Do you get bonus points if I act like I care?

The mornings inside the Scott household had settled into a rhythm that rarely changed. Henry was always the first to leave.

Every weekday, one of his colleagues pulled up outside the house just after sunrise, honking only once before Henry stepped outside with a quick wave toward the front window. Within moments, the car disappeared down the streets toward the newspaper office.

The rest of the family left together.

Cassian and Octavia had long since started their own lives elsewhere, leaving only Yujin, Auron and Corvin to make the familiar walk toward the nearby subway station.

After returning to work at Adam Entertainment, Yujin had rediscovered something she had missed over the years. She could have taken the subway only one stop before reaching the company building. Instead, she got off early every morning and walked the remaining distance on foot.

Follow me @introvertsnation

“I think I was born to give flowers even if it leaves my garden empty. To give more of myself than I’ll ever get. To offer what blooms in my chest, even when the soil feels barren, even when the petals fall too soon. I give without thought of return, because in the giving, the world feels fuller, even if I stand here, a little less than before.”

All I ever really want to know is how other people are making it through life - where do they put their body, hour by hour, and how do they cope inside of it.

-- Miranda July

(Disclaimer: I had the opportunity to participate in Aniimo's Closed Beta. Please keep in mind that the game is still in development, which means features, balancing, visuals and overall gameplay may change before or after release. Everything shared in this post reflects my personal experience with the current beta build.)

Game Launcher:

One of the first things that caught my attention wasn't even inside the game itself, but the launcher. Since I was given access to a standalone beta version rather than the Steam client, it became the first thing I saw every time I started Aniimo.

Besides looking surprisingly charming, it also displayed the latest game news and update notes directly on the home screen. That meant I could catch up on everything that had changed while the game / the update was still downloading, which turned out to be a really convenient little feature.

The Map:

I also ended up spending quite a bit of time looking at the world map. It's clean, easy to read and divided into several larger regions, each connected through multiple fast travel points.

One little detail I really appreciated was that these fast travel locations were already visible on the greyed-out map before I had discovered them. It gave me clear goals while exploring, and once they were unlocked, I could take my time searching every corner of an area without worrying about having to run all the way back after an unfortunate defeat.

The Questing System:

The quest log was another system I found surprisingly easy to navigate. Instead of putting everything into one long list, Aniimo separates quests into four main categories: Lore, Mission, Journey and Clue, making it very clear what kind of content you're currently working on.

Lore contains the main story quests and therefore represents the biggest progression through the game.

During the beta, the Mission tab was mostly dedicated to my farm, which I'll talk about in a separate post.

My favorite category ended up being Journey, as it collected quests I picked up naturally while meeting other Aniimos during exploration. It made the world feel like it had its own life beyond the main story.

Clue quests, on the other hand, usually came from conversations with NPCs in villages and outposts. I enjoyed those as well, but because they were tied to specific settlements, the Journey quests felt a little more organic to me.

Numerous Events:

Another thing that immediately stood out was the number of events available throughout the two-week Closed Beta. Even the schedule looked surprisingly full, offering a nice mix of different activities instead of focusing on just one type of event.

Some events were completely passive, like Hatch Faster, which simply reduced the incubation time of Aniimo eggs by 50%.

Others were more "semi-active," such as Tracing the Trail: The Shadow of Legend. For those, I only had to assemble a team of Aniimos by choosing a leader and up to three supporters before sending them off on an expedition. After some time, they returned with loot and clues without requiring any further input.

Finally, there were the classic active events that encouraged exploration and gameplay. Path of Trials, for example, rewarded additional loot for completing challenges over the full 14-day beta period, such as catching a certain number of Aniimos. I liked this variety, as it meant there was always something to look forward to, whether I wanted to actively play or just check in for a few minutes.

I hope this first overview gave you a nice introduction to some of Aniimo's general systems and events. There is still plenty more I'd like to talk about over the coming posts, as this only scratches the surface of everything I experienced during the Closed Beta.

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to leave your questions, feedback or anything else you're curious about in the comments. I'll do my best to include them in my upcoming Aniimo posts.