When you’re dealing with games that simply have chosen their own style, path, and vision of their gameplay I’ve found that they can be difficult to score. On the one hand, it is clear when developers have a very specific concept for the game they want to create, and when they’ve seemingly managed to execute that vision. On the other, at the end of the day satisfaction with a given experience is in the eyes of the person playing it, so even a game that’s executed to perfection can still fall down if it isn’t something that enough people are really looking for.

That reality makes Anthology of The Killer a really difficult game to review. Given that it’s essentially multiple short-form games that have been stitched together, that may not be surprising, though thankfully they’re all made in the same manner so there’s no jarring shift from one to the next. That said, they have a very specific look and feel to them that’s on the more simplistic side, though its colorful and oddball world does absolutely make it very distinctive. While these may be considered horror games of a sort, in general they likely wouldn’t be scary in any particular way to most people. There will be some times where you’ll be in some limited peril, chased down by a killer or killers, but the stakes are pretty low since being caught is more an obstacle to completing a given story quickly, not making you start over or anything as dramatic as that.

One of the elements that does take some getting used to, aside from the game’s somewhat quirky sense of humor and commentaries on certain aspects of modern life, is that if you’re looking for a proper horror title this likely won’t be what you’re expecting. There are elements of it here and there, and you’ll find yourself in some limited danger at times, but more often than not these bite-sized vignettes are all just exploring different things and taking you along for the ride. One complaint I do have is with the camera, which you’re unable to control, and can really get in the way at times of enjoying the experience. It quite often seems to have a mind of its own, and especially in some of the earlier stories I was inclined to try to either fight it or figure it out. At some point I gave in and went limp though, accepting the weird choices it makes, realizing that’s consistent with the choices the game makes as a whole over the course of your time with it.