Anomaly President Early Access Impressions: Running for Office, One Katana Slash at a Time

Screenshot: Anomaly President

I haven’t played a sidescrolling beat ‘em up meets roguelike since Absolum. And while that has to be a peak example of the genre, I can certainly learn to love again with Anomaly President. Released in Early Access a couple of weeks ago, I knew right away that Anomaly President had the potential to be something great. 

Saying Anomaly President is a hack-and-slash or beat ‘em up with roguelike stuff thrown in isn’t entirely correct. While Anomaly President is a great, fun action game with interesting roguelike abilities and the potential for some fun synergistic combos–it also has a management system and base building. Oh yeah, and you’re also running for president. It’s a whole thing. 

Screenshot: Anomaly President

Before creating the roguelike meets management hybrid that is Anomaly President, Phew Phew games initially introduced the “Anomaly Universe” with Anomaly Agent. Much more linear and more narratively driven, the hack-and-slash action foundation was already laid before Phew Phew games got to Anomaly President. 

Anomaly President released in Early Access, and that means there is some game development time standing in the way of “complete.” According to the game’s Early Access information box on the Steam Store page Anomaly President will be in Early Access for at least a year–maybe more, depending on community feedback. The first month should see some quick updates, with the roadmap (so far) extending through September and the promise of new weapons and new enemies–which seems to be a roadmap staple. If you want to get Anomaly President at its lowest base price, developer Phew Phew games does plan on increasing the price as new content and features are added. 

Screenshot: Anomaly President

But is it fun? I would say so. At least so far. The character movement feels like a retro Sega arcade game, which is to say: slightly weighty, but tight and responsive. True to its roguelike nature, deploying from the overworld kicks off a fresh run, handing you a clean slate of abilities and power-ups to experiment with. This structure naturally lends itself to high replayability, and discovering broken synergies to secure your place in democracy is a blast.

However, the current build does suffer from early balance issues—most notably, Ice elemental damage feels vastly overpowered compared to its Fire and Electric counterparts.

Screenshot: Anomaly President

The action doesn't exist in a vacuum. A successful presidential campaign requires a softer touch than a katana can provide–which translates to a surprisingly charming series of daytime minigames. Rather than dominating your playtime, these segments serve as excellent palate cleansers between your high-octane roguelike runs.

Furthermore, a campaign requires staffers. Instead of hiring traditional political operatives, you recruit from the local "Fluffy" population. These rescued creatures are put to work staffing the various modules of your expanding campaign bus—which serves as your mobile hub—effectively tying your combat victories directly into your campaign's meta-progression 

Screenshot: Anomaly President

I’m rooting for Anomaly President. It’s a fun indie title that is unabashedly itself, while also being fun.