Anima: Song from the Abyss is the next entry in the long-running Anima series. Scheduled for release in 2027 for consoles and PC, the title is set to be the largest in the franchise to date, expanding on every mechanic and narrative that came before.
While the official launch is still a ways off, we here at Netto's Game Room had the exclusive chance to catch back up with the team at Anima Project. We sat down to discuss the upcoming title and find out exactly what fans can expect from this ambitious new adventure.
Hi Carlos, it is a pleasure to speak with you again! How have things been going for you and your team since we last spoke? It sounds like you've been quite busy!
The pleasure is all mine!
Honestly, we can't complain. As you said, we've thrown ourselves headfirst into our next project, so we really haven't had much free time.
So the story of Song From the Abyss feels like it is a bit of the opposite of Gate of Memories I. Could you tell us a little more about these characters, and their goal of "traveling to the Heart of the Abyss?"
As always, one of our biggest goals is to tell a truly compelling story. From our point of view, the best way to achieve that is by creating a rich world and exploring it through memorable characters.
As you guessed, in that sense, Soren and Noein are, in many ways, the opposite of the protagonists from our previous game.
Soren is a knight of the Order of Heaven, a legendary elite group whose members possess seemingly impossible abilities and serve the Imperial Throne directly.
Once an idealist and one of the Order's brightest young knights, his name became infamous after an incident that nearly led to his expulsion. Ever since then, he's become quiet, withdrawn, and burdened by his past. But after meeting Noein, he slowly begins to heal... in ways he could never have expected.
As for Noein, the mysterious young woman Soren accidentally releases, she's an incredibly fascinating character full of contradictions. She carries herself like a dark princess; proud, elegant, and seemingly far beyond everyone around her in both knowledge and power. Yet at the same time, she experiences the world with the curiosity of someone seeing it for the very first time, which makes every interaction with her feel unique.
Gifted with impossible abilities and wielding power over both life and death, she saves Soren in exchange for a single promise: that he will escort her to the mysterious Heart of the Abyss. According to her, it is the source of a song that brought about the fall of her civilization.
What this unlikely pair discovers throughout their journey, about one another and about the world around them, forms the heart of a story that is at times joyful, at times heartbreaking, but above all, deeply meaningful.
Before even discussing the gameplay, one thing that stood out to me instantly about Song From the Abyss is none other than the graphical style. What made you decide to make such an artistic change?
We genuinely felt that a cel-shaded art style would be a much better fit for the world and the adventure we wanted to create.
I believe a game's visual identity should always support its narrative. With Song from the Abyss, we wanted to portray vibrant landscapes full of lush vegetation and breathtaking scenery just as convincingly as dark, oppressive places.
For that, cel shading was simply the perfect choice. And as a small indie studio, it's also a far more sensible direction than trying to compete with big-budget games on photorealism; a battle a small studio like us would never be able to win.
When it comes to the general gameplay, both characters are controllable. Could you tell us a little more about how this works?
We basically took the Dual System from Gate of Memories, which was one of the game's most distinctive mechanics, and expanded it considerably.
You can still switch between characters almost whenever you want, but now it's much more than simply continuing the other character's combo. Because of the unique synergy between Soren and Noein, switching at the right moment can trigger powerful special actions that feel both spectacular and deeply satisfying.
For example, after breaking an enemy's guard, you'll have a brief window where switching characters triggers a Crush Counter, bringing the incoming character onto the battlefield with a devastating attack.
The new combat itself looks extremely fluid, and the combos look like they'll be a lot of fun to pull off! In what ways would you say the mechanics have been improved upon compared to the previous entries?
Exactly as you said, one of our biggest priorities has been making every action flow naturally into the next. Attacks connect more smoothly, combos feel much more intuitive, and the controls are significantly more responsive.
Taken as a whole, these improvements make the combat feel far more satisfying than in our previous games, and we're genuinely very happy with the result.
Along with standard combat, are there any transformations or powered-up modes that give our characters additional boosts?
You could say so, although we wanted each character to feel distinct, so it's not something both of them have.
What I can reveal is that one of the protagonists has an Ascended Form that dramatically enhances their abilities, opening up entirely new combat possibilities.
What about the world's structure itself? Previously the Gate of Memories titles featured an almost Metroidvania-like interconnected world, with a hub tower containing multiple doors and shortcuts. Can we expect something similar here, or has the world been reinvented due to the new setting?
Very much so!
Rather than building a traditional open world, we've created a huge interconnected environment that plays much like a giant Metroidvania. Players are constantly free to choose between multiple routes, deciding which paths to explore and which challenges to tackle first.
And of course, as you unlock new abilities, you'll be able to revisit previous areas, uncover hidden paths, and discover secrets that weren't accessible before.
Along with this new world, I have to ask: what about towns? Will they be included this time around?
They will!
This time around there are two settlements: a small village and a much larger city that plays a key role in the story.
They're both filled with all kinds of memorable NPCs; the sort of characters that really stay with you long after you've finished the game.
Are there any ideas you would've liked to have included in Gate of Memories I & II that you were finally able to realize in Song From the Abyss?
Quite a few, actually.
But if I had to choose one, it'd be the opportunity to populate the world with all kinds of NPCs. That has allowed us to create much more elaborate side quests. Our goal is to make each one feel like a small traditional tabletop RPG adventure within the game itself.
And of course, we haven't forgotten about making combat as spectacular as possible. The experience we've gained over the years has allowed us to design far more unique encounters, along with boss fights that are much more memorable and exciting.
On a similar note, I remember you stating last time you settled for "comic" style cutscenes so you could dedicate your resources to the core game. Going by the trailers and pre-release information for Song From the Abyss however, the game seems to be a lot more cinematic! Is this in fact the case, or are such scenes reserved for key moments?
A bit of both.
At the end of the day, we're still a very small three-person team. Even if we wanted to, we simply don't have the resources to fully animate every cutscene in the game.
That said, this time we are able to create a number of fully animated scenes, especially for the most spectacular and important moments.
Even so, our priority is still the game itself. If we can't make every cutscene look as impressive as we'd like, then at the very least we want the gameplay and the experience as a whole to be truly striking.
I know the game will be a standalone title that is part of the overall Anima world, so newcomers are free to jump in here, but can fans of the series expect to see any callbacks or references to past entries? Be that from the video games, or even the previously released tabletop and card game projects?
Yes. Some characters from our previous title will return, so while you absolutely don't need to know anything about the other Anima games to enjoy this one, longtime fans may find it especially rewarding to meet and interact with some familiar faces again.
Previously it was mentioned your main influences for Gate of Memories I & II came from Nier, Kingdom Hearts, and Devil May Cry. Are there any additional sources of inspiration that came into play while developing Song From the Abyss?
Absolutely. Alongside those three, I would now add Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Stellar Blade, which are honestly two of the best games I've played recently.
Of course it might be a bit too early to reveal too much more, but is there anything else you'd like our readers to know about the game?
We're really looking forward to players experiencing the weight of the moral choices they'll have to face for themselves.
And finally, we like to close our interviews with a for fun question. Last time we asked you about the Reading Rainbow reference, which is still hilarious, but this time I was wondering: out of the entire series, who would you say is your favorite character, and why?
That's very difficult... because we truly love all of them.
But I think it would probably be a tie between Ergo and Noein. They couldn't be more different, and in some ways they can both be rather terrible... but over the course of the adventure, they each end up claiming a little piece of your heart.
For more on Anima, you can check out our previous interview, or head over to the Anima: Song from the Abyss announcement article to learn more.
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