Anomaly President: president by day, warrior by night, and an art direction to die for

There are games you notice first for their looks, and Anomaly President is one of them. Before even understanding its deranged concept, you fall for its art direction, a colourful, adorable 2.5D pixel art that immediately makes you want to dive in. And the concept, precisely, does not disappoint: by day, you campaign for the presidency; by night, you turn into a warrior to carve up monsters. President and cyber mage, you had to dare.

The context

Anomaly President is an action roguelite available on PC via Steam, whose master idea lies in its double life. By day, you gather votes and campaign to reach the presidency; by night, you transform into a warrior to take down enemies, with the option to become a swordmaster, a cyber mage or just about anything in between. It is all carried by a colourful 2.5D pixel art direction, with designs as careful as they are endearing. A demo was already available to taste this improbable blend of election campaign and nighttime slaughter.

The gameplay

The heart of the game is that day-night alternation that structures the whole experience. By day, the election-campaign dimension requires gathering supporters and managing your run for the presidency, a more measured phase that gives a frame and a stake to the action. By night, it is pure action roguelite, where you face waves of enemies exploiting your chosen warrior archetype. That dual structure is the game's real originality: it blends two registers nothing predestined to coexist, and creates a singular rhythm where you move from political strategy to a sharp stress-reliever.

The richness of the combat archetypes feeds the replayability dear to the roguelite. Being able to become a swordmaster, a cyber mage or a hybrid of the two radically changes how you play the nighttime phases, and invites you to experiment with varied builds over the runs. Every night becomes a chance to test a new approach, refine your combat strategy and discover new synergies, which gives the game that restart engine proper to the genre. Combined with the stake of the daytime campaign, it makes for a gripping loop that pushes you to chain the cycles.

But it is the art direction that remains the game's greatest success, and you understand why it appeals from the start. The colourful 2.5D pixel art is a treat, the character designs are cute and full of character, and the whole gives off an immediate visual charm that clearly sets Anomaly President apart from the mass of roguelites. It is the kind of dressing that gives a game a strong identity and that, on its own, justifies lingering over it. On this front, the studio aimed true and delivers something memorable.

The game's limits lie in the balance between its two facets and in its depth. By blending election campaign and action roguelite, Anomaly President risks one of the two dimensions being less accomplished than the other, and the combat part, while pleasant, does not reinvent the genre's mechanics. The originality of the concept and the beauty of the dressing carry the experience, but a player demanding on the pure depth of the roguelite may find the core game a notch below its presentation. It is a game you love first for its style and its idea, before its mechanical richness.

The tech

Technically, Anomaly President shines through its 2.5D pixel art, its greatest strength. The colourful, careful art direction is a model of the genre, the legibility of the nighttime action stays correct despite the density of the fights, and the whole gives off a visual coherence that fully contributes to its charm. It is a game that clearly cared for its appearance, and you feel it at every moment, from the menu to the fights.

The technical reservations are minor and on the scale of the project. The transition between the day and night phases and the balance between the two registers may benefit from fine-tuning, but the whole runs cleanly and effectively serves its dual concept. The studio clearly prioritised the visual identity and the originality of its proposition, and for a game that bets so much on its style, that is a choice that pays off. The game's beauty is an argument in its own right.

The verdict

Anomaly President is an original, charming roguelite, carried by a bold idea, living a double life as president by day and warrior by night, and above all by an absolutely irresistible 2.5D pixel art direction. Its day-night structure creates a singular rhythm, its combat archetypes ensure real replayability, and its visual dressing gives it a strong identity that clearly sets it apart from the competition. For anyone who loves concept-driven games with strong visual character, it is a gem to discover.

Its limits lie in the balance between its two facets and in a roguelite depth that does not quite reach the level of its presentation. But in its register, that of the stylish, clever roguelite, Anomaly President hits the mark and stands out through its boldness and its beauty. You love it first for its style and its concept, and that is already an excellent reason to dive in. An art direction to die for, in service of a deliciously mad idea.

A dual-life roguelite with an irresistible art direction, loved for its style as much as for its concept.

Score: 7.5/10

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Reviewed on the PC version.