Image: Furyu Corporation

Update []: A small update - it's also worth noting that the lower-budget aspect applies to the localization too. All the key text is translated and subtitled, but there's no dubbing or translations for signs in-game, so you'll just have to rely on the (quite useful) in-game map for signposting. Welcome to the world of lower-mid budget anime titles in 2026!

Original Story: It's hard to look at games like ANOMALITH without sounding a little condescending, because this is a relatively low-budget game from a prolific but smaller studio (FuRyu, maker of many mid-tier anime-styled games), tackling the domain of much bigger, higher-budget releases. CONTROL Resonant recently did SCP-inspired reality collapse with mega-budget style, and Resident Evil Requiem had players juggling ranged and melee combat with limited resources in a haunted hellzone with the kind of cinematic animation budget only Capcom can muster.

Anomalith, then, feels slightly out-of-time. Like a PS Vita or mid-gen PS3 take on those popular concepts, viewed through a particularly guileless teen anime lens. And as dismissive as that sounds, after playing it a couple of hours last night (thanks to FuRyu for a key), I feel weirdly compelled to play a whole bunch more, even if this is obviously a stiffer, less spectacular take. There's just something about it that resonates.

When I say 'teen anime,' I really mean it. Weird space-warping anomalies are running rampant across the world, creating strange labyrinths full of monsters. A sketchy research and containment agency sends its entire crew of trainees into a low-risk scout mission, only for two survivors to stumble out due to a mixture of poor training and catastrophic mismanagement.

The survivors are hot-blooded 17-year-old badass protagonist Reona Minazuki (who has now manifested cool anomaly-based mutation powers) and an injured trainee who'll now act as her intel officer and hype-woman. They are now the entirety of the field research unit. SCP Foundation, this is not - these clowns are squatting in an abandoned building, and have one of their artifacts (the Doomsday Clock) sitting on display in the lobby.

This is not grim, gore-soaked survival horror. Spooky, yes, but this is a game about a gun-toting teen super-commando sent into monster-infested holes in reality to kick ass, take names, and scoop up massive amounts of loot to throw through a black hole connected back to the research lab to pay for more resources later. You're never going to run out of inventory space just carrying 2-3 guns, but all the loot piles up quickly, and satisfyingly.

In action, it feels a lot like the Raid modes in the Resident Evil Revelations spinoff series. More actiony survival horror, where you're focused more on efficient combat rather than counting every last bullet, and excess resources ger poured into levelling up your gear to do bigger numbers, with damage stats popping out of enemies as you pour shots into them, and a big bestiary growing as you encounter dozens of different enemy types. This almost feels like a dungeon crawl, rather than a horror game at times.

Reona has superpowers, too, allowing her to parry well-telegraphed enemy attacks of any size, and counter with big melee attacks so long as she's got the anomaly power for it. That power is recharged both by doing damage and taking it, even offering the option to sacrifice health to charge up. More abilities unlock as you get deeper, along with a lot of gun customization stuff. This is a power fantasy for sure, even if you can die in a few hits on Hard mode or higher.

It's been fun and charming so far, and nostalgic too. It really does feel like the kind of thing that would have been the buzz of the Vita scene back during that handheld's heyday. And here's the thing: Fun doesn't age. It's still an enjoyable time, even without the gloss or polish. But the tough calculus to be made here is value for money. With so many games around and so many on discount, games like Anomalith can easily fall by the wayside. Hopefully this one doesn't, though.

Anomalith is out now for £50/$50, minus a 10% launch discount until November 11th. The million (or fifty) dollar question is whether it's worth that money, and the answer is 'I couldn't tell you'. Yes, there are bigger, more polished games tackling similar subject matter, sure, but there's a weird appeal to slightly trashy teen anime stylings. How much that's a draw to you is entirely down to personal preference. That said, I can see this one being a bit of a cult hit once a couple of sales seasons have rolled round. In the meantime, there's a demo to try.