Parents' Guide to Masters of Anima

This lighthearted fantasy strategy game will bring you back to summon fun along with your troops as you try to save the world. In Masters of Anima, they say there's strength in numbers, but that's only half the story, because it's what you do with those numbers that really tells the tale. From the moment you summon your first group of axe-wielding protectors, you'll need to keep your ever-growing army under tight control. Most threats are too much for Otto to handle alone, and many hazards can only be overcome by Guardians and their magic. Many times, this leads to situations where you have to summon certain units, divvy up troops, and send them to fight raging Golems or clear pesky obstacles from your path (or both), all while trying to keep Otto alive in the midst of chaos.

That intensity doesn't let up just because you get more minions to control, either. In fact, the more Guardians you have, the easier it is to lose control. You might lose a chunk of Guardians in a battle or even accidentally leave some behind and never notice until right before you need them. Since Guardians are fueled by anima, a finite resource scattered around the landscape, it's entirely possible (and likely) that when you need them most, you won't be able to summon the help you need. While all that micromanagement might seem overwhelming, Masters of Anima does a surprisingly good job of balancing things out. Sure, it can get a little frustrating at times, but never so much that you want to give up. Thanks to some generous checkpoints and fluid gameplay, each time you're defeated, you learn a little something and can usually progress a little further. Just as Otto grows from his role as an apprentice Shaper, so do you. Couple that with the game's lighthearted, colorful style, and you'll want to summon up Masters of Anima whenever you're in the mood for some classic fantasy fun.