The world is filled with deckbuilders. Many of them are good but kind of samey, to be perfectly honest. Then comes something like Anthem#9, which doesn’t necessarily reinvent the wheel, but definitely adds a layer of originality. The (first?) creation of indie team Koeda is a confident, stylish hybrid of gem matching, deckbuilding, and roguelite mechanics – a hybrid that’s genuinely compelling. It’s tough, occasionally opaque, and perhaps a bit restrained in scope – but when your choices start creating sweet synergies between abilities, the gems fall just right, and the combo count starts increasing, it delivers a rush few puzzlers can match.
The “story” (imagine the quote marks being the size of mountains) follows three – suspiciously stylish – anime agents working for a shadowy peacekeeping organisation. They eliminate threats to global balance through…err, spiritual gem-based combat (or something), with threats being all kinds of weird stuff like easels with hands, bargain bin superheroes, megaphones, weird statues, and more. Now, if expecting something complex and full of deep lore, please temper expectations. What’s here can’t even be described as typical placeholder plot – and that’s actually good. Does Pac-Man need a story? No, and this doesn’t either. The narrative depth boils down to: “cool premise, now get back to matching gems,” which is definitely the point here.
A deckbuilder fused with gem-matching mechanics, each run begins with two decks, each containing three skills, with the two decks changing between turns. To activate the abilities on them one needs to arrange coloured gems that appear randomly on a tray, with each card having two to four specific colours. Backstab? Red and blue. Poison dagger? Green and red. A very important aspect of gem management is how you can “continue” from one skill to the next using just one gem instead of two, by using the rules of colour matching accordingly. Have spare gems? You also need to think what to do with them. Already, even before going deeper with the mechanics on offer, there’s a nice strategic aspect to this, as players need to think how to use their available gems.
At the start of each turn one can pick between an assortment of ‘Blessings’; cards that manipulate gems, buff the agent, or chip away health from enemies, and much, much more. As your run progresses from enemy to enemy, the agent will get the chance to improve the deck of abilities, but no matter how well equipped he or she might get, this is all about using everything at your disposal as best as humanly possible. Combat heavily revolves around damaging both enemy HP as well as their ST (stamina) bar. Break that ST gauge and their attack can be cancelled outright. Doing so in a row and disabling all two or three incoming attacks feels incredibly satisfying. Like telling the opponent “No, actually, you don’t get to do that.”
This is all about building synergistic chains that allow triggering multiple skills from one string of gems. Mastering the art of creating 15+ combos that flood the screen with flashing text and impact effects is pure dopamine. Just be prepared to “git gud” when a boss carrying a health bar longer than your country’s debt decide you’ve had enough fun. Oh, and be sure to think fast, as there’s a clock ticking while you move gems around. Note there’s no meta-progression here, which makes future runs easier. There are unlocks in the form of abilities or new (and harder) stages, but there are no permanent boosts to soften the blows.
If you lose, it’s usually because a build wasn’t good enough, or the mechanics weren’t understood correctly. There are a couple of flaws to talk about, though, which need to be addressed. For starters, some mechanics aren’t explained clearly. The way some status effects work, for example, and while described via some tooltips, said tooltips could be written better. Also, after several runs, a handful of humiliating defeats, and at least one dramatic sigh worthy of a Shonen protagonist, it’s safe to say that while very enjoyable, Anthem#9 can also infuriate. Even when the stars are all aligned, your deck is awesome, and your plan super-clever, bosses on higher difficulties have abilities that can ruin all that very easily. A little bit of rebalancing would be more than welcome there.
Replay value is where this shows its most noticeable limits. Runs are deliberately short, making it perfect as a “between bigger games” kind of experience. Jumping back in to experiment with a different build or agent remains fun for quite a while, especially when chasing the many achievements or trying to complete every mission with all three characters. Still, once the six-hour mark has been hit, most enemy patterns have been seen, and most abilities have been unlocked, there isn’t a huge amount left to discover. A few extra incentives, such as costumes, character-specific gimmicks, or an extra mode or two could have extended its long-term hook significantly.
What it may lack in longevity, Anthem#9 makes up for with its sheer style. Bursting with personality visually and sonically, the slick, Persona-like character design, jazzy combat tunes, and sharp, colourful UI supplements the coolness of creating chains of unrelenting attacks. It’s impressive how tangible everything feels despite the interface being mostly text and icon driven. Damage numbers morph into daggers that physically strike the side of the enemies, effects explode with colour, and the sound effects that go side by side with that are extra punchy. The result? A feeling of playing an action game filled with spectacle…despite this being a simple puzzle game where you just click on gems and cards.
