Anachronox on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
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Join Sylvester "Sly" Boots and Stiletto Anyway as they trek across six bizarre planets investigating a galaxy-crushing mystery, searching for artefacts from an extinct alien race and unlocking the secrets of a powerful, advanced technology. It's your turn. PICK YOUR POISON.
Anachronox is a rpg, cyberpunk and sci-fi game
developed by
and published by Square Enix.
Released on October 17th 2013 is available in English only on Windows.
It has received 582 reviews of which 435 were positive and 147 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.1 out of 10. 😊
The game is currently priced at 0.83€ on Steam with a 86% discount.
The Steam community has classified Anachronox into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
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System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS *: Windows XP or Windows Vista
- Processor: 1.8 GHz Processor
- Memory: 512 MB RAM
- Graphics: 3D graphics card compatible with DirectX 7 (compatible with DirectX 9 recommended)
- DirectX: Version 7.0
- Storage: 2 GB available space
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
Anachronox is a singular role-playing game that has earned its cult reputation not through technical excellence or mainstream popularity, but through sheer creativity, ambition, and personality. Set in a richly imagined science-fiction universe, the game opens on a deliberately small and grimy scale, following Sylvester “Sly” Boots, a washed-up private investigator living in poverty on a decaying city-planet. This grounded, almost mundane starting point contrasts sharply with where the story eventually leads, and that slow expansion from street-level detective work to galaxy-spanning stakes is one of the game’s most defining strengths. Narratively, Anachronox is bold and unusually playful. It blends noir detective tropes, absurdist humor, and high-concept science fiction into a tone that constantly shifts yet remains cohesive. What begins as a simple case quickly spirals into a complex conflict involving ancient cosmic forces and the fate of the universe itself. The writing is sharp, self-aware, and frequently funny, but it also knows when to slow down and allow emotional beats to land. Characters joke, bicker, and reflect on their circumstances in ways that make them feel alive, and the game rarely relies on exposition dumps, instead trusting the player to piece together the larger picture over time. The cast of companions is one of the game’s standout features. Each party member brings not only unique combat abilities but also a strong personality that influences dialogue and story moments. Conversations often change depending on who is present, rewarding players who experiment with party composition beyond mechanical considerations. This emphasis on character interaction gives the world a sense of dynamism and depth, making even optional conversations feel worthwhile. The humor ranges from subtle wordplay to outright absurdity, but it’s grounded enough that it rarely undermines the emotional stakes. Gameplay is structured around exploration, puzzles, dialogue, and turn-based combat. Combat follows a system inspired by classic Japanese RPGs, using action gauges that fill over time, but adds a layer of spatial movement within battles that keeps encounters from feeling entirely static. While the combat system is serviceable rather than revolutionary, it complements the broader experience without overstaying its welcome. Exploration often takes precedence, with environments designed to encourage curiosity, observation, and problem-solving. Many progression moments hinge on understanding the world and its characters rather than simply defeating enemies. Visually, Anachronox is unmistakably a product of its era, built on heavily modified Quake II technology. By modern standards, textures, models, and animations are dated, but the art direction compensates with imaginative environments and expressive character animation. The game makes bold use of color and scale, presenting alien worlds and cityscapes that feel distinct and memorable despite technical limitations. These visuals, combined with cinematic camera work and in-engine cutscenes, give the game a surprisingly strong sense of presentation for its time. The game’s pacing can be uneven, particularly in its early hours, where systems are introduced gradually and progress can feel slow. Some mechanics lack polish, and occasional bugs or awkward interface choices remind players of the game’s troubled development history. However, for players willing to push past these rough edges, the payoff is substantial. As the narrative expands and the full scope of the universe becomes clear, the game’s ambition shines through in a way few RPGs attempt, even today. Anachronox ultimately stands as a testament to creative risk-taking. It is imperfect, occasionally frustrating, and unmistakably niche, but it is also imaginative, heartfelt, and deeply memorable. Its mix of humor, character-driven storytelling, and escalating cosmic stakes gives it a voice unlike almost any other RPG. For players who value narrative originality and world-building over technical refinement, it remains a rewarding and fascinating experience that continues to resonate long after the credits roll. Rating: 7/10
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This game is a little piece of nostalgia from back before almost every new release had to be a sequel or a new entry derived from an IP. It's an original, difficult to classify game (jprg in a cyberpunk mixed with a noir vibe) which had the potential to be a really good game if not for the lack of polish and depth of its combat, the very dated graphics even for its time, and a combination of being very linear and at the same time not really knowing where you should look for the next important upgrades for you characters, robbing you of a certain sense of "ordered" progression (and incidentally, making the game potentially more difficult whenever you miss on one or more weapon upgrades. particularly before the final chapter). The worst letdown is that you can see the foundations of a really great game that sadly never really materializes, but even so, it's a fun little gem if you can look past its flaws.
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This game is a delightful story wrapped in a barely playable game in 2025. It may not be long before this dated game can still be played. This game is 100% story and humor-driven and its good that both are better than most games. I would not recommend this for players that do not have patience to read.
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The game has a really good story, with very charming characters and relationships, and very ambitious cinematography. The soundtrack is atmospheric oozing personality. This is a very one of a kind game. However, the gameplay can be bothersome. It distracts from the main goal at times, the combat can take forever at times, and the puzzles can be very annoying and hard to figure out. But if you can take that on, or use a walkthrough, you're bound to have an amazing time. A true 7/10, if you know what I mean.
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There will never be another game like Anachronox. It is truly wonderful hidden gem; almost a masterpiece. The story, dialogue, atmosphere, music, and characters are all superb. Combat is a pretty slow, but all right nevertheless. You can really tell that the developers put a lot of love into this game.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Anachronox is currently priced at 0.83€ on Steam.
Anachronox is currently available at a 86% discount. You can purchase it for 0.83€ on Steam.
Anachronox received 435 positive votes out of a total of 582 achieving a rating of 7.11.
😊
Anachronox was published by Square Enix.
Anachronox is playable and fully supported on Windows.
Anachronox is not playable on MacOS.
Anachronox is not playable on Linux.
Anachronox is a single-player game.
Anachronox does not currently offer any DLC.
Anachronox does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
Anachronox does not support Steam Remote Play.
Anachronox is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Anachronox.
Data sources
The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.
Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 25 March 2026 11:26 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 18 March 2026 15:25 |
| Steam price | 26 March 2026 04:43 |
| Steam reviews | 25 March 2026 16:06 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Anachronox, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Anachronox
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Anachronox concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Anachronox compatibility
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Publisher
Square Enix
Release
17 Oct 2013
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