BioWare’s Anthem was met with such a contentious launch that the developer is now working on reinventing and changing the core gameplay of the title. Anthem has been praised for its graphics, but otherwise fell short for most players. Mostly created under the pressure of “BioWare Magic,” Anthem may have created a drastic shift into how BioWare works, although to what extent remains to be seen.
The major overhaul that could potentially save Anthem, dubbed Anthem 2.0 or Anthem Next, is still a work-in-progress, despite having been announced almost a year ago. The BioWare blog has consistently been updated with the changes players may see in Anthem, but it still seems like the completed update is a ways away. One thing that’s missing, however, is one of BioWare’s most popular features—romance.
When players are able to get Anthem to run properly, there’s no denying that it’s a stunning game outside of the lackluster looter-shooter elements. The flying mechanics of the Javelins are some of the most impressive to date, and the environment of the unnamed planet is beautiful. However, many players thought the overall plot was not memorable, especially compared to other BioWare games.
In the single-player campaign of Anthem, players control an unnamed Freelancer who starts the game as someone joining the established Freelancer group for their first mission—this works well because both the character and player are familiarizing themselves with Javelin mechanics. After tragedy strikes the group and causes the public doubt about if the Freelancers can actually do their jobs, the game jumps to two years later, when the player character has settled in Fort Tarsis and earns an income as a Freelancer-for-hire.
The primary antagonist of Anthem is known as the Monitor, and their primary goal is to reach the Cenotaph before the player and their team. Players work alongside characters named Tassyn, Faye, Haluk, and Owen, forming a team to attempt to deactivate the Cenotaph. As the story progresses, bonds are formed and broken between the player and characters, but overall audiences found the plotline of Anthem’s dominant story to be lacking, disjointed, and repetitive.
It’s safe to say that if the mechanics of the game are getting majorly overhauled, the story could potentially get the same treatment. Clarifying the overall plot by adding in additional details could serve the story well, making it flow better and correcting the disjointed nature many players felt it had. That’s if the story isn’t changed entirely, and BioWare’s iconic companions and romance could improve both.
BioWare is known for having some of the best romance storylines in the RPG category. The developer could use this to its advantage and add in romantic storylines with existing or newly introduced characters in Anthem 2.0. This would not only add to the immersion of the game but also make players feel more invested in saving the unnamed planet. Players feeling connected to the characters in a game is one of the most important aspects of video gaming—Anthem 2.0 needs to keep this in mind when it eventually releases.
Correcting the story and adding in an immersive romantic storyline will help players feel more connected to Anthem as a whole, which, when coupled with newly improved gameplay mechanics, could bode well for the future of the game. Anthem was an ambitious project for BioWare to take on, as it’s a looter-shooter and not its traditional RPG style, but tapping into the elements that the developer is known for could keep Anthem afloat, rather than fall out of the sky like an overheated Javelin.
Anthem is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
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