Anthem review

Reviewed on: PC

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The first time Anthem appeared to the general public it had an unprecedented impact during E3, drawing a lot of attention from those present and from those watching the show via streaming. With a superb look and with the BioWare brand backing it, there was no other word to describe it than “fantastic”. Anthem would reach the market to compete with games like Destiny 2 and The Division 2, going head to head with consolidated franchises that were on their second game, so the contest would be fierce. However, despite the qualities the game showed, especially in gameplay, graphics and sound, the story and the end-game proved uninspired, and when it comes to BioWare, having an uninteresting story is a big frustration.

The world is truly dazzling, visually it borders on perfection in graphics and art, truly worthy of all the praise, as is the game’s sound, however, because it is an open-world game, the player runs into many loading screens and that breaks the immersion of the experience; moreover, the length of the loadings really keeps the player from boarding that world properly. Many times I put the controller aside while the game loaded.

Since the experience depends on other players, except in free exploration mode, where you enter the map and come across other players as you explore. In the other modes, you go to the map, carry out the mission and return to the hub; there is no way to carry out two missions in a row with the same group, which is a big flaw, because as soon as the mission ends, a countdown starts that takes the player to a screen where they can check the items and experience earned and after that, back to either the Forge, the place where I can equip my character, or the fort, the place where I will find other players, always, for each of these places, preceded by a loading.

So, the quests are very directed to the point where they must be carried out, giving very little room for exploring the world with the members of the party and after the objectives are completed, the team is disbanded and you are thrown into the fort (hub) where you can again enter matchmaking to set off on a new mission. Even if I have more than one quest with that group, I can only do one at a time and after completing it, I’ll have to return to the fort to select a new mission and submit to a new matchmaking

So, we can understand the problem of loading in the game: for the game to start at the Fort (Hub) we have the first loading and here an important detail: the fort is a hub where the player is alone; inside the fort we have the option to go to a collective hub, but to access that area it will be yet another loading. I select the mission and we have one more loading for that; I go to the start of the match and we have one more loading for that, which is the matchmaking one; on the map, to access certain areas I’ll have to go through a new loading to enter, like a cave, for example, and a loading to leave that place. When the mission ends, I’m taken to a rewards screen, but before getting there we have one more loading, where I check the experience gained, the weapons and items earned in the mission and there, I can choose to go to the Forge, which is the place where I will select the items and weapons I want to equip, or I can go to the individual Hub (Fort) or to the collective Hub, which is an area of the Fort, but no matter where I go: before getting there I’ll have to face a loadingscreen.

Anthem’s story, without spoilers of course, concerns the Anthem of Creation, which gives the game its name), an energy of the gods, capable of producing or destroying everything around it, with the fate of anyone who approaches being consumed by this force of the gods. In the story the Cataclysm happened, as the event in which the Anthem manifested and destroyed everything near it is known, causing great explosions and releasing monsters across the world, and because of these events society withdrew into forts. In our case, the chosen location is Fort Tarsis, named in honor of the woman who gave her life for the human race.

In the story we have four classes of people: the Freelancers, warriors who wear armors (called Javelins – Javelins) to fight enemies who try to approach the Fort. They are known as such because their failures in other times culminated in a drop in popularity, and they now receive small contracts in exchange for money and equipment. There are the Arcanists, scholars of the Anthem, who provide upgrades to the Freelancers’ equipment, and we also have the Cyphers, people of acute sensitivity who can help the Freelancers during expeditions. They are the ones who guide all of the game’s missions. Then there are the Agents, people with specific demands and special items who sometimes hire the Freelancers’ services. We also have the Sentinels, who work as the fort’s police.

What the player finds beyond that are uninteresting events and many loose ends in the plot, making the game deserve a 6.0 for its story

As for the technical aspect, Anthem would deserve a high score, were it not for the loading problems that cause enormous frustration and break the immersion the world would offer, deserving a 7.5 for graphics.

As for gameplay, that is where the game stands out and works in a very pleasing way, responding well to commands and with precise control, especially in the vertical aspect of the game, since we are able to fly for a certain period with our armors, creating a new aspect to the gameplay, deserving an 8.0.

Anthem arrived with many bugs, loading problems and server instability, but little by little many of these are being resolved; however, some problems are structural and I don’t know to what extent BioWare will be able to fix them. The effort is being made and a lot of content for the game is being prepared, along with the fixing of many problems, including the excessive loadings.

So, despite the dubious start and the restrained “success”, Anthem is not yet a lost cause and there is hope it can turn into a good game in the end; it’s up to those interested to keep an eye on it.

Final Score: 7.2