Criticism of the game often centered around frustrating platforming sections, and the reception to Anodynes 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." Josh Mattingly of Indie Statik stated "it concerns musings on the state of humanity and other existential considerations" whereas Vito of Destructoid stated "it becomes clear the developers have no interest in defining their world properly; whatever theories you might devise about the game’s hidden meaning given no real justification."
