Ever since it was officially revealed back in 2025, Aniimo has been on the watch list for many Pokemon fans and cozy gamers alike. A free-to-play creature collector from Pawprint Studio and Kingslory, Aniimo‘s stunning anime-inspired visuals have caught many gamers’ eyes. The game is expected to launch sometime this year, but first, players got another glimpse into the game with the game’s second Closed Beta, which started on January 23rd. I had a chance to check it out, and as a longtime creature collector gamer with an affinity for judging free-to-play games, I have some thoughts.
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Keep in mind, Aniimo is very much still a work in progress, as the build I checked out was the Closed Beta. That means there could be plenty of changes before the game’s full release. Even so, from what I’ve seen, Aniimo has the potential to stand alongside games like Palworld as a solid rival to the Pokemon franchise. It has a similar open-world concept, but with more of an exploration and puzzle focus rather than emphasizing base-building and survival. While playing Aniimo‘s Beta, I felt like I was stepping into a combination of Infinity Nikki and Palworld, with some unique elements that set the game apart. And I do mean that as a compliment.
Playing Aniimo Felt Like a Cozier, Free-to-Play Palworld Experience
I’ve sunk a good number of hours into Palworld, and I’d honestly say that Aniimo is better compared to that open-world survival game than to Pokemon. Though a creature collector will never escape the Pokemon comparisons, Aniimo is much more open-world and freeform than even the first “open-world” Pokemon game ever was. After an opening cutscene that drops some lore for the game world, you step into a lush open world full of roaming aniimo. But unlike in Palworld, you’re not tasked with the struggle to survive or build a base to defend. You’ve got a bit of a story-driven purpose, but largely, the gameplay is pretty open-ended. Though you have a list of objectives to complete, both to unlock your next main story quest and to acquire in-game currencies, what you do is largely up to you.
I find this kind of open-ended gameplay can be a blessing and a curse. Some gamers definitely like to have a list of challenges and tasks to tick through at their own pace, and mostly, I’m one of them. But free-to-play games like Aniimo can run the risk of oversaturating players with too many tasks to unlock too many different kinds of rewards. And in Beta, Aniimo is definitely riding this line. There are a lot of menus to open and currencies to collect, but it’s not always clear what they’re for. The game’s overall tutorial, in terms of introducing you to catching aniimo and world exploration, is pretty solid even at this stage. But like many free-to-play titles, understanding all the gems and coins is a bit of an uphill battle at first.
For all that, Aniimo feels like it could be poisted to hit the free-to-play sweet spot. While playing the beta, I didn’t feel like any activities were paywalled or that any gacha mechanics would come into play. Instead, those in-game currencies look geared towards unlocking cosmetics and ways to speed up progression. If that’s the case, the game could be a great option for those looking to explore a pretty open world full of adorable creatures to collect and level up.
It also leans into MMO elements, letting players make friends and explore the world with others. And that is definitely something that can help this kind of game take off. Personally, I appreciated that the in-game chat wasn’t very invasive. Tucked away in a separate menu rather than always going at the side of the screen like many MMOs, it was easy to ignore that other players were chatting if you wanted to focus on solo exploration, as well.
A Stunning Open World Full of Puzzles Makes Aniimo Worth Sinking Into
As its trailers suggest, Aniimo offers a visually stunning open world. The map is fairly large, divided into different areas with suggested levels for you and your aniimo before you go exploring. There is lush greenery that moves in a natural, inviting way. The world of Aniimo definitely feels alive, both with plants and water as well as aniimo. The aniimo designs feel unique for the most part, and they’re certainly some cute critters you want to collect.
While some of them will attack you as you roam, many are happy to leave you to your own devices. If you want to add new creatures to your Aniilog (the game’s Pokedex-like function), you can chuck cubes at them from afar or engage in battle. In this way, the catching mechanic feels a good bit like Palworld or Pokemon Legends: Arceus, but with its own unique animation. It’s pretty intuitive, though the battles do feel a bit too straightforward at first, especially early on.
Exploring the world feels rewarding in large part because it’s so pretty, and because you’ll uncover new aniimo as you do. But there are also fun hidden secrets, like chests to unlock, puzzles to solve, and dungeons to navigate. This exploration is largely how you’ll come to understand the game’s most unique feature – “Twining.” Because as you explore, certain areas can only be accessed by becoming one with your aniimo. In other words, you get to run around the map as the aniimo you’ve collected. This is how you can burn down certain obstacles, swim, and even glide your way through the map. It’s one of the things that sets Aniimo apart from other, similar creature-collecting games, and it feels pretty seamless even in the beta.
Twining is also key to navigating special in-game dungeons that you’ll encounter as you explore the map. These dungeons remind me a bit of what you might find in something like Genshin Impact, offering a special challenge to navigate and unlock rewards. There’s a bit of a puzzle element to them, as you have to use different aniimo abilities to find hidden secrets. This helps give the open-ended gameplay loop another activity outside of catching new aniimo and ticking off tasks, and I found myself eager to uncover more secrets as I played.
Aniimo’s Graphics Can Be Taxing for PC Players
Overall, I was fairly impressed with the Aniimo beta. The game still has a few rough edges, but it could shape up to be a solid new cozy entry in the creature-collecting space. There’s just one big issue that could hold the game back for some players, myself included. And that’s the fact that it’s got fairly intensive PC demands. Aniimo‘s big open world full of beautiful anime-inspired art does put a pretty big tax on your computer, meaning the game requires a bit than many gamers who lean into “cozy” coded games are ready for. And that makes me wonder if it could run into the inZOI problem. Thankfully, Aniimo is aiming to launch not just on PC, but also for mobile and Xbox, which could cut down on this issue quite a bit.
But even so, I definitely noticed that my PC struggled to run the game at times. To be fair, my old girl isn’t as state-of-the-art as she could be, and I just barely met the recommended specs for the closed beta. My gaming laptop ran the game fairly smoothly, but it was working up a sweat doing it. When loading into new areas, I did notice a bit of lag. And that’s not what every PC gamer wants to hear. There’s still room for some optimization ahead of Aniimo‘s full release, of course, and plenty of gamers have PCs that are far more up to snuff than mine.
Aniimo could bypass the PC specs issue thanks to its multiplatform release plan. Those who don’t have a PC that can run it could check out the game on mobile, or the Xbox Series X|S if they have a console. But I do think, of all the drawbacks from playing Aniimo during open beta, the fact that it put such a heavy demand on my PC probably limited my enjoyment the most. It never crashed or even froze for me, but I was always a little bit worried it might, even on the lowest graphics settings.
In all, I came away from the Aniimo open-beta feeling like it’s a cozy creature collector with a lot of promise. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next for the game as it approaches a full launch in 2026.
Are you looking forward to playing Aniimo when it releases later this year? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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