Anomalith had a trailer that caught my attention because it looked like it was trying something that I wasn’t really familiar with, and I was also lucky enough to be presented with the opportunity to interview Gai Kidokoro, the producer of the title. The chance to get to talk to one of the people responsible for what looked like an anime game take on Resident Evil 4 was too tempting for me to pass up. So on I went to do what research I could because our hotel wifi at the time just couldn’t download the demo in time.
What we ended up talking about is the vision behind the game and expectations about what the game would be like. As an overview, Anomalith plays mainly as a third-person shooter that mixes action with horror. Featuring a linear format where you proceed through levels as you progress the story. Diving into warped dimensions within the city to investigate the anomalies and rescue people in danger. You are part of a specialized task force to handle whatever is in the unknown. The arsenal you carry with you starts with some guns that you can customize and survival items and it is eventually expanded by whatever it is you find useful while you explore the depths.
The interview I’ll be sharing here was between me, Gai Kidokoro, and two helpful guys who were translating the back and forth for us. I’ve decided to take some liberties to paraphrase some answers here to better capture what was being said while taking out awkward pauses in the conversation. I had a prepared list of questions, but some answers led me to ask follow-up questions, so during those parts the conversation went a little slower.
When I look at the trailer and the description, I get the idea that Anomalith is somewhere between an RPG and an Extraction Shooter. How would the developer describe this game in terms of genre?
Kidokoro: When developing Anomalith, we found that it was important to create it as a third-person shooter. We are big fans of action games like these; Escape from Tarkov is a shooter game that we love, and even the RPG elements found in games like Resident Evil 4. So I would call our game a TPS-RPG (Third Person Shooter – Role Playing Game).
There appears to be a lot of attention to detail for the guns and their customization. Will there be a strong reliance on tactical shooter play here? (like Counter-Strike, or Rainbow Six Siege)
Kidokoro: Customization isn’t that important; your tactics won’t really change when you change things up. You can change how things look, but the performance will still be the same.
Note: Upon further review of Kidokoro’s words, there may have been a misunderstanding about customizing your character’s look and customizing your weapons. It’s clear in the trailer that you can swap weapon attachments, which affect certain stats (spread, magazine size, recoil, etc.). But the other stats, like damage and firing rate, are static.
To ask further, is the game set up such that you prepare loadouts first before heading into a level? Or is this something like Dark Souls, where you can change your setup when at certain checkpoints (or save points) within a larger map, open-world map?
Kidokoro: Rather than an open-world map where you freely wander around and figure things out for yourself on what to do next, we give you a mission that more or less plays out as a defined stage or level. You can be given one or several objectives to accomplish within that level, often in a sequence. There’s a chance for you to make preparations before starting the level, and you’ll have to manage with that or what you find within that level.
With the 12 anomaly abilities advertised in the trailer, are they strategies that we can freely swap between?
Kidokoro: Actually, so long as you have the ability unlocked, you can activate it at any time. Rather than making you commit to a fixed build, you can mix and match your strategy as you please.
The story seems to focus on one distorted dimension; are there other locations to explore outside? Or is this a focused experience like trying to get to the bottom of a labyrinth?
Kidokoro: The anomalies that have to be explored are actually spread across Japan. The story goes across several locations rather than one fixed place; it’s not like a dungeon that you continue to delve deeper into.
Is this a kind of game to play over and over, maybe to get a higher rating, or farm resources? Or are we meant to play this game once? (Basically I’m asking if there are other things to do with the game aside from clearing the main story)
Kidokoro: For those who are willing to go through levels again and again, things like rare drops or new special items aren’t really something we have planned. However, enemy placements and spawn types can be dynamic; other item types can spawn, but nothing you haven’t attained before.
For something like getting a rating or a higher score, it’s not part of the main story to have that. But once you’ve cleared the game once, there is a new game mode that’s built around getting the highest score that you can.
I got to play the demo on the floor, and I have to say that it does feel familiar enough while giving me something new to explore.
From this game, I can see that there are a lot of mixed inspirations. Where does the developer draw their inspirations for this title? (The concepts seem to be pretty far apart, so I’d like to understand their vision here)
Kidokoro: As a theme, everyone was most inspired by The Backrooms, which is where we drew our concepts for our map design. But for the scenario, the SCP Foundation universe is what I draw the most inspiration from.
Note: It was at this moment that I finally understood that this is an anime horror shooter game.
What sort of experience are we aiming to give to the player in terms of story?
Kidokoro: Okay, this is a tough one to talk about without getting into spoiler territory. I think to answer this one, I’ll go to our game’s catchphrase. “Remain yourself. Live on.” In Japanese, the character used for “life” is written “katachi” but can also mean “shape.” I’d rather keep it vague to make players be able to create the experience for themselves, but that is the core of the experience I’d impart with you today.
In conclusion, Anomalith appears to be an action anime game with some horror flavor. While it doesn’t seem to introduce any new big ideas in terms of game concept, the trailer shows a level of refinement that makes me want to give it a spin. One of the most intriguing aspects of this title is the fusion of concepts that originated outside of Japan for its aesthetic. I’m actually really interested in how they interpret The Backrooms or how an organization like the SCP Foundation would operate as some sort of task force built to deal with supernatural occurrences and beings. I truly wonder if they’ll have even bosses or monsters that are inspired by the expansive lore of both universes.
It seems like a great pick-up for Halloween given its roots in horror. And as luck would have it, it’s releasing on October 29, 2026. It’s coming to PS5, Switch 2, and PC (and recently hit 90k Steam Wishlists). There’s also a demo available on Steam.