Get Pulled into The World of Spark with Passtech Games’ Masters of Anima

By GeekyGamerGirl87

Developed by Passtech Games and published by Focus Home Interactive, Masters of Anima is a highly addictive and entertaining Action Adventure Strategy RPG; that once you start it, it’s going to be very hard to stop playing it. Sometimes, I usually steer away from these types of games, but I am glad that I did play it, because I really have a hard time letting it go.

I would like to take the time to thank the Publisher Focus Home Interactive, for providing me with a free copy of the Steam version of the game, so that I could write this review and for giving me my new guilty pleasure.

The story goes as follows, you play as Otto, a shaper who could really care less about shaping up protectors to protect Spark. He however does have a love for Ana, the Supreme Shaper and the rundown architecture of Spark. He is only becoming a shaper because he is betrothed to Ana, who cannot marry a simple apprentice because she is the Supreme Shaper and it’s against the law and tradition for the Supreme Shaper to marry someone who isn’t a shaper.  On a side note –because yes, I must point this out— I think Otto could do better. Why married someone who is more about how they are perceived by others than their love for another person?

Now that that’s been said and getting back to the story, at the end of his trials to become a shaper; Spark is attacked by Zahr The Banished who also sunders Ana (serves her right, hm.) which is a forbidden magic that causes her to split into three soul shards. Distraught about losing his beloved, Otto instead of doing the “right thing” and continue to protect Spark; decides he is going to go and search after the soul shards to restore Ana and get as far away as possible from all the fighting.

I will admit this is one of the main things that has me falling for the character Otto, because he does what he wants. In most games ,the protagonist loses their love and they vow revenge on said villain. No, not Otto, he’s like “No, I don’t want anything to do with Zahr or saving Spark. I want to save my betrothed and get away from here because that’s what matters to me.”

In order  to save Ana, you are going to need more than help from protectors. You’re going to need the help of sentinel golems , keeper golems, commander golems and summoner golems as well. Knowing there are more than just the protectors, you are sent out on your adventure to find these other golems and to save your beloved.

In terms of the graphics, the graphics are very stunning and beautiful. I was able to play the game in it’s highest settings and  I was taking away by how good the game looks. I also played in the lowest settings graphically and it still looks pretty good. I didn’t notice much of a difference to be honest. So, if you do have to play at a lower setting, the game will still look good. One of the things that I do like about Masters of Anima, is how it has a top down view. Normally, I don’t like games that have top down view, as it’s a little strange to me. However, the camera view did not bother me. In fact, the camera view reminded me a lot of Champions of Norrath or even Diablo.

When it comes to the gameplay, it plays a lot like Pikmin, but again reminds me a bit of Champions of Norrath or Diablo because of the camera. You must be very strategic when playing this game. You don’t have time to sit and plan out every single move. You must have the ability to think quickly on your feet, as the battles can be a little fast pace.  You need to be able to watch the battlefield, as well as how many golems you have at any giving time, and how much anima you have. Not paying attention could cause a battle to go wrong. Again, there is no waiting for a turn to send out golems. The battle starts, and you must just go for it. Therefore, if you are not very good at multitasking, you might have some problems with the game.

The game does also feature puzzles. Some of the puzzles are obvious; while others you need to look at a little harder to realize that it is a puzzle to begin with. In addition to locating each of the golems to build your golem army, there are other collectibles in the game as well. There are HP upgrades, anima upgrades, and tablets. Besides the main quest, each level also has a side quest you must complete as well. When the level comes to an end; you are given skill points that you must use to unlock skills not only for Otto; but your golems as well.

The game uses both gamepad as well as keyboard and mouse controls. When I first started my playthrough of the game; I used gamepad. I can say that the gamepad controls are solid and are not too bad. Sometimes it did feel a little clunky to me as I didn’t feel that the gamepad was ideal for this game; although it is recommended to play with gamepad. So, I did find myself switching over to keyboard and mouse controls. Once I played around with the settings for the keyboard and mouse, I got even more engrossed into the game. For me, the keyboard and mouse controls felt more natural to me than the gamepad. Therefore, both control options are great; it’s just more of which ever is most comfortable to you as a gamer.

The game does  offer the achievements feature. This allows for achievement hunters to collect thirty different achievements for the game.  The game also has the trading cards feature, so if you are into collecting the trading cards there’s that feature as well. I still think that the game is enjoyable rather or not it had those features attached to it. I will admit; I am an achievement hunter myself, and I still play the game even though I haven’t unlocked any of the achievements yet. However, the achievements are what is getting me to play the game because I want to unlock them, and I can see myself playing the game until I collect all the achievements.

Overall, I highly recommend Masters of Anima to those who are looking for a great challenging strategy RPG to get into.  It has a great storyline; the graphics are great, and the mechanics are awesome as well. You can play Masters of Anima; which is currently available now, on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4, and XBOX ONE  for the lovely price of $19.99 USD, you will not be disappointed.