Anthem: Hyped to Hell, Dead in Days

We have been blessed with many incredible gaming experiences with some dynamic and compelling gameplay. However, we have also witnessed some critical and commercial failures of video games. Be it the Marvel Avengers game or Frospoken, all games could not become the perfections they were intended to be.

But there is one game that has affected me on a personal level. That game is none other than 2019’s Anthem. I vividly remember being flabbergasted by the stunning visuals and the freedom of flying around like Iron Man when the Anthem’s trailer was dropped in 2017. Considering the past successes of BioWare, my expectations were on cloud nine.

The game was supposed to be the next big thing with an adventure-filled expansive world. The hype was evident. Sadly! The game’s release crushed my soul and my excitement turned into disappointment.

Gameplay & Setting

Anthem is set in a dystopian-like planet yet beautiful called Coda where we play as freelancers. A place called Fort Tarsis serves as the primary hub for the players where they interact with NPCs, explore side quests, and customize their suits.

The players are acquired with powerfully customizable exosuits called Javelin. There are a total of four classes of Javelin: Ranger, Colossus, Interceptor, and Storm, each having unique abilities and playstyles.

The gameplay consists of flying around in an expansive open world and engaging in combat missions against hostile creatures. The flight serves as the core and standout feature of the entire game.

Now, you must be wondering, if the game has so much to offer, how come it flunked badly? Trust me! The next thing I am about to tell you will show you why Anthem was nothing but a disaster.

Messy Combat System

I am not even kidding when I say Anthem’s combat was total rubbish. The reason for using such harsh words is the repetitiveness and lack of variety in the combat mechanics and enemies. The boss fights are so repetitive, the faces of aliens came in front of me even when I wasn’t playing the game.

At times, the Javelin becomes overpowered but instantly goes underpowered showcasing balancing issues.

The health system drains faster than the Flash’s running ability. On top of that, the game’s Endgame content was a mess. It lacked depth making the combat more of a grinding experience than an engaging one.

It was full of bugs and technical issues that even updates couldn’t fix. The game’s progression wasn’t enjoyable and needed meaningful activities. Simply put, once you start playing the game, your initial excitement for combat will fade away, making the game monotonous.

Technical Issues & Updates

From the day it was released, it seemed like the game was intentionally infused with bugs and glitches. The game had unstable connections, was visually deformed, and continuously dropped performance. 

Such issues madly afflicted the gaming experience resulting in a lack of players’ engagement.

Considering the disappointment shown by the players, BioWare decided to revamp the game with updates. To my surprise, this fixation kept happening after six months of release. Can you believe it? If the game consumes this much time to be rebooted, it means it was released half-cooked in the first place.

However, the game still failed and couldn’t do wonders after the fixes as well. This just depicted that people weren’t ready to spend a penny on Anthem.

Thank God, Anthem Died!

I will never forget the heartbreak BioWare gave me through Anthem. Keeping in mind, that Anthem was developed by the company that gave us classics like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, it was painful to see BioWare ruining its legacy like that.

The attractive trailer promised us a thrilling gaming experience but the promise not fulfilled felt like players being robbed.

Although the flight was the only great thing about the game, it was not enough to save the dumpster that was Anthem as a whole. With that, BioWare decided to stop working on it and Anthem was officially put to rest after fifteen months.