On September 16, 2026, Animo launched on PC and consoles. Within three hours of its Steam release, concurrent players exceeded 101,000. Developed by Pawprint Studio and published with FunPlus, this creature-collecting game highlights the "Twining" fusion mechanic that lets players directly control creatures.
Players take on the role of a "Pathfinder" in the game and can fuse with creatures in their party. Activating the Twining mechanism allows players to directly control the selected creature, changing the camera perspective, controls, and available skills accordingly. Executive Producer Jovi Zhang stated that the team wanted each creature to have its own unique movement style, so that collecting new partners also brings new exploration methods.
Different creatures' abilities can be used to traverse terrain and find paths: some can glide from heights, others can burrow underground, and fire-type creatures can burn away obstructing vegetation. Puzzle-solving therefore requires players to select creatures with the appropriate abilities.
Combat also features real-time action, requiring players to directly dodge, chain combos, and use skills. The party system includes five roles: DPS, Breaker, Support, Healer, and Energy Restorer. When facing enemies, players can deplete their Break Gauge to temporarily immobilize them.
The development team stated that creature acquisition does not use paid gacha mechanics. Players can collect creatures in the open world using capture tools, with weather, ecological zones, and time of day affecting catch rates. The game sells cosmetic items and a monthly battle pass, while implementing progression limits tied to account level.
However, the game's initial reviews on Steam were mixed, with positive ratings ranging between 58% and 68%. Player criticism mainly focused on cluttered UI information, a complex variety of virtual currencies, and the stamina bar design. Following the PC and console releases, the mobile version of Animo launched on September 23.