Reviewed on: Nintendo Switch

A rare example of a well-crafted RTS for consoles

If there is a genre of games that suffers from little representation on consoles, it is Real-Time Strategy. RTS games have controls that usually demand a degree of motor precision that only a mouse makes possible, making PCs a kind of fortress for games of the style… But from time to time a title comes along that tries to break the barriers that limit the genre and tie it to the PC. Masters of Anima is an example of how to adapt the genre’s controls to the interface available on consoles.

Story: 8.5

The game follows young Otto, a boy who has little interest in the culture or the study of the magical arts that the people of the world of Spark usually practice. Otto only puts in just enough effort to be accepted by society and thus be able to marry the love of his life, who happens to be a very powerful mage with an important role in the community. His fiancée, Ana, is in charge of being the center of the community of Shapers, the scholars and manipulators of Anima – the force that gives energy to living beings and permeates the whole environment, capable of creating Guardians, living constructs tied to nature.

The story begins with the protagonist completing the last rites to be a worthy citizen of Spark and thus gain permission to marry his betrothed… But on that very day a powerful Shaper betrays society and unleashes the golems, stone creatures that come to life and exist only to destroy and corrupt nature. With his fiancée kidnapped, Otto sets out to rescue her… And, as a bonus, save the entire world.

Everything is told in a quite charismatic way. Otto’s devotion to his future wife is captivating, and his lack of interest in preserving his people’s culture or even saving the world is almost comical… All of that is nothing but a consequence of saving his beloved fiancée. All the dialogue is voiced with great competence, with some quite iconic voices from the games industry.

Mechanics: 10

Masters of Anima is a Real-Time Strategy game. You control Otto with the analog stick and use buttons to command your soldiers around the field. There is always a cursor slightly ahead of the hero, which is used to aim those commands. You can select one unit by pressing X, a group by holding X (the selection circle grows progressively) or all of the same type by pressing X twice. Ordering actions and positioning is done with the A button, while B cancels orders and calls the selected soldiers back.

What makes the game dynamic and strategically deep is the Anima system, which is the fuel needed for the character’s main actions. At any moment you can summon more soldiers of a given type by spending one point of Anima, but you can also dismiss some units to get their energy back. It is very important to pay attention to which unit types are the most important in a given situation, and also to decide which soldiers to sacrifice when you need the precious energy to activate mechanisms, solve puzzles or trigger your troops’ special attacks.

Besides the complexity of managing resources, the game has robust level design. Each chapter of the game has a quite large map to explore, with numerous optional routes, hidden paths and challenging puzzles. There are also battle moments, which are surprisingly tense – clearly designed to demand great coordination and tactical vision of the troops and the enemy units.

Audio and visuals: 9

MoA does an excellent job in terms of presentation. Despite using simple, clean models and textures, the art direction manages to give charisma to the characters and beauty to the environments. This slight minimalism in the design helps in understanding everything that happens in the action moments, which bring a large amount of information displayed at once on screen and can reach dozens of simultaneous elements. The battles are always spectacular, with countless soldiers fighting, particles and projectiles flying and giant golems trying to crush Otto.

While the game has no standout theme, the soundtrack surprises with its competent work in creating tension and conveying emotions. As already mentioned in the story section, the voice cast is of high quality, with voice acting that helps give personality and charisma to each character.

Final thoughts

Masters of Anima joins the restricted group of well-executed RTS on consoles, alongside acclaimed series such as Overlord and Pikmin. With controls and mechanics that are easy to learn, the game quickly offers interesting challenges, whether exploring its complex maps, solving puzzles or facing colossal enemies in battles of great visual and strategic appeal.

Score

Story = 8.5

Mechanics = 10

Audio and visuals = 9

Worth the 20 dollars? Yes! It is very rare to see a good Real-Time Strategy game that dispenses with mouse and keyboard, and MoA is a work of high quality in every respect.

Overall: 9.2

Played on the Nintendo Switch version