2024 gave us plenty of memorable indie games, but one that surprised us the most was Anomaly Agent. Phew Phew Games delivered a cyberpunk action adventure packed with slick combat and stylish presentation. It had enough personality to stand out in a crowded genre. We finished it fast, hoping that it wouldn’t be the last we’d see of its strange universe. Thankfully, it wasn’t.
Anomaly President doesn’t recycle what made its predecessor work. It takes that same world and builds an entirely different experience around it. if the first one was action platformer, the second one is a roguelite where running for president is just as important as cutting enemies in half. It plays just as it sounds – ridiculously good!
Even in its Early Access state, it already feels like a confident project with tons of hours of fun.
Campaign by Day, Carnage by Night
The story revolves around your attempt to save your father while overthrowing a corrupt president who’s slowly dragging the world toward disaster. Defeating him isn’t enough. You also have to beat him democratically by gathering support and winning the presidential election. Withing minutes, we knew that It’s exactly the kind of bizarre premise we’d expect from the developers.
Most of your time is spent clearing combat arenas where fast reactions matter far more than button mashing. Light and heavy attacks flow together beautifully, while enemies constantly force you to decide whether to parry or dodge. Yellow attacks can be reflected with well-timed parries, while red attacks demand a quick evasive move.
Successful parries and certain secondary attacks exhaust enemies, opening them up for brutal finishing moves. Whether you’re beheading someone or slicing them clean in half, the executions never lose their impact. The gore is over-the-top without becoming distracting, fitting perfectly alongside the game’s unapologetically exaggerated tone.
The controls are wonderfully responsive. Every dodge, dash and counter feels immediate, making you feel like an unstoppable force. It’s one of those combat systems that’s satisfying from the start but becomes even better once muscle memory takes over.
Double jumps, slides, rope traversal and various parkour-inspired moves make exploration just as enjoyable as combat. Levels encourage constant momentum and they rarely force you to slow down.
Every Run Becomes More Ridiculous Than the Last
During each run you’ll regularly choose between anomaly powers that dramatically alter your build. One moment you’re swinging a giant sword through crowds of enemies, the next you’re throwing boomerangs, setting entire groups on fire, unleashing bullet storms straight out of The Matrix, or transforming into an enormous sumo wrestler that crushes everything standing in your path.
We couldn’t stop grinning every time we activated the sumo ability. Chaingin into a sumo wrestler, raising that one leg upwards and then flattening enemy after enemy with one enormous stomp somehow never got old.
The best part is how freely these abilities combine with anomaly powers earned throughout a run. Builds evolve naturally, encouraging experimentation rather than locking you into one particular playstyle. Clearing combat rooms also lets you influence what rewards appear next, allowing for a huge amount of strategy beyond simply picking the strongest upgrade.
Winning Votes Is Just as Important as Winning Fights
Your mobile campaign bus serves as both headquarters and progression hub. Starting with little more than a kitchen, a presidential office and an elevator connecting them, you gradually expand the vehicle by attaching entirely new rooms dedicated to production, upgrades, utilities, campaign management and much more.
It’s addictive.
The adorable Fluffies handle most of the work. Assign them to different rooms and they’ll cook meals, campaign for votes, improve your equipment or unlock additional bonuses for future runs. Some rooms even let’s you unlock small mini-games or permanent improvements that subtly reshape later attempts.
The blacksmith allows weapon upgrades and new abilities, while other facilities increase the chances of discovering extra resources or helpful encounters during missions. It’s a satisfying layer of long-term progression that gives every failed run lasting value.
Weird, Funny and Full of Personality
The narrative constantly throws bizarre situations and memorable characters your way. Dialogue choices aren’t particularly deep and don’t drastically change events, but they do provide welcome breathing room between all the violence.
Almost every new encounter introduces another wonderfully absurd personality, and the game rarely takes itself too seriously. From anomaly-powered politicians to fluffy campaign assistants and ridiculous boss powers, everything embraces the same over-the-top energy that made Anomaly Agent so memorable.
Stylish From Start to Finish
Visually, Anomaly President looks fantastic. Its pixel art carries the same retro charm as its predecessor while layering in modern lighting, smooth animation and impressive environmental detail. Flying cars move through the skyline while pedestrians rush through busy streets below. Every location feels uniquely alive.
Combat effects are equally satisfying. Explosions, particle effects and flashy anomaly powers fill the screen but they never reach a point that make things unreadable. Actions always remain clear even during the busiest encounters.
Of all the aspects we loved the soundtrack the most. Its energetic synth-heavy tracks perfectly complement the cyberpunk setting and often feel like something pulled straight from an over-the-top action film from the ’80s.
Early Access That Already Feels Ready
What surprised us most wasn’t any single mechanic. It was how complete everything already feels. Yes, the campaign isn’t finished yet, and some regions remain inaccessible until future updates. More content, additional powers and expanded exploration are all planned before the full release. Yet the current version already offers a polished experience with satisfying progression, rewarding combat and enough variety to justify repeated runs.
We’ve played plenty of Early Access games that felt more like rough prototypes than actual games, but this is far from one of them. Phew Phew Games has already built an incredibly solid foundation. If the developers continue expanding the content while maintaining this level of polish, Anomaly President has every chance of surpassing its already excellent predecessor.
Anomaly President has personality in abundance. It’s weird, violent, funny and addictive, all wrapped inside one of the most polished Early Access releases we’ve played in quite some time. If this is only the beginning, we’re already looking forward to casting our vote for the full release.
Review Card
Platform: PC (Early Access reviewed)
Developer: Phew Phew Games
Publisher: Gamedev.ist
Genre: Action Roguelite
Release Status: Early Access
Played On: PC
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