Is "Anonymous Code" worth it after waiting for 7 years?

※ The following text was written by Amadeus AI, which copied the memories of the village chief of Maocun up to 22:38 on August 4, 2022. Key spoilers were avoided, and Maocun village chief himself is not responsible for any dissatisfaction caused by spoilers.

On the evening of July 28, 2022, at 23:59.

Many players sit in front of the TV watching the screen, some excited and some calm, but most of them have chilled drinks and snacks on their desks, planning to fight for a few hours, even if it's still a workday the next day - they are waiting for the unlocking of Xenoblade Sword 3.

However, I was not included in this list at the time because I was very satisfied when I played the game Anonymous Code, which had been waiting for seven years.

Anonymous Code is a well-known ADV game developer called MAGES The latest work in the "Science ADV" series produced may be unfamiliar to everyone, but perhaps you have heard of the famous title of the same series, "Fate Stone Gate". I still remember when I went on a business trip to TGS in 2016, I played this game for the first time on a real machine. The tense and exciting game content (as well as the coser booth with very distinctive costumes) left a deep impression on me.

I thought there was already an experience version available, but I should be able to play it soon. However, every year I received news of ticket skipping, which lasted until July 28, 2022. During this period, even the PSVita version was cancelled, which almost wiped out my interest.

So after seven years, is its quality worth waiting for?

I personally think it's worth it, at least I can't stop feeling like a spoiler right now.

All of them are leftover from the seniors, but they are still masterpieces

Although the official drama has long included elements such as Meta through "Anonymous Code," I am still very excited about how "Anonymous Code" can use these elements after seeing puzzle designs and storylines like "Fate Stone Gate.".

Unfortunately, although the fresh design of Anonymous Code has brought a quite exciting gaming experience to many players, for players like me who have been exposed to certain specific science fiction works, the general direction and mystery of the plot are not so difficult to guess. But even under such unfavorable conditions, the use of the remaining materials for seniors to play with Anonymous Code still shocked me.

The presentation is very diverse

Firstly, the presentation of this work is rich and diverse, yet also very appropriate. At the beginning of the game, the plot was presented in the form of a 3D main perspective and an AVG dialogue box, combined with the tense BGM played during the climax of the game. As a player who was ready to experience the dragging plot of AVG, I immediately entered a state of readiness.

Another interesting way to showcase the game's storyline is through the AR system "BMI" (Brain Machine Interface) in the game world, which simulates a virtual computer interface in front of characters, allowing them to see various AR effects, as well as programs such as video calls, chat apps, news, and chat boards.

In addition to fully showcasing the futuristic technology of the game, it also allows players to see more information at the same time, which can be said to be a win-win situation. To avoid spoilers, I can only post a few images with less information, and there may even be times when the entire screen is covered.

The left side shows the anonymous chat board of Japan. Is this the unfashionable of the near future

When advancing the plot of , there is also a countdown mini program made by a hacker... It has a futuristic style and is very nervous

What's even more interesting is that the AR system is combined with the setting of canceling the dialog box window in AVG games, so the game has the following plot with and without AR effects at the beginning:

Anyway, I laughed out loud in the middle of the night.

In addition, the game will also use dynamic comics to describe the plot in some aspects during the progress. Not to mention the "saving money" that many players complained about, this way of expression has a wonderful effect on the part of the game that explains the scientific truth.

I still remember when playing the "Science ADV" series in the past, those obscure and difficult to understand proprietary terms would be explained through TIPS to explain their surface and deep meanings, but explaining scientific principles inevitably required players to have a certain level of imagination. It is much easier to understand the aspect of "Anonymous Code" in conjunction with dynamic comics:

An experiment in the middle and later stages of the game

The specific content involves spoilers, so I won't go into detail again.

The gameplay and settings are great

I have been eagerly anticipating this work since its release and have long known that the theme of Anonymous Code is based on "save&load". However, to my surprise, this system is so closely integrated with the plot.

An interesting point is that the protagonist and I actually share the same save bar. I can't save the place where the main character is archived, and I can't save the place where the main character is archived, and when I want to manually load the main character archive, I will be roast and rejected.

The way the plot branches out is not entirely controlled by the player, and players can only give advice (known as the Hacking Trigger in the game), which is truly established after the protagonist "adopts" it. The idea that the "loading archive" operation is done by the protagonist "on their own" is very spiritual and fresh.

In short, the game system is crazily showcasing the protagonist's independent personality and interference with the real world.

Of course, suggesting this thing is not always a good thing. The specific effects it will produce are up to players to experience.

In terms of setting, in addition to the "Science ADV" standard gameplay that is both serious and self explanatory, inspiration from reality also makes the game more charming. For example, the challenge of the genius hacker "Cicada3301" in the game, Quest, is based on reality.

In reality, Cicada3301 is the name of an organization that has published challenges involving literature, music, cryptography, mathematics and other knowledge on the Internet. The purpose is also to recruit talents to complete a major event.

The plot is tense and exciting, but not suitable for dating

Steel Straight Man Saves the World!

When playing Anonymous Code, you should take one or two days off and complete the game together on weekends.

Otherwise, you will be like me who has to work the next day:

Immortal Wind and Road Bone

The pace of the game is quite tight. When you are feeling relieved at the end of the current plot, the next intense plot follows one after another, and sometimes the speed of filling the pit is not as fast as digging it.

For example, after unlocking the "Save&Load" system for the first time, players finally solved the current crisis, followed by a series of events surrounding the game's first major mystery - the genius hacker "Cicada3301".

Hello， I believe that this time I will definitely find the excellent talent I want. Good Luck

So I played and accidentally ended up late at night, but found myself still in an excited state and had to forcefully shut down to avoid affecting my work the next day.

On the other hand, because the game is constantly in a major crisis, there is a problem where the daily interactions between characters are basically not described

Just like Nana Hua who first appeared, their friendship developed well after several collaborations, but after a certain meeting, she basically only appeared when the plot needed, and she was mostly contacted by phone, so there were fewer opportunities to showcase her charm.

's mouth fetish is very brain burning, which is the charm of this character

For example, another character named Bambi (written as Zilu and pronounced as Bambi) who is not familiar with the protagonist. After a key plot in the game, I think this girl is really good for the protagonist. Should something happen? But actually not, because the protagonist immediately threw himself into the next crisis...

There should be a female lead who is an idol in Galgame, right

At this time, the second ill male leader of the same series, the Phoenix Yard, is really fierce. His life will be much richer. He can roast that Hong Liqi is a chat board user while saving the world......

The moment when solved the case

After waiting for seven years, is it worth it or not?

Seven years of waiting, isn't it worth it?

At least many players in Zone 11 feel it's not worth it. The current average rating of this game is even lower than the relatively worst rated "Supernatural Nine" in the hypothetical science series, and if we bring out the eternal masterpiece "Fate Stone Gate", this game obviously does not have the combat power to confront head-on.

The more Diao the predecessors are, the more difficult it is to surpass them.

Firstly, the content of the game is less than most of the series. The game can truly be considered as having only two endings, while the rest are fake bad endings where the plot ends. In contrast, in the older version of Fate's Stone Gate, there is a fundamental difference in game volume as each female protagonist has an ending.

Liuhuazi Town Building

Secondly, as mentioned above, because there is basically no daily part, the description of the relationship between the protagonist and the supporting role in the game is actually less. The worst part is two hacker friends who have been specifically featured on the official website, but the total time they appear in the game may not even be 10 minutes.

, I'm afraid your scenes may have been cut off

The most regrettable thing for me here is that, considering the special nature of the game system, daily content can be added to the game in a compact form that does not affect the main storyline, and the official post game also showed us this possibility in a "hidden" way.

No wonder this work has received many negative reviews so far, as it can still do better. And, with MAGES Looking at President Chiyomaru Shikura's previous imagination, he is unlikely to have thought of it either.

Of course it's worth it!

Firstly, the most controversial aspect of Anonymous Code - in-game capacity, in my opinion, is not only a disadvantage but also its advantage, especially for light players who often skip playing due to the lengthy plot of AVG.

For example, there is no prompt to enter a certain chapter throughout the game, just like a complete movie.

players can only determine which chapter they want to save based on their own save icon and quick save information

If is like "Gate of Destiny 0", there will be a title prompt when entering a certain chapter.

Completing the main storyline in one go is also a choice for Anonymous Code, showcasing players with a challenging "scientific ADV".

Secondly, the worldview that most players like after completing the level is not to mention. The official pre-sales introduction of "Get rid of the God Hacker" has sparked interest among many people, and as the game progresses, you can also see what level of genius Cicada3301 is, how much brainpower is needed to set the female lead's identity, and how to save it; How can the loaded settings be flexibly applied...

loads the previous plot

The plot after a certain loading of

Thirdly, players criticize the lack of freedom in the "hacker trigger" gameplay - it cannot be read at any time and can only be loaded at fixed loading points, which is indeed a problem that Anonymous Code needs to solve.

But upon careful consideration, if the "hacker trigger" could be triggered at any time and change the plot as some netizens imagine, the script's capacity would not be able to be completed in just 15 hours. Perhaps one day when the "Earth Simulator" in the game is really made, you can install "Anonymous Code Elite Edition HD" on it to play...

I may not be able to achieve a script with higher freedom and rigorous logic yet.

requires a lot of resources, which may lead to a change in our worldline (laughs)

In addition, as part of the "Science ADV" series, this game is also from the same worldview, so players who have played past works will also be exposed to many Easter eggs. You can even see at a certain point in the plot that the popular character did something that affected the entire game!

epilogue

Unfortunately, although "Anonymous Code" is a good work, it has not received good reviews on sales platforms such as Amazon in Japan (the European and American version will be released in 2023, so there is no rating on Metacritic yet). The achievements and long wait of our predecessors have raised high expectations for "Anonymous Code". In addition, the mystery of this work has already been used decades ago, and the Meta elements have long been modeled after even better predecessors such as "Heartbeat Literature"

Perhaps it cannot completely overturn the level that players expect.

Nevertheless, Anonymous Code is still a recommended text adventure game, with an imaginative worldview and tense storyline that leaves people unable to let go. The hidden elements and Meta design always bring surprises. Especially when I discovered the way to enter the true ending, I couldn't help but admire the official's ability to bury the pit.

If you are a new player in the "Science ADV" series, "Anonymous Code" will definitely bring you a wonderful sci-fi journey. However, if you have seen too many science fiction works... please try to find a 20th century brain to play this game, so as to avoid being indirectly spoilt by other science fiction works, so as to be shocked from beginning to end.