A new indie action RPG has been gaining traction on Kickstarter. Anima – Song From the Abyss is the latest game from Spanish-based studio Anima Project.
The group has been around for a while, forming in 2005 and having several published games, but Anima – Song From the Abyss is the studio’s first Kickstarter and most ambitious project. Stylish action games like NieR Automata and open-world titles like The Witcher are influencing the title’s direction.
Previous Anima titles were self-published and are solid games in their own right. Things like the budget were noticeable, but an interesting world and lengthy journey showed the team’s passion. It’s worth seeing how Song from the Abyss stacks up to NieR Automata given the first game’s influence on the previous entries.
One notable difference is that Song From the Abyss is more colorful than its predecessors. The Kickstarter states Zelda as an influence, and it’s noticeable with how saturated the environments are.
Beyond that, Song of the Abyss’ main appeal is opening the series up with a bigger budget game. The series always had an open-ended structure, but this expands the concept further. It’s not open-world but ensures environments have a lot to explore.
A notable feature returning from Gate of Memories is character switching on the fly. If executed well, stylish action game fans will be satisfied with stylish combos while alternating between protagonists Soren and Noein.
Seeing new and interesting projects from small teams is always exciting. Anima Project is a three-person studio, and its previous efforts cut above what a team of that size can do with an action RPG. The good news is, the Kickstarter campaign has already cleared its initial funding goal. Hopefully, a bigger budget will help the team achieve its ambition and it will come out on time for its projected November 2024 release.
