A glowing, open door. An invitation? A necessity, perhaps...
Across conceptually abstract locales, Young's adventure is quite surreal indeed, with a subtle touch of malevolence – the 'something seems a bit off here' factor. The visuals and soundscape effectively contribute to building up an atmosphere which will comprise many hues and flavours, from lighthearted humour to seriously dark moods.
Anodyne's abstract narrative is in stark contrast to the game's straightforward gameplay, which is your typical action-adventure adhering to the retro formula - which sees exploration, combat and puzzles all taking place from an overhead perspective, with most actions revolving around the use of two primary items, a broom (your weapon!) and shoes for jumping. Oh, and there will be a lot of keys to find, but the main collectables are the game's cards which will unlock various gates to other dimensions. The platforming elements can be a pain when playing with a keyboard, and I admit this has led me to installing the game on my Android mobile device, which allowed me to handle the jumping as if using a gamepad. However, to say that this is Link's Awakening 2.0 would be a bit of a stretch, for while the game's mechanics are certainly old school Zelda-like, Anodyne would fit better in a category of titles that would include The Stanley Parable, first because of its experimental narrative steeped in metaphor, but also because of its rather unexpected post-game gimmick, which I won't spoil for you but suffice to say that I thought it was quite fascinating and it kept me playing for a while longer. Speaking of playtime, this game kept me busy for roughly 10 hours, which felt about right. That's 3.5/5 stars for me.
The world of Anodyne may just be a variegated collection of thoughts, feelings and memories, but if delving into and exploring a somewhat tortuous psyche doesn't sound unpalatable to you, then I would invite you to give this game a try... it may well resonate with you.