Anomaly President Review

Anomaly President throws combat, politics, base building, Fluffies, and roguelike progression into one strange package—and somehow makes the chaos fun.

Some games know exactly what they want to be. Anomaly President clearly looked at that idea, shrugged, and decided to become five different games at once. Developed by Pew Games, the studio behind Anomaly Agent, Anomaly President entered Early Access on August 3.

It quickly picked up a strong response on Steam, reaching a 93% positive rating shortly after launch. The premise is wonderfully strange. During the day, players are trying to win votes and build a presidential campaign. At night, they run through dangerous areas, beat up government forces, and experiment with strange powers.

In between all that, there is a campaign bus to build, Fluffies to manage, weapons to upgrade, and plenty of resources to collect. It sounds like a recipe for complete chaos. Thankfully, the chaos is mostly the good kind. Anomaly President does have some rough spots, especially with repetition and its unfinished Early Access content, but underneath all of that is a surprisingly enjoyable action roguelike with a lot more personality than expected.

The story takes place in a futuristic world ruled by President Rexford, a dictator who has managed to convince the public that the people fighting against him are dangerous terrorists. Naturally, things are not quite that simple. Behind the scenes, Rexford's government runs some seriously dark experiments involving the Fluffies, cute little creatures whose life force is used to create powerful soldiers and superhumans.

The story begins with Sev, a man running for president. His son, a covert agent, gets intimately involved in the campaign after a terrible event puts his life in peril. The son finally steps into the shoes of the father and becomes president in public, while still operating as an agent behind the scenes. It is a ridiculous situation, but that is part of the charm.

The writing does not always take itself too seriously.

Dialogue choices let players respond in different ways, and the game regularly throws in jokes and absurd situations without completely turning the story into a parody. More surprisingly, the game has a lot to say beneath all the silliness. The story explores propaganda, political manipulation, government control, and how people get labeled as villains without understanding the whole picture.

The roguelike structure also works surprisingly well with the storytelling. Instead of repeating a level and seeing the same thing every time, returning to an area can reveal another part of its story. Characters change, new events appear, and seemingly small details eventually connect into something bigger.

That gives players a reason to pay attention rather than simply sprint toward the next boss. The basic gameplay loop is simple enough. Go on a mission, fight enemies, collect resources, find upgrades, try not to die, return to the campaign bus, improve the base, and head out again.

The game starts gently. Movement, attacks, dodges, sprinting, and parrying are introduced without making players sit through a giant tutorial. Yellow attacks can be parried, while red attacks are signals to get out of the way. Once those basics become familiar, the game starts layering in weapons, charged attacks, special moves, and anomaly powers.

The combat feels fast, but it does not take long to understand. Then the campaign bus enters the picture. And yes, it is literally a campaign bus. Instead of a normal town or headquarters, the Anomaly President turns the bus into a mobile base. You can add, upgrade, and arrange rooms to create a functioning headquarters.

There is something oddly satisfying about turning a moving bus into a fully equipped presidential operation. The Fluffies are part of this system too. You can assign them to different jobs, help operate facilities, and even assist during combat. That means they are not just cute decorations sitting around the bus. They really count.

The bus is the central point for permanent progress.

Weapons can be improved, health can be increased, healing options can be unlocked, and other upgrades can make future runs easier. This matters because you're going to die—a lot. That is the nature of the genre, but Anomaly President ensures a failed run is not necessarily a wasted one. The resources collected during an attempt can still improve the campaign bus and strengthen future runs.

That creates a nice little cycle: fail, upgrade, try again, fail slightly less embarrassingly, and eventually push further. There is not much traditional puzzle-solving here. The real challenge comes from combat, positioning, timing, and deciding how to build the character during each run. Combat is where Anomaly President really shines.

Basic attacks are quick and easy to understand, but much more happens once the game opens up. Players can parry certain attacks, dodge dangerous ones, switch between weapons, use charged attacks, and activate anomaly powers. The anomaly abilities are easily among the most enjoyable parts of the game.

They can knock enemies around, clear groups, control space, and turn a difficult encounter into complete mayhem. And when a good combination comes together, the difference is noticeable. One run might feel slow and cautious. Another can turn the protagonist into an absolute menace, throwing enemies across the screen and tearing through groups with powerful abilities.

That is exactly the feeling a roguelike should provide.

The combat does have weaknesses. When several enemies attack at once, things can become messy. Getting trapped between enemies can make it difficult to react properly, and some attacks do not have quite enough impact to make every hit feel satisfying. The bigger abilities usually feel fantastic, while some of the basic attacks can feel a little flat.

Still, these issues don't break the combat. The bigger concern is repetition. Dying is not the problem. Having to repeat less interesting sections before getting another chance at the part that killed you. There is a big difference between thinking, "That boss destroyed me, I need another shot," and thinking, "Do I really have to play through all of that again?" That distinction matters most for players who only have an hour or two to play.

The permanent upgrade system helps considerably. Resources from failed runs can improve weapons, health, healing, and other parts of the campaign bus. So even when the game sends players back to the beginning, it still feels like progress. The grind needs to avoid overstaying its welcome.

The pixel art is one of the easiest things to appreciate about Anomaly President. The game has a colorful retro look filled with neon lighting, expressive characters, comic-style scenes, and plenty of visual personality. It fits the strange setting perfectly. The developers also deserve credit for making the game look silly without making it look cheap.

Politics is dumb, but the visual style gives it enough flair to feel like a real setting and not a bunch of random jokes thrown together. The Fluffies are especially good at this, adding much-needed cuteness to a world of violence and political craziness. Interface not quite there. There's a bit of a gap between the display and the mechanics behind it — some menus and fonts feel far more rudimentary than the real game environment.

It is not a major problem, but it is one of those areas that could receive some polish during Early Access.

The 80s-inspired soundtrack fits the game like a glove. The music gives combat a constant sense of movement, which matters because Anomaly President rarely wants players standing around doing nothing. When combat gets intense, the soundtrack helps drive the action forward.

It can get a bit tedious during longer stretches, especially when the same bits play on repeat, but it still adds a lot of character to the experience. The music also helps separate Anomaly President from more traditional roguelikes. It has a personality all its own, and doesn't just sound like another dark fantasy action game.

Anomaly President is a weird game. That is the best thing about it. It combines political campaigning, side-scrolling combat, roguelike progression, base building, creature management, mini-games, and a presidential campaign bus. On paper, it sounds like too much. Somehow, most of it works. The combat gives players a reason to keep going.

The bus gives every run a purpose. The Fluffies connect the management and combat systems. The campaign gives the whole adventure more context than simply beating another group of enemies. There are certainly moments where the game gets in its own way. Managing supplies can start to feel like busywork. Some campaign mini-games become repetitive.

The combat feedback could be stronger in places.

Repeating entire sections after a failed attempt can also test patience. Then there is the Early Access issue. This is not a finished game. The current version has plenty to play, but the story is not complete, and additional areas, bosses, and content are still being developed. That is important to understand before buying. If a finished story is the priority, waiting makes sense.

If the idea of jumping into an unusual roguelike while it is still being developed sounds appealing, there is already enough here to justify giving it a shot. The strongest part of Anomaly President is its personality. Plenty of games have good combat. Plenty have upgrade systems.

Plenty have funny dialogue. Very few decide that the best place to build a presidential headquarters is inside a bus full of fluffy creatures. That strange identity carries the game through its rougher moments. The combat is fun, the progression works, the visuals have plenty of charm, and the story is more interesting than the absurd premise initially suggests.

It is not a flawless Early Access experience, but it is a promising one. Anomaly President does not need another dozen systems piled on top of what is already there. It needs to polish what it has, reduce the chores, smooth out the repetition, and finish the campaign. Do that, and this strange little political roguelike could become something genuinely special.

For now, it is messy, ambitious, occasionally frustrating, and surprisingly hard to put down. And honestly, how many games can say they let players fight dictators, win votes, build a presidential bus, and employ tiny fluffy creatures all in the same afternoon?