TLDR - An excellently crafted action rpg with light Metroidvania elements.

ANNO: Mutationem reminds me of Eastward in the way it clearly draws inspiration from several other titles to create a unique experience from the melting pot - however, where Eastward struggled to blend its disparate elements into a cohesive world, A:M does a much better job.

Thematically, there are clear influences from Cyberpunk 2077, Evangelion, Nier Automata and Control - if you're familiar with these already, you will see various ideas in A:M that are lifted pretty much directly from each of them. However, the way they've been woven together is done well and makes them feel fresh enough not to seem plagiarised.

The gameplay experience this most reminds me of is Eiyuden Chronicle Rising but in a scifi as opposed to fantasy setting. For anyone who hasn't played ECR (another great game btw) - this means speedy, melee focused action rpg combat; occasional puzzles and platforming; metroidvania style exploration/progression; plenty of side quests; extra collectables for completionists; light crafting + perks systems and a very smooth overall gameplay experience with beautiful HD2D visuals.

My only criticism is a mild one - the narrative exposition gets a little dense towards the end and I found myself only skimming over some of the many readable documents in late-game areas because I got oversaturated with too much infodumping. But, these are optional so ignoring them doesn't affect the game, it just helps you understand the more cryptic parts of the story better if you make the effort to read everything.

Overall, an excellent game with gorgeous visual design and atmospheric music. I'm excited to see what the future holds for Thinking Stars!

9/10

An incredible mix of pixel art graphics and 3D backgrounds. One of the most beautiful pixel art i have seen ever. The gameplay is good, not superb but enough good. History is decent but no so good like another games. I love the game but it's clearly not a GOTY.

Overall I enjoyed the game. Cute characters, good atmosphere, great OST, and the story was not something I expected when I bought the game (not at all in a bad way).