Aniimo

Aniimo is an outstanding creature-catching adventure packed with an incredible amount of content. Its beautifully designed creatures feel genuinely unique thanks to their animations, abilities, attacks and personalities, while Twining adds an exciting layer to both combat and exploration. From Zelda-like dungeons and puzzles to raids, farming, Homeland building and multiplayer activities, there is enough here to fill several games. Most importantly, its core experience can be enjoyed without spending money, with creatures captured through gameplay rather than a traditional gacha system. Pawprint Studio has created a charming, ambitious and remarkably complete world that constantly rewards curiosity. A fantastic achievement and, for me, a 10/10 experience.

Aniimo is a seriously impressive creature collecting game, with a sprawling world, so much content, and the ability to turn into monsters.

Aniimo is an interesting creature-collecting game with a strong visual style and a few good ideas. The “Twining” mechanic gives battling and capturing Aniimo a unique twist, and the open world offers plenty of reasons to collect different types. The Sanctums and side quests provide variety, while the story sparks enough curiosity to keep you playing. However, the game is held back by occasional animation issues and a significant number of glitches.

At least for now, Aniimo isn't even remotely considered a "killer Pokémon," as the game lacks the foundation for truly undermining the GameFreak series, especially given the complete lack of a competitive mode worthy of the name.

Aniimo does something I didn't think a free-to-play game could pull off twice in two years: it made me forget I hadn't paid for it. Between a story I wasn't expecting to care about, an open world I could have wandered for days, and a cast of creatures I got attached to faster than I'd like to admit, this is a game that earns every comparison to the AAA space it keeps getting held up against.

There is something incredibly dangerous about telling yourself, “I’m only going to play for an hour,” only to look at the clock later and realize four and a half hours have somehow disappeared.

The open world stands out for bringing the distinct personalities and ecology of over 200 Aniimo to life. Capturing, Twine, and elemental interactions naturally tie collection and exploration together, though the simplistic combat and lack of polish leave something to be desired. Even so, the game remains highly accessible.

Aniimo takes a familiar creature-collecting formula and builds a surprisingly broad adventure around it. Idyll is a colorful world worth exploring; its creatures have plenty of uses beyond filling out a collection, and the combination of story, side activities, and progression gives the journey a satisfying sense of discovery. Some of those ideas feel more fully realized than others, but the strongest parts come together well enough to give Aniimo a character of its own. It may not reinvent the genre, but there is more than enough here to make it an engaging creature collector in its own right.

Aniimo is the next big thing.

Aniimo is Pawprint Studio's free-to-play creature capture game, but is it worth putting down Pokémon to play?