The player is required to find a certain number of cards in order to progress to the end sections of the game.

Through a mutual friend, in June 2012, Han-Tani met Marina Kittaka, who worked remotely on the game until its release in February 2013.

Shortly after release, Anodyne was featured on the front page of The Pirate Bay[2] which garnered the game enough votes to be accepted onto Steam through its Greenlight system.

Polygon's Danielle Riendeau stated that, regarding Anodyne's world: "Fantasy and reality exist adjacent to one another, highlighting the central theme of disconnection nicely.

"[13] Criticism of the game often centered around frustrating platforming sections, and the reception to Anodyne's narrative was very mixed.

Regarding the story, Tom Sykes of PC Gamer stated "I doubt I’ll ever get to the root of its narrative mysteries.