Pawprint Studio's open-world creature-catching RPG 'Aniimo' officially launched on September 16. Having shown promise in its CBT back in July, the game didn't make sweeping fundamental changes for its full release. Instead, it smoothed out friction in existing systems and sharply refined the connection between collection and exploration that it promised from the start.
What catches your eye first is naturally the Aniimo themselves. With over 200 species, they go far beyond being merely round and big-eyed; each form and animation radiates personality, and furry Aniimo feature particularly natural, swaying fur textures. Spotting a new Aniimo in the field makes you want to admire it before even looking at its stats. Supported by NVIDIA DLSS 4.5, the frame rate remains smooth even in wide-open fields filled with multiple furry Aniimo moving around.
This charm seamlessly extends to the ecosystem. The continent of Idyll features distinct terrain and weather across different regions, and even within the same Mistwoods, different Aniimo inhabit the swamps versus the riverbanks. Changing weather causes different species to appear, leaving you constantly wondering, "What lives here?" whenever you enter a new area.
Catching creatures is also far from simplistic. Sneaking up from behind, or striking while they are eating or sleeping, raises your capture rate—which is shown as a clear numerical probability. This forces you to decide for yourself whether to throw right away or wait a little longer. Rolling an Aniipod to capture multiple creatures at once almost feels like a mini action segment.
The core system is 'Twine.' By merging with captured Aniimo, you can climb walls as Starami, sprint across plains as Tanmong, and swim underwater as Yendengmori. Since an Aniimo's ability directly serves as a means of traversal, the reasons for catching them expand well beyond raw combat power. Aniimo not currently in your active party are automatically summoned to match the situation, eliminating the need to navigate menus, and the switching hitching present during the CBT has been noticeably reduced. Coupled with elemental interactions—such as burning vines with Fire or dousing flames with Water—every new Aniimo you acquire unlocks new ways to explore.
The depth of collecting is also considerable. Stats vary based on base tier and MBTI personality traits, encouraging players to hunt for better variants even within the same species. There are also Prismana Aniimo tied to specific regions, as well as special variants like Sparkling and Obsidian ones. Aniimo-specific achievements and 'Journey' quests provide ongoing reasons to interact with creatures long after catching them.
The most impactful change compared to the CBT is the gear system. The developer completely scrapped the previous structure—where each Aniimo was fitted with a piece of gear and six runes—leaving only a single gear slot with fixed stats. Gear is obtained by consuming stamina to defeat Elite Monsters rather than through paid gacha. Growth resources can also be transferred to other Aniimo, reducing the burden of switching to a superior creature. By shedding one of two heavy grind pillars (collection and gear farming), the developers successfully shifted the game's focus back onto the Aniimo themselves.
The camper van housing system is also worth noting. Players assign Aniimo to cooking, mining, and power generation based on their elements and specialties, then sell the produced resources to decorate their camper van. Simply watching them wander around doing their assigned jobs is a joy in itself.
There are drawbacks as well. While every Aniimo features skill choices and a unique ultimate cutscene, combat remains rooted in basic element matchups and dodging, leading to occasional monotony. That said, it does offer easy accessibility for players unfamiliar with action games. As for full Korean voice acting, some segments suffer from desynchronized subtitles and audio, along with noticeable variance in recording quality across characters. Since the developers had promised improvements prior to launch, swift follow-up patches seem necessary.
Ultimately, the remaining challenge is not adding new features, but finely polishing the fun already present. The core gameplay loop—making you want to catch every new Aniimo you discover and venture out to new lands with them—is already rock solid.
- Aniimo designs that draw you in for hours
- Ecosystem tied to the environment, capturing that requires decision-making
- 'Twine' system where collection directly powers exploration
- Combat that can feel repetitive
- Limited skill variety
- Somewhat lacking overall polish
Review Platform: PC (Review Build)
