Anomaly Agent looks simple at first: punch, shoot, dodge, and keep moving through a neon future as Agent 70. The game gets more demanding once enemy groups start merging, arenas add hazards, and bosses ask you to use more than basic attacks. Treat it like a fast beat-‘em-up with platforming instincts, not a game where one favorite button carries the whole run.
The cleanest first clear comes from building habits early. Use the environment, spend upgrades instead of hoarding currency, practice anomaly powers in normal rooms, and pay attention to choices because the game has two endings. You can chase full completion later, but a careful first run saves a lot of cleanup.
Essential Tips
1. Play Like Every Arena Is Interactive
Do not treat fights as flat boxing rings. Anomaly Agent rewards using hazards and stage objects. Cutting cables, dropping boxes, and electrocuting enemies all count as environmental kills, and those tools are useful even when you are not chasing completion. If an arena looks cluttered, scan it before you dive into the middle.
Environmental damage is especially helpful when enemies crowd together. Rather than trading hits with the whole group, kite them toward the hazard, trigger it, and clean up whatever survives. This keeps your health safer and teaches you to read the room before committing to a combo.
2. Break Enemy Merging Immediately
Enemy merging is dangerous enough to have its own achievement for interrupting it. That is a clear signal: when enemies start combining or powering up, stop your current plan and break the process. Letting a merge finish usually means dealing with a tougher target, a messier arena, and fewer safe openings.
Use quick attacks, anomaly powers, or a thrown weapon if they get you there fastest. The exact move matters less than the reaction. Build the habit of watching enemy behavior instead of only watching your own combo, and merging becomes a manageable interruption rather than a fight spiral.
3. Use Guns Until Empty, Then Throw Them
Firearms are not only ranged damage. Once a gun runs dry, you can throw the empty weapon and even score a kill with it. That makes guns useful through their whole life cycle: shoot to thin distant enemies, then convert the empty weapon into one last projectile instead of wasting a beat trying to fire again.
This also helps your pacing. If you know an empty gun still has value, you can commit to draining it during a crowded exchange. Just avoid standing still to force the throw. Use it when an enemy is lined up or when the toss gives you space to reset.
4. Practice Finishers Before You Need Them
Sword Finisher and Hammer Finisher kills are tracked separately, and their combo structures reward deliberate inputs. Do not wait until late-game pressure to learn them. Use early standard enemies to practice the timing until the final hit comes out reliably.
Finishers are more than completion chores. A clean finisher gives you a predictable burst at the end of a string, which matters when enemies are grouped or when a stronger target needs to be closed out before reinforcements make the arena messy. If you drop the input often, slow down. A finished combo is better than a panicked partial string.
5. Treat Anomaly Powers as Core Tools
Giant Punch and Coin both have dedicated kill goals, which means the game expects you to use anomaly powers often. Work them into normal combat instead of saving them for special moments. Giant Punch is the kind of power you want when a close enemy needs to be launched or interrupted. Coin gives you another option when positioning or range matters.
The broader lesson is that anomaly powers should solve problems. If a room is punishing your melee approach, use a power to change spacing. If enemies are clustering, use a power before the group surrounds you. If a boss window is short, save the power for that clean opening rather than firing it into a bad angle.
6. Buy Upgrades Early and Often
Buying 25 upgrades is a tracked completion goal, but upgrades are also your main way to smooth the campaign. Do not sit on currency while struggling through the same room. If the shop offers survivability, damage, utility, or a playstyle modifier that matches how you fight, buy it and start benefiting immediately.
Early upgrades pay off for the longest stretch of the game. A small improvement before several chapters can prevent more damage than a late purchase made right before the end. If you are unsure what to prioritize, choose upgrades that make your most reliable actions better first, then branch into tools you are still learning.
7. Balance Positive and Negative Emotion Choices
The game tracks positive and negative emotions separately, and each side has its own milestone. That means choices are not just flavor if you care about completion. Pay attention to how your decisions affect the run, especially if you usually pick the same tone every time.
For a first clear, choose naturally and enjoy the story. For cleanup, track which emotion side you still need and steer your choices accordingly. Since the game supports two endings, it is useful to pair ending cleanup with emotion cleanup rather than replaying without a plan.
8. Watch for Chests and Optional Interactions
Treasure Hunter requires opening all chests, and Arcade Gamer requires interacting with arcade machines eight times. Those goals tell you the levels contain more than the critical path. Slow down after fights, check corners, and interact with obvious machines or containers before moving on.
Do not assume you will remember every missed object later. If you see a chest but cannot reach it yet, make a quick mental note of the scene. If you are playing for 100%, treat each room as a small search space once enemies are gone. Combat rewards speed, but collectible cleanup rewards patience.
9. Expect Bosses to Test Different Skills
The achievement list names several major encounters: Gravity Anomaly, Wrestler, Alpha Defender, Warden, Elites, Artist, and the ending route bosses. Even without a full pattern table, that tells you the game is built around distinct boss milestones. Do not assume every boss wants the same approach.
Start each boss by learning movement and spacing. Look for safe punish windows before chasing damage. If a boss punishes close range, lean harder on firearms, anomaly powers, and movement. If the arena adds smaller enemies or hazards, clear the problem that limits your movement first. A patient first minute often saves multiple retries.
10. Plan for Two Endings
Anomaly Agent has two ending achievements, one tied to Eva and one tied to the Hooded Man. If you only want to finish the story, make the choice you prefer. If you want completion, expect to see both outcomes across separate clears or cleanup opportunities.
Because the game is short enough for a focused replay, your second run should have a checklist: the ending you missed, emotion goals you still need, upgrades not yet bought, remaining chests, arcade machines, and any combat achievements that did not happen naturally. A planned second run feels much better than wandering through the same chapters hoping something triggers.
11. Use Rogue Agent Mode as a Skill Check
Rogue Agent mode was added as a free major update and reframes existing game elements into a repeatable roguelike challenge. Treat it as a place to sharpen combat, not as a replacement for learning the campaign. If you are still struggling with enemy merging, hazards, finishers, or anomaly powers, the campaign gives you clearer progression context.
Once your basics are solid, Rogue Agent is useful because repeatable combat exposes weak habits quickly. If you keep taking damage while surrounded, work on movement. If enemies survive too long, revisit upgrade and power choices. If you ignore hazards, force yourself to use them until arena scanning becomes automatic.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
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Do not fight every group in the center of the room - Pull enemies through hazards and use the stage.
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Do not ignore enemy merging - Break it quickly before the fight gets harder.
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Do not throw away empty guns mentally - An empty gun can still become a useful projectile.
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Do not mash finishers blindly - Learn the Sword and Hammer finisher rhythms on easier enemies.
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Do not save anomaly powers forever - Use Giant Punch, Coin, and other powers to solve real combat problems.
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Do not hoard upgrade currency - Early upgrades help through more of the game.
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Do not rush out after every fight - Check for chests, arcade machines, and breakable objects.
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Do not expect one ending to cover everything - Plan a second route if you want both ending achievements.
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Do not enter Rogue Agent mode with sloppy fundamentals - The repeatable challenge is better once the basics are stable.
Summary
| Category | Top Tip |
|---|---|
| Combat | Use hazards, guns, finishers, and anomaly powers together |
| Enemy Control | Interrupt merging as soon as you see it starting |
| Weapons | Throw empty guns instead of treating them as useless |
| Upgrades | Buy early so the benefits carry through more chapters |
| Collectibles | Search after fights for chests and arcade machines |
| Choices | Track positive and negative emotions during cleanup |
| Endings | Plan for both Eva and Hooded Man outcomes |
| Bosses | Learn spacing first, then push damage during safe windows |
| Rogue Agent | Use the mode to test combat habits after campaign basics |
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6 checked for this guideEvery factual claim in this guide was checked against at least two independent sources before publication. These are the references used for Anomaly Agent.
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