Masters of Anima Review: Tiny Soldiers Are the Star, Kingdom Building Is the Drag

Masters of Anima asks players to control armies of tiny soldiers through a kingdom built for scale. The PS4, PC, XONE and Switch release turns that simple idea into a strategy game built around summoning, chaining and chaining again. It earns a 7.7 out of 10.

Trailer, via Focus Entertainment.

Summoning Chains

The core loop is easy to explain and hard to master. Players summon small soldiers from a grid, send them into battle, then chain new units behind them to keep the momentum going. Each unit carries a special ability, and timing those abilities right can turn a losing fight into a winning one.

The chaining system rewards patience. Hold back too long and the enemy overpowers you; rush in too early and your army gets broken apart. Finding that balance takes practice, and the game does not hold your hand through it.

Kingdom Building

Between battles, players manage a kingdom. This is where the game shows its ambition, asking players to build roads, fortifications and resource points across a large map. The kingdom building adds depth, but it also slows the pace compared to the fast action of the battlefield.

Some players will love the management layer. Others will find it a distraction from the combat they came for. The game does not make the two systems feel equally essential, and that split is the biggest weakness in the design.

Performance Across Platforms

Masters of Anima runs on PS4, PC, XONE and Switch, and the performance varies by platform. On PC, the game offers the highest visual fidelity and the smoothest frame rate. On Switch, the game sacrifices some polish for portability, and the frame rate dips during busy battles. The game holds together across all four platforms, but each version trades something for what it gains.

The Switch version is the most portable. The PC version is the most polished. Neither sacrifices the core experience, but neither delivers everything at once either.

What Works

• The summoning and chaining system is clever and satisfying
• Kingdom building adds depth, even if it breaks up the flow
• The variety of soldier types keeps battles fresh
• The difficulty curve rewards careful play

What Falls Short

• The kingdom building feels like filler between battles
• Some battles rely too heavily on luck rather than skill
• The Switch version drops frames during busy fights
• The campaign is shorter than the systems deserve

The game’s strongest moments come when the summoning and chaining systems click together. Watching a chain of soldiers break apart an enemy formation is the kind of moment that keeps players coming back. The weakest moments come when the game leans too hard on chance, leaving players frustrated by a loss they could not avoid.

The kingdom building is the most divisive part of Masters of Anima. It gives the game a longer lifespan than pure combat alone would allow, but it also stretches the pacing thin. Some players will enjoy planning out their kingdom for hours. Others will finish the main campaign and set it aside.

Masters of Anima is a solid strategy game that occasionally reaches for more than it delivers. The summoning and chaining system is the star of the show, while the kingdom building feels like a separate game layered on top of it. Together, they form a package that is better than the sum of its parts, but not great enough to overcome the friction between them.

The game succeeds when it stays focused on the battlefield and fails when it drifts toward kingdom management. That tension is the whole story of Masters of Anima.

Key Facts Box
– Platforms: PS4, PC, XONE, Switch
– Genre: Strategy
– Score: 7.7/10
– Review based on published critical score

Masters of Anima is a game worth playing for its combat alone, and worth tolerating for its kingdom building. It will not change your mind about the genre, but it will give you a few hours of genuine satisfaction. The score reflects that split: a strong core idea held back by a supporting system that never quite catches up.

game review · kingdom builder · PS4 · strategy game · Switch