The world has changed. We are in the 26th century and New Earth is slowly recovering from the Day of the Purge: the day when a mysterious and catastrophic explosion shook the entire planet. The majority of the population was exterminated and most of the surface became uninhabitable. No one really understood what caused this apocalypse - the only thing the survivors could do was find shelter until the dust settled.

The remnants of humanity organized themselves into four radically different ideologies called the Paths: the pacifist Path of Harmony, living with flora and fauna in one of the few surviving cradles of nature; the remote Way of Domination, crossing the oceans on their gigantic ship-city; the cunning Way of Progress, watching Earth from their city in the sky; and the religious Way of Salvation, residing in vast underground halls. Followers of the Four Paths live in fragile peace but in near total isolation. Their only meeting point is the Capital, the last independent city on Earth, ruled by a planetary body: the World Council.

Years later, explorers discovered a rich seam of unknown material at the devastated spot where the Purge Day explosion occurred. They named this metal Neutronium. This material, hard and light, is excellent for constructing buildings. To commemorate the 300th anniversary of the day of the apocalypse, the World Council decided to build five monuments entirely made of Neutronium and representing the four Ways and the World Capital. As the celebrations began, representatives of the Four Paths witnessed the most life-altering event for humans since the Purge.
Time rifts from the future have opened up on the monuments, revealing the true power of Neutronium: when exposed to energy, it is able to open passages through time. The connection to the future offered humanity unprecedented growth and prosperity, but also led to a grim revelation: the Purge was the result of the very first time rift. The devastating energy of a future asteroid impact has been transferred into the past due to the enormous amount of Neutronium contained within the asteroid. This impact is now looming on the horizon, threatening to devastate not only the past, but also the future.

With the resources of the present and the future at its disposal, each Path will do everything to prepare for the impending impact - and dominate the future of humanity as the only true Path.

*The Anachrony Essential Edition only includes the base game and does not include any other mods, expansions, or figures.