к сюжету игры. Он не скопирован точь-в-точь. Но видно разработчики либо вдохновлялись. Либо мыслят одинаково. »
« Underrated Gem. I was very impressed by how "polished" this game feels. In a time where so many games are released as buggy messes ANNO Mutationem is a very pleasant surprise in how nice it plays. Gorgeous art, characters, attention to small details, and an intriguing cyberpunk story and setting. An actionRPG that combines a mix of 2.5D hack and slash platforming, with 3D gorgeous RPG areas, this game truly impressed me. I also really like the pixelated 3D art style. Fans of NieR Automata and other cyberpunk genre action RPG games are sure to love this. »
« Really, i mean really underrated game. Beautirul visuals, great world and worldbuilding, amazing soundtrack, addictive ganeplay loop and pretty decent combat. Only minus for me, its that some of the levels drags little too long. Anyway, i 100% recommend it to everyone. »
« For my opinion, i think Anno: Mutationem should be recommended if you like a cyberpunk atmosphere. However, don't expect it so much, its combat didn't make me so satisfied. »
« Anno: Mutationem has a great storyline, graphics and music, the game put you in a cyberpunk atmosphere with its pixelated graphics and eletronic music, the main story and some characters story shows us how the future can be with tecnology and our lifes. But the game it's just this, the combat system is not good enough compared to the other points I've told. You can upgrade weapons and use them, but actually you don't feel rewarded for doing all these things. For me personally it's a great game and I recommend to play it, but don't expect too much from it. »
« Esse jogo te chama pelo seu visual, e eu tenho que assumir, o jogo é belíssmi, porém ele falha em alguns pontos que seu visual não segura. Sua gameplay é legal, porém, o sistema de evolução de armas e habilidades não é bom, e upar os atributos não demonstra muita diferença. A História bem superficial e é cheia de diálogos clichês que eu veria em um anime de 2015 pra trás. No fim não consegui terminar o jogo, mas, aceito que ele é um jogo mediano com uma estética que vale a pena tentar. »
