ANOMALITH, developed and published by FuRyu, is a survival third-person shooting game set in a fictional Japan where the Showa era (1926-1989) never ended. With a retro worldview and anime-styled character designs, ANOMALITH is shaping up to be quite the unique TPS, and has been seeing quite the unprecedented popularity outside of Japan thanks to its concept. On the other hand, there have also been some players expressing concerns about the quality of the gameplay, considering this is the first time FuRyu is making a third-person shooter. Recently, it was announced that the Steam demo period would be extended, and it seems like the development team has been actively working on refining the game based on player feedback.
During this year’s Tokyo Game Show, we had the opportunity to sit down and interview ANOMALITH producer Gai Kidokoro to learn more about why FuRyu decided to take on its first ever TPS, how he’s been taking player feedback so far, and his personal tastes in anime girls.
－Could you please introduce yourself.
Gai Kidokoro (hereafter, Kidokoro):
My name is Gai Kidokoro, and I am the producer of ANOMALITH at Furyu.
－Anomalith is FuRyu’s first time developing a shooting game. What gave you the idea to tackle the TPS genre?
Kidokoro:
The reason we decided to take on the TPS genre was simply that the director, myself, and other members of the development team, were by chance all fans of games in which you run around with a gun. And honestly, if you don’t make the kind of game you’d enjoy playing yourself, you inevitably end up running into roadblocks in the final stages.
I am a fan of third-person shooters, but I’m not really the kind of guy who plays games like turn-based command battle RPGs. If anything, I actively prefer action games. With that in mind, I wanted to create a new game in the genre I love. That is how ANOMALITH came to be. Rather than the company telling me to make it, I’m creating the game driven by my own passion.
－What were the challenges of making a TPS? Could you share a specific story about the difficulties you faced during development and how you managed to overcome them?
Kidokoro:
The most difficult thing about developing a TPS was balance. I think there are many fans of third-person shooters who are used to Call of Duty and Escape from Tarkov, but if we simply carried over those elements as-in, ANOMALITH would end up becoming a hardcore game.
Having characters, a story, music, and enjoying the worldview is the biggest premise of all FuRyu games. If we made ANOMALITH super difficult simply because it’s a TPS, we wouldn’t be able to give players the essential elements they’d expect from a FuRyu game. I was afraid we’d end up getting our priorities backwards. Developing the game, we paid close attention to strike a kind of balance that would ensure ANOMALITH is fun as a TPS but also lets players enjoy its world and narrative.
－Developing ANOMALITH, were there any games you used as a benchmark for the gameplay?
Kidokoro:
We referenced the Resident Evil series, as its core systems are the closest to ANOMALITH’s. Additionally, for the gameplay cycle – in which you gather supplies and return to your base – we referenced Escape from Tarkov.
－Many shooters tend to lean into realistic graphics, but why was it so important for you to stick to an anime art style?
Kidokoro:
This won’t sound very inspiring, but I think it would be a bit tough for a new FuRyu game to compete in the Japanese market with realistic graphics. Even with all the various constraints, a game about cute anime girls fighting is something I felt would be easier to sell and is in line with the market’s demands. Also, if we’re going to put characters into a game, my personal opinion is that it would be much better if they were cute girls, which is also what influenced our decision (laughs).
Of course, I personally think muscular characters like Resident Evil’s Leon and Chris are also badass. But in order to convey the sense of terror and transience of life depicted in the world of ANOMALITH, I thought delicate anime girls would work much better.
－Speaking of which, what kind of girls do you like?
Kidokoro:
If you’re asking me, I tend to like the strong, “big sister” characters. I’m not the kind of person to be drawn to someone simply because of their looks. I’m more likely to fall for someone because I’m captivated by their way of life. It really hits home for me whenever there’s a character that doesn’t beat herself up over things as soon as she runs into hardships. I love those types of characters a bit too much – so much that I had to control myself to make sure I don’t put too many of them in ANOMALITH.
While the characters in ANOMALITH are all good people, if you change the way you look at them, they can also come across as villains. There are many characters with dry personalities who don’t hesitate to make cruel decisions at times. But that’s exactly what I like about them.
－The scenario was written by Romeo Tanaka. Could you tell us about how you got him on board, and if there were any specific directions you gave him for the scenario?
Kidokoro:
I wanted to commission Romeo Tanaka to write the scenario, but I didn’t have his contact information back then. I had to ask someone from our company to help me get in touch with him. Then, I explained the project to him. I wanted to create a video game set in a world inspired by things like the Backrooms and SCPs, so I asked him to flesh out the worldbuilding.
－What made you want to work with Tanaka Romeo in the first place?
Kidokoro:
I just love his screenplays. When FuRyu commissions a writer, the biggest reason for choosing a specific person is usually that the producer or director are their fans, and I think that’s something that will never change.
－ANOMALITH features a blend of liminal spaces and Showa-era retro aesthetics. Why did you decide to use liminal spaces as an inspiration for its world?
Kidokoro:
There are several reasons, but I personally love liminal spaces that are like eerie, sterile office areas. I was also afraid that the world of ANOMALITH might get overshadowed if we tried making it into a typical horror-styled setting.
Rather than competing head-to-head with major horror titles like Resident Evil, we tried taking a slightly different approach. That’s why we gave it a worldview that blends liminal spaces with Japanese Showa-era retro aesthetics. I think the two go really well together.
－The game has received many Steam Wishlists from overseas users, and you also recently announced that most of your recent followers on X were from outside of Japan. Why do you think the game resonated so much with them?
Kidokoro:
Actually, I’ve wanted to ask the same thing myself (laughs).
I didn’t think anime girls would be that well-received overseas. Our primary focus was on the domestic and Asian markets, so I thought that the game would likely resonate with those audiences. I really don’t know why it struck a chord with so many people from North America and other overseas regions.
If I had to give one reason why it’s been attracting so much attention overseas, maybe it’s just that the timing was good. It overlapped with the period when the Backrooms content was gaining traction both in Japan and overseas. I also think ANOMALITH might have caught the attention of people from around the world because it offers a slightly different approach to the TPS genre. That’s my take on it, at least.
－Has this response from overseas players led to any new discoveries?
Kidokoro:
The fact that the Showa-era retro vibe resonated not only with Japanese players, but also with overseas players was a new discovery for us. I was worried people would think it’s “not Japanese enough” or that the Showa-retro aesthetics would be considered outdated, but it seems that wasn’t the case at all, and that people are actually interested in it. In that sense, it was a positive discovery.
－Recently, you announced that you would be extending the demo availability period due to high demand. What was the feedback to the demo like?
Kidokoro:
Regarding the Steam demo, there was a lot of positive feedback. Some said that ANOMALITH was purely entertaining, while others expressed high hopes for its worldview and story.
However, this being a TPS title intended to be played on a PC, we also received a lot of negative feedback regarding the controls. Since we mostly played the game via controller during development, we did end up somewhat neglecting the keyboard and mouse controls, which is something we reflected upon. We’ve updated the demo to incorporate the direct feedback we got from PC players, and it now plays much smoother using keyboard and mouse controls.
－When it comes to the game’s difficulty level, would you consider it beginner friendly?
Kidokoro:
Even for someone playing a TPS for the first time, the game is designed so that they can get by smoothly even on Normal difficulty. Especially if you play with a controller, turning on aim assist makes the crosshair lock onto targets quite consistently, so even beginners who have a hard time aiming can easily shoot down enemies. In conclusion, I think the difficulty is set so that even TPS beginners can progress through the game while being immersed in the worldview of ANOMALITH.
－On the other hand, does ANOMALITH offer enough of a challenge for experienced gamers?
Kidokoro:
If you ramp up the difficulty to High, you’ll be able to enjoy gameplay that offers quite a challenge. In ANOMALITH, there are sections in the map that are randomly shut off once you enter, and you have to fight a large number of enemies in a confined space – we at the development team call this part “Rush.” So, I think players who aren’t as skilled might end up panicking when they encounter a Rush. Since enemies come at you from all four sides, and you have to fight while skillfully navigating the situation, there’s a real sense of tension. I hope hardcore gamers will enjoy taking on these dangerous obstacles.
－Lastly, could you please share a message for our readers?
Kidokoro:
On the official ANOMALITH Discord server, there’s a channel I created myself. The reason I did it was because I wanted to make a space where server members could share liminal space-like photos they took. I also post my own photos from my daily life that kind of have a liminal space feel to them.
About half of our office looks like we’re in the middle of a move, and there are even spots where there’s no computers. So, when the ANOMALITH development team noticed this, they started talking about how it looks like a liminal space.
Therefore, if do you come across a place that reminds you of a liminal space, please let me know on our official Discord server.
－Thank you very much!
ANOMALITH is scheduled to release on October 29 for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC (Steam).
