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• Installation & Setup
• Add-ons Required by the Theme
• Theme Configuration
• Media Setup (Logos, Trailers, Wallpapers)
• Plugin Configurations
• Troubleshooting & FAQ
• Additional Resources
• Support

1. Open Playnite in desktop mode.
2. Go to Add-ons > Browse/Fullscreen.
3. Search for the Aniki Remake theme and click Install.

If you're on a version older than 1.5.8:

1. Uninstall the current theme version.
2. Reinstall the last version of the theme to ensure proper updates.

This theme supports the following add-ons.
The add-ons listed in the Required section are mandatory for the theme to work properly.
The add-ons listed in the Optional section are fully supported by the theme, but they are not required to use it.

To install an add-on, you must use Desktop mode.

You can access the Add-ons menu in two ways:

• Open it from the main menu
• Or press F9 directly

Then:

• Go to Browse
• Choose the Generic category
• Search for the add-on
• Download and install it

These add-ons are required for this theme.

• Theme Options Provides additional customization options for the theme
• Aniki Helper Provides additional features and integrations for the theme
• ExtraMetadataLoader Displays game trailers, logos, backgrounds, and more
• ExtraMetadataLoader Fullscreen Helper Ensures full compatibility with ExtraMetadataLoader in fullscreen mode

These add-ons are optional but fully supported and integrated into the theme.

• PlayniteAchievements Displays your game achievements (More recent than SuccessStory, I recommend this one.)
• Friends Achievement Feed Displays a feed of achievements from your friends in desktop mode
• Friends Achievement Feed – Fullscreen Companion Display the Friends Achievement Feed plugin in full-screen mode.

• Steam Friends Fullscreen Display your Steam friends presence directly inside Fullscreen mode
• NowPlaying Quickly return to or exit games directly from the Playnite interface
• BackgroundChanger Randomizes covers and wallpapers
• CheckDLC Displays information about available DLCs for each game
• CustomFadeAnim Makes background image transitions smoother and more pleasant.
• Screenshot Visualizer Displays your screenshots and video captures
• Screenshot Utilities Display screenshots from different stores for games

• UniPlaySong Provides a console-like music preview experience with full controller support, audio normalization, fade transitions, and per-game music management. Recommended for background music.
• PlayniteSound Mod Plays audio files on events (game selected, launch, exit, etc.). While it also supports background music, UniPlaySong is recommended instead for that purpose.

• HowLongToBeat Displays game completion times from HowLongToBeat.

For best visual results with this theme:

• Use IGN or Universal PSN Metadata for square covers and character-themed Background.

To change aspects like the theme color, avatar, and username, you'll need the Theme Options add-on. This allows for easy customization without manually editing theme files. Follow these steps to get started:

• Install the Theme Options add-on.
• In Fullscreen mode, Navigate to Main menu > settings > Theme Options to access customization settings.

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If you need to edit or explore the files of Aniki ReMake, here is the correct way to access the installation folder.

• Open Playnite in Desktop Mode.
• Press F9, or go to Main Menu → Add-ons.
• Navigate to Installed → Fullscreen Theme → Aniki ReMake.
• On the right panel, click the “Installation Folder” button.

This will open the directory where all theme files are stored. Note: Every time the theme is updated, modified files are overwritten. Make sure to keep a backup of any custom changes you make.

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The theme uses a strict filename matching system to display icons and banners.

Icons and banners are displayed only if the Playnite name matches the .png filename exactly.

• Case, spaces, and spelling must match
• No fallback, no approximation

Example (Filter Icon):

• Filter preset name in Playnite: My Games
• Required icon file: My Games.png

If the names don’t match → no icon appears.

Filter Icons:

• Go to the theme folder.
• Folder: Icons/Filter.
• Each .png filename corresponds to a filter preset name

Source Icons:

• Go to the theme folder.
• Folder: Icons/Source.
• Filenames match Playnite source names (Steam, Epic Games, etc.)

Platform Banners:

• Go to the theme folder.
• Folder: Icons/Banner

Note : The banners for the platforms are based on the source and the platform configured for a game. The display priority is as follows: first, it looks for a .png file for the source name. If no .png is found, it will display the platform instead. The linking is done using only the first source/platform listed. In other words, if a game has multiple platforms, only the first one in the list will be taken into account.

Once the name is correct, adding or replacing icons is straightforward.

• Create your icon as a .png
• Name the file exactly like the filter, source, or platform
• Place it in the corresponding folder:
• • Filter → Icons/Filter
• • Source → Icons/Source
• • Banner → Icons/Banner
• Replace the existing file or add a new one

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The theme includes 38 default avatars, but you can freely use your own.

1. Using your own avatar (recommended) This method keeps your avatar persistent across theme updates — you won’t lose it.

To set a custom avatar:

Open Playnite in Desktop Mode Click the Playnite icon (Main menu) → Extensions → Extra Metadata → Themes → Set profile picture (first option) Select your .png file from your PC

If a profile picture is set through Extra Metadata, the theme will always use that one. This is the best method — nothing gets overwritten when you update the theme.

2. Replacing the theme’s built-in avatars (optional) If you prefer replacing one of the 38 included avatars:

Go to the theme folder Navigate to Themes Option/3.Avatar. Replace any .png file with your own (rename your file to match the avatar you want to overwrite).

You will need to redo this after every theme update, since Playnite overwrites theme files.

Priority rule

If an avatar is set via Extra Metadata → Set profile picture, that avatar is displayed. If not, the theme uses the avatar selected in Theme Options.

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You can replace or disable the navigation sounds for a more personalized experience :

• Go to the theme folder
• Open the folder: Audio.
• Replace existing audio files by renaming your files to match, or delete them to remove the sounds entirely.

For the full Aniki experience sound, make sure to install the recommended sound pack for the Playnite Sound mod.

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You can replace or disable background music on the login screen :

• Go to the theme folder
• Navigate to Audio.
• Rename your .mp3 file “AcceuilOST” and replace the AcceuilOST.mp3 file in the folder, or delete it to remove the music completely.

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• In desktop mode, click on playnite's icone in the top left-hand corner, then on Library/Library Manager (or with CTRL+W).
• In the list that appears, choose "completion statuses".
• Here you can add or modify game statuses; if you don't want to display any statuses, simply delete all the statuses.
• I advise you to create your own status, then you can modify the status of a game from fullscreen.

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The feature icons displayed in this theme reflect the game’s Features field in Playnite, which matches the feature information shown on Steam game pages.
The table below explains what each icon represents.

Before you start — important note about backgrounds

I strongly recommend enabling background image downloads. If you don’t, some features of the theme may display no background at all — especially for Now Playing and The Welcome Hub.

Configure the metadata so it downloads automatically when adding a new game to your library:

• In Desktop Mode:
• Open Settings from the main menu (Playnite icon in the top-left).
• Go to the Metadata tab.
• In this section, every metadata field (Name, Genre, Description, Cover Image, Background Image, etc.) has its own list of sources.
• The source at the top of each list is the one Playnite will try first. If it can’t find anything, it moves to the next one.

Each list is ordered by priority:

• Playnite will try the first source in the list.
• If nothing is found, it will try the second one, then the third, and so on.

I recommend using PlayStation Network (PSN) backgrounds (via the "Universal PSN Metadata" plugin). PlayStation screen backgrounds often place characters on the right side, and this theme is designed around that layout. For covers, if you use the square format, I recommend using either IGN or PSN.

To prioritize PSN assets, make sure PSN Store is placed at the top for:

• Cover Image
• Background Image

Convert game covers to square format:

• Go to Settings > Appearance > Grid View.
• Set the Target Aspect Ratio to 1:1 for square covers.

Update metadata for all games:

If you want to update all existing games with new metadata:

• Open the Playnite menu and go to Library > Download Metadata (or use CTRL+D).
• In the window that appears, select All Games From Database and uncheck Only Missing Metadata.
• Click Next, and follow the prompts to download metadata from your chosen sources.

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Logos are an important part of the theme design. To set them up correctly:

• Go to Add-ons > Generic > Extra Metadata Loader > Logo Settings.
• Set the maximum width to 600 and the maximum height to 320.
• Check option "Download logos of newly added games on library update".

Note: To ensure that game logos work, you will need the ExtraMetadata Loader add-on.

How to download logos :

To download logos for your games, you must use Playnite in Desktop mode.

• Select one or multiple games in your library.
• Right-click on the selection to open the context menu.
• Go to Extra Metadata → Logos.
• Choose one of the available options (Steam, SteamGridDB, Google, or a local file).
• Wait a few seconds while Playnite downloads and applies the logos.

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Setup ExtraMetadata Loader

• On Playnite Desktop Mode, go to the extension settings page. It is located in MainMenu -> Add-ons... -> Extensions settings -> Generic -> Extra Metadata Loader.
• Download the required files by clicking the buttons in the screenshot. The numbers indicate which button you have to click to download the file that contains the required file.
• Extract the files in any location and click the "Browse..." buttons of each of the required files and select the file it asks you.

How to download trailers :

• On Playnite desktop mode, select the games you want to download videos, right click and select the menu item as shown in the image below.
• Follow the instructions and wait for the videos to download.

Mute game trailers by default:

To automatically mute trailers:

• In desktop mode, go to Add-ons > Extra Metadata Loader > Video Settings and tick Play videos initially without sound.

Ensure the trailer button works smoothly:

• In Add-ons > Extra Metadata Loader > Video settings, uncheck Show video preview when video is not playing to prevent playback issues.

Important Settings for the Theme

Disable the “Pause music during video trailer” option in the plugin settings to avoid conflicts.

If you want to integrate game music into the theme, it’s essential to download "Playnite Sound Mod" instead of "Playnite Sound". Playnite Sound Mod by Artem Shpynov has replaced the older version with many improvements :

• YouTube search integration: You can now search for and download music directly from YouTube.
• Music preview: Listen to music before downloading to make sure it’s what you want.
• Batch downloading: No need to download music tracks one by one; you can download them in batches.
• Automatic pause control: Music will automatically pause if a video, like a trailer, starts playing.
• Additional advanced features for a much smoother and more enjoyable user experience.

Important Setting for Using Playnite Sound Mod with Aniki Remake

For Playnite Sound Mod to work perfectly with my theme, you need to disable the “Pause music during video trailer” option in the plugin settings. When enabled, this option can mistake certain videos, such as intros and background videos, as trailers and mute the music. My theme already uses its own triggers to handle music pausing, so this plugin setting is unnecessary and can cause conflicts.

Instructions :

• Go to the settings for Playnite Sound Mod.
• Disable the option “Pause music during video trailer.”

Playnite Sound Mod comes with default sounds, but they don’t match the style of Aniki Remake at all. To get the intended experience, you must replace the default sounds with the custom sound pack included in the theme.

How to install the custom sound pack

• Open Playnite in Desktop Mode.
• Press F9, or go to Main Menu → Add-ons.
• Navigate to Installed → Fullscreen Theme → Aniki ReMake.
• In the right panel, click Installation Folder.
• Open the folder Themes Option / 1.Sound for PlayniteSound
• Open the ZIP file SoundForPlayniteSound.zip
• Go back to Playnite (Desktop Mode).
• Go to: Main Menu → Extensions → Playnite Sounds → Open Sounds Folder, this opens the folder where Playnite Sound Mod stores all audio files.
• Extract all files from the ZIP, then copy–paste them into the Playnite Sounds folder.
• When Windows asks, choose Replace all files.

Your Playnite Sound Mod is now using the official Aniki ReMake sound pack, giving you the intended audio experience.

This automatically adjusts the sound level of the music to the same level for all song, to avoid one tune being too low and the next too high.

• Install the latest python release from python.org
• Open the Python installation folder and open "Scripts" folder (default path is C:\User\UserName\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python312\Scripts).
• In the file explorer address bar, type "PowerShell".
• In the window that opens, type ".\pip3 install ffmpeg-normalize" This will install ffmpeg_normalizer.exe in this folder.
• Now in Playnite, PlayniteSoundMod Settings enter the path to ffmpeg-normalize.exe.
• Check "Automatically normalize music when downloading".
• Your ears will thank you

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Configure Screenshot Folders :

• In the plugin settings, click on the small buttons (1) to let the plugin automatically configure the screenshot folders for each launcher.
• In Global screenshot path (2), specify the folder on your PC where your manual screenshots are stored. By adding {Name} at the end of the path, the plugin will search for folders named after each game.
• You can also add multiple folders for a single game. Press the Add button (3) to open a window with a list of your games in Playnite.
• Select your game, and it will appear in the main window. Then, click on Add Folder (4) as many times as needed and enter the path for each folder.

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Aniki Helper is the companion plugin designed specifically for the Aniki Remake. It adds all the advanced features the theme relies on: dynamic colors, Steam update detection, monthly tracking, real-time player counts, custom RSS news feeds, and more.

Configure Aniki Helper :

• In Desktop mode:
• Main menu → Add-ons → Aniki Helper → Settings → scroll to the Aniki News section.

Aniki Helper takes a snapshot of your total playtime at the start of each month. This snapshot is used to compute:

• Monthly play time
• Games played this month
• Most played game

Start fresh for this month

• If something looks wrong or you want to restart tracking:
• Click Start fresh for this month.
• This resets the snapshot and rebuilds the month’s stats on the next fullscreen launch.

The theme can generate interface colors automatically from your game backgrounds. This system is entirely managed by Aniki Helper, which stores color data in a local cache to speed up loading.

Dynamic color pre-caching

• Pre-caching analyzes your game backgrounds in advance and saves their color palettes.
• This makes fullscreen navigation smoother because colors don’t need to be calculated on the fly.
• Enable this if you want faster transitions and instant color loading.
• Disable it on very low-end PCs if you notice small stutters during background analysis.

Reset color cache

• If your colors look incorrect, outdated, or you replaced many game images, you can reset the cache.
• Resetting the cache forces the plugin to rebuild all color data from scratch.
• On the next fullscreen launch, colors will be recalculated automatically.

Aniki Helper adds several optional Steam-related features used by the theme to show more information about your games.

Steam update scanning

• The plugin can automatically check whether your Steam games have received a new update.
• Enables “New update available” notifications in the theme.
• If disabled, no Steam patch information is fetched at all.
• Use this if you want the theme to show recent updates for your Steam library.

Games update cache

• Aniki Helper keeps a local cache of recent Steam update info for your installed games.
• This improves the accuracy of update notifications and avoids re-downloading data constantly.
• Scan library now lets you fill the cache instantly for your whole library.
• Otherwise, the cache builds gradually when you browse your games.

Use this if you want quicker and more accurate update detection.

Steam player count

• The plugin can display real-time player numbers for your Steam games in the theme.
• May slightly increase loading time when switching between Steam games.
• Only affects Steam titles.
• Activate this if you want to see how many players are currently active in each game.

Aniki News relies on the Aniki Helper plugin to fetch, cache, and display articles from an RSS source.

Enable RSS news scanning

• This option must be enabled for Aniki News to show anything.
• If turned off, Aniki Helper stops all RSS scans and the news panel stays empty.
• Use this when you don’t want news or want to reduce network activity.

Feed Settings (default & custom feed)

• If the field is empty, the plugin uses the default feed (IGN Global Gaming).
• You can replace it with any RSS URL (IGN, Steam, your own website, etc.).
• To set a custom feed:
• Paste your RSS URL in the field.
• Click Save.
• (Optional but recommended) Click Clear news cache to restart the analysis when starting full-screen mode.
• The next scan will load articles from your new source.
• If you don't see any changes when you return to the news feed, it means your link isn't compatible.

Example feeds are listed at the bottom of the section.

Clear news cache

This button removes all previously saved news from the plugin cache. On the next scan, the feed is downloaded again from scratch.

Use it when:

• • You change the RSS URL.
• • You want a full refresh.
• • Or you want to clear all existing articles.
• • After clearing, simply reopen fullscreen and the panel will refill on the next scan.

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If you experience lag or stuttering while using ReMake, please check the following settings:

• Extra Metadata Downloader – Video Streaming (very important)

  Streaming video trailers via Extra Metadata Downloader can cause noticeable stuttering or brief freezes when navigating between games in Fullscreen mode. This happens because video streaming is triggered during game selection, which can temporarily block navigation in Playnite’s WPF framework — even if the theme does not actively display the video.

  • Disable Stream videos. Prefer downloaded trailers instead of streaming.

  In multiple user tests, disabling video streaming immediately removed navigation lag

• Extra Metadata Loader – Logo Effects (important)
  Extra Metadata Loader applies additional visual effects to game logos that can impact performance.

  In Desktop mode go to Extra Metadata Loader Settings > Logos:

  • Disable Enable shadow effect (uses a blur-like effect)
  • Disable Opacity animation if enabled

  These effects are applied when switching selections and can cause noticeable lag or input delay in fullscreen mode, especially on lower-end hardware and with high-resolution logos.

• Blur Background (important)
  In Fulscreen mode, set Blur Background to OFF (0) in Settings/Visual
  Blur is extremely expensive in the current Playnite WPF framework, especially when combined with animations.

• Scaling Mode
  In Fulscreen mode, set Balanced (recommended) in Settings/General
  Alternative may help on lower-end hardware.

• Asynchronous Image Loading
  In Fulscreen mode, enable Asynchronous image loading in Settings/General
  This improves navigation smoothness by preventing images from blocking the UI thread.

• Smooth Scrolling
  In Fulscreen mode, disable Smooth Scrolling in Settings/Layout
  This has a minor performance impact, but can help make navigation feel more responsive.

• Dedicated GPU (important on laptops)
  If your PC has a dedicated GPU, make sure Playnite is actually using it instead of the integrated CPU graphics.
  On some systems, Windows may run Playnite on the iGPU by default, which can severely impact performance.

• VRR (G-Sync / FreeSync)
  Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) can cause UI stuttering and input latency in Playnite, especially in fullscreen mode.
  If you use G-Sync, FreeSync, or any Adaptive-Sync technology, it is recommended to disable VRR specifically for Playnite in your GPU driver settings.

  Follow the official Playnite troubleshooting guide here:
  https://api.playnite.link/docs/manual/gettingStarted/helpAndTroubleshooting/troubleshooting.html#graphical-and-ui-issues

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If you launch Playnite in fullscreen and a full-screen message appears saying the theme can’t start, it means the Theme Options add-on is not installed.

How to fix

• Switch Playnite to Desktop Mode
• Go to Add-ons → Browse → Generic
• Search for Theme Options and click Install
• Restart Playnite and relaunch the fullscreen mode

The theme cannot function without this plugin, as it provides configuration data for colors, layout, and display logic.

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If your layout settings are incorrect, the theme will display a blocking message asking you to adjust them.
Simply follow the on-screen instructions to set the correct parameters — once applied, the theme will load normally.

• Adjust Columns and Rows according to the values shown on screen
• Make sure the spacing is not set too low (recommended: 30 or more)

The theme only supports Playnite’s built-in aspect ratio presets in desktop mode:

Square — DVD — Steam Vertical — Steam Banner — etc.

Custom or manually set ratios are not supported and may cause display issues.

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If no background is showing on the main view, make sure you have enabled the "show background image on main screen" option_

• Go to Settings/Visual in fullscreen mode
• Enabled option "show background image on main screen"

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If Playnite videos (login backgrounds, trailers, etc.) do not play, the issue is usually not Playnite itself, but missing or disabled Windows media components.

This problem is common on:

• Windows N editions
• Lite / custom Windows builds
• Windows systems where Windows Media Player Legacy was removed

Playnite relies on Windows Media Foundation, which requires the default Windows media player to be present.

Check that Windows Media Player is installed

Go to:
Windows Settings → System → Optional features
Check if Windows Media Player Legacy (or a similar name) is listed under Installed features.
If it is missing, click “View available features” at the top of the page, search for Windows Media Player Legacy, install it, and restart Windows.

Windows N editions only

If you are using Windows 10/11 N, you must also install the Media Feature Pack:

1. Open Windows Settings
2. Go to System → Optional features
3. Click View features
4. Search for Media Feature Pack
5. Install it and restart your PC

Without restarting, Playnite will not detect the new media components.

Media Feature Pack (Microsoft Support)

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If your game logos aren’t appearing, it usually means that the ExtraMetadata Loader plugin isn’t properly configured or the logo files are missing.

1. In Desktop Mode, go to
   Main Menu → Add-ons → Generic → Extra Metadata Loader → Logo Settings
2. Check the option
   “Download logos of newly added games on library update”
3. Set the maximum width to 600 and the maximum height to 320
4. Logos should be saved in
   ...\Playnite\ExtraMetadata\games\<GameID>\Logo.png

New game logos will now be downloaded automatically. If a logo wasn’t downloaded automatically, right-click the game → ExtraMetadata → Logos to download it manually.

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When HowLongToBeat data is displayed with minutes (for example: 45h 48min), the text can exceed the available space in the theme and get cut. To avoid this, it’s recommended to display HowLongToBeat times using hours only. In practice, "46h" is clearer and fits better than "45h 48min".

How to fix it:

• Open Playnite in Desktop mode
• Go to Add-ons / HowLongToBeat
• Open the Appearance tab
• Enable the option “Time format with only hour”

Once enabled, the HowLongToBeat values will display correctly in the theme without being cut.

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The Dynamic Colors feature uses each game’s background.png (or cover.png if no background is available) to extract the dominant color — while ignoring skin tones and overly bright areas.
If no .png file is present, the color will not update.

How it works

• The Aniki Helper plugin scans the game’s ExtraMetadata folder:
  ...\Playnite\ExtraMetadata\games\<GameID>\background.png
• If no .png or .jpg is found, the theme falls back to the default color.
• Currently, only .png and .jpg are supported — other formats (like .webp) are ignored.

Known issue with Xbox Metadata The Xbox Store metadata scraper sometimes downloads unknown or GUID-named files instead of .png/.jpg, preventing color detection.

How to fix

1. In Desktop Mode, edit a game → Media tab → click Open folder
2. Check that the background image is a .png or .jpg
3. If it’s not, delete the incorrect file and re-download metadata from another source (e.g., IGDB, Steam, or PlayStation Store)

If your metadata files have strange names like GUID.GUID and no extension, they come from the Xbox Store scraper.
These files prevent the Dynamic Color engine from detecting the image format.

• Filters
• Extensions
• Adding games
• Removing games
• Metadata
• Library manager
• Backup
• FAQ

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