Item: Anodia 2
Rating: 9.0
Author: Christine Chan

Anodia 2 (Free) by CLM is a stylish brick breaker game that will keep you busy in your downtime throughout the day. If you’re a fan of relaxing titles like ZenDots and Grey Cubes, then you will enjoy Anodia 2.

If there is a game that has been around since the dawn of video games, it’s definitely the brick breaker genre. It has a simple concept and while the graphics were bare-bones at the time, it has evolved quite a bit through the years. I’ll admit though — brick breaker games are not one of my favorite things to play most of the time, as I usually find them dull and repetitive after a while. However, every now and then will be an exception, and this time it’s Anodia 2.

The graphics in Anodia 2 are my favorite thing about the title. The game has an overall minimalistic and flat look to it that fits in well with the latest trends, and the contrasting foreground and background colors used on each unique stage are soft and rich. Even though the visuals don’t have too much detail on them as part of the style, I found the shadows and textures of the paddle bar to be more than enough. All animations are smooth and fluid, so there was no lag when playing on my iPhone 6. Anodia 2 also has a tranquil and calming soundtrack, which is just icing on the cake — overall, it’s a soothing treat both visually and audibly.

Anodia 2 starts out with an introduction level, which I felt was unnecessary, but it shows you the basics, such as which falling power-ups to collect and the ones to avoid (smiley faces and red and green colors work out well). While you start with one level in the beginning, Anodia 2 has a system of unlocking different levels that works similarly to how you unlock new characters in Crossy Road.

Essentially, you earn coins after each game, with the chance to get more coins for watching a video at the end. There are even daily gifts that you can collect. These coins are used in the lottery to unlock different stages at 100 coins a pop, and the prize will always be random. All levels in Anodia 2 have their own distinctive look and feel to them, but the goal remains the same: clear out all of the bricks (or circles, squares, rectangles, etc.) to move on to the next random stage.

The controls in the game are easy and straightforward enough: move or tap your finger at the bottom of the screen to direct the paddle. While the touch controls work fine, there is the option to change it to tilt if you’d prefer that.

My only problem with the touch controls is the fact that it feels the paddle does not move fast enough to keep up with you at times. Even without power-downs active, I felt the paddle to be a bit sluggish — I hope that the movement speed is improved in the future. I have lost a few lives as a result of the paddle not keeping up with me in a timely manner, which is annoying. The number of balls that you have left is shown up at the top right corner.

Since Anodia 2 is a brick breaker game, there is already a lot of replay value if you’re a high score chaser. To keep players around longer, there is full Game Center integration for leaderboards, so you can compete with your friends. There aren’t any achievements though, which is a shame.

Personally, even though I’m not always a fan of the genre, I’ve been enjoying Anodia 2 a lot. The visuals are fantastic, the music is charming, and the various levels are unconventional from most brick breaker games, making it a nice change. I like collecting the stages from the gum ball machine, and having randomized stages once you beat one will keep things interesting (who doesn’t like surprises). I just hope that the movement of the paddle can be slightly increased so there isn’t too much lag when you have to move it from one side of the screen to the other in a second.

I recommend giving Anodia 2 a try if you enjoy arcade games or just want a challenging brick breaker game to pass the time with. You can get Anodia 2 on the App Store as a universal download for free with in-app purchases.