This game was originally covered as part of our Nindie Round Up series that sought to give coverage to a wider breadth of Switch eShop games beyond our standard reviews. In an effort to make our impressions easier to find, we're presenting the original text below in our mini-review format.

From the very first screen it’s clear to see the key influence of Animus: Stand Alone, in pretty much all areas. It is essentially a condensed version of Dark Souls for mobile, giving a combat-heavy RPG experience that revels in the huge boss battles and deep layers of precision fighting the Souls series is known for. All that is readily available in this Switch port, too, and as a more bare-bones alternative to FromSoft's title, it’s good.

Thrust into a mythical, medieval world, you’re the last knight; the chosen one tasked with taking down a great evil. That’s essentially all you’ll need to know regarding the story, which is told through occasional cutscenes, but also somewhat disappointingly through text segments, too.

The combat and graphics of Animus are top-notch. Looking to the former first, it’s comparatively fast-paced, with myriad inherited mechanics including blocking, combination attacks, special moves, and an exceptional variety of weapons to buy and sell. The focus is on the large-scale boss battles, which can provide some punishingly difficult encounters dependant on the level of the player and the upgrades made.

As with Dark Souls, you’re penalised for the slightest mistake and will often find yourself restarting as a result. Refreshingly, however, Animus has you traversing through individual levels rather than an open world, culminating with a boss at the end of each. This is pleasantly different and allows some nice breathing time after an intense battle to pick up loot and improve your gear before cracking on with the next level.

Graphically, it’s also well done. Though the world is dark and dingy, the creatures are well-rendered and look appropriately hideous. For a presumably small budget, it’s really quite remarkable. The soundtrack is also epic, providing some real weight to both the cutscenes and big battles. The camera can, however, be a slight issue, particularly in the aforementioned boss encounters, which can irritatingly push you up against walls that obscure your view.

Overall, Animus: Stand Alone is recommended for fans of the Dark Souls and Bloodborne series, offering a smaller-scale, level-based, mobile-style variation on these titles that still sports excellent gameplay and impressive graphics.