Despite plenty of excitement for BioWare’s looter-shooter leading up to its launch,Anthemfailed to live up to the hype. The reveals ofAnthempromised big things, but the execution, in the end, left much to be desired. BioWare, undeterred by the poor reviews, promised to improve the game inAnthem 2.0, which was intended to fix a lot of the issues and complaints fans had with the game, but this has now been canceled.
Anthem 2.0’scancellationcomes as unfortunate news for fans, as despite the game’s glaring shortcomings, it had the makings of something quite special. Fans looking for an improved version of Anthem’s impressive gameplay will now be hoping other games pick up where it left off, but this may not be all that unlikely.
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What Anthem Did Right
Since its fairly turbulent launch in early 2019, much of the focus has been on what went wrong withAnthem, but this approach ignores the elements thatAnthemgot so right. Traveling aroundAnthem’sstunning landscape is an experience not to be missed, in spite of the possibility that its servers could be shut down in the future. As things stand it’s stillpossible to playAnthemand a lot of care and attention was put into making the traversal of the world ofAnthemas fun as possible. Gamers should not be discouraged by the cancellation ofAnthem 2.0, as there’s still enough content in the game’scurrent state to get a good amount of enjoyment from it.
The gameplay ofAnthemis one of its stronger attributes, with much of the entertainment of the game coming from simply flying around the map. BeforeAnthem’s grind kicks in, it’s an enjoyable romp through the world, with the combat system and the combos in particular making for some great battles. The flight, however, steals the show.Anthemhas a phenomenal movement system, which solves the issue that many games face of how to make exploration engaging. Flight mechanics in video games are far from a new thing,Breath of the Wild’sparagliders for example proved to be a spectacular inclusion, but BioWare may have perfected flight in video games.
It may be an overstatement to callAnthema great game, but what can be discerned by playing a small sample ofAnthemis that it is not an idea that deserves to be abandoned. The fate ofBioWare’s projectmay well be sealed, however, this doesn’t mean it’s curtains for the featuresAnthemperfected. It’s the way of the gaming industry to borrow popular features from games, andAnthem’s movement system is a great candidate for imitation. While it will take the right type of game to pull offAnthem’sjetpacks, there are certainly a broad range of candidates.
What Stray’s Cross Could Learn From Anthem
Naughty Dog’s all-new sci-fi project, codenamedStray’s Cross,is rumored to be in development and is looking like it could be the next big thing for the developer ofThe Last of Us.Stray’s Crossis rumored to be a sci-fi game, which would be quite the departure from the big titles that have brought Naughty Dog so much success as of late. One way Naughty Dog could ensureStray’s Crossis as big of a success asThe Last of UsandUnchartedcould be to followAnthem’slead.
The Last of Us 2proved Naughty Dog’s ability to both tell a compelling story and develop some great gameplay if either were ever in doubt. What will be interesting to see from this new Naughty Dog project is how it can evolve its story and, in particular, its gameplay to fit the new genre. With a new genre comes new demands, expectations, and opportunities, what works well forThe Last of Uswon’t necessarily work forStray’s Cross.
This is where Naughty Dog could learn from BioWare’sAnthemgameplay. The sci-fi genre is an excellent opportunity for Naughty Dog to explore its options, the typical Naughty Dog experience could work seamlessly with the implementation of the traversal abilities present inAnthem.Naughty Dog’sThe Last of Us 2has some stunning environments, including skyscrapers that added great verticality to the mix. The ability to fly around these environments, exploring at the player’s own leisure could massively enhance the experience, giving the player a feeling of freedom and a sense of wonderment present in the likes ofSkyrim,as well as a number of open-world titles that have cropped up followingTES 5’ssuccess.
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Great Sci-Fi Games Similar To Anthem
Marvel’s Avengerslaunched to similarly lukewarm reviews, however, it looks to be a game that Crystal Dynamic isn’t going to be giving up on any time soon. For fans ofAnthem, this could be good news as oneAvengerscharacter in Iron Man shares a very familiar flight mechanic. Iron Man’s suit provides exactly the type of flying experience thatAnthemhandles so well. The game is slightly flawed as an Anthem replacement as the player can’t play as Iron Man throughout, however, for the time the player can choose to suit up as Iron Man, it proves to be a great alternative.
Warframeis perhaps the most obvious direct comparison toAnthem, it often comes up in discussions about the title’s failings, and for good reason asWarframe’ssuccess is a truly impressive feat. LikeAnthem, Warframeis a third-person MMO action-roleplaying game that, after its release in 2013, went from strength to strength, ultimately ending up where it stands today as one of the foremost free-to-play titles on the market.Warframeis yet another game to implement flight mechanics, with theWarframe’sArchwing Launcherallowing the player to take to the air, with gameplay very similar to that which can be found inAnthem.
Flight mechanics in video gamesare great, and the good news is there are plenty out there to be experienced. With the jetpacks inAnthemproving to be a shining light amid the contrasting darkness of the game’s release, gamers could be set to see these implemented in a number of future titles. Certainly, with the trend of ever-expanding game worlds, there are a number of open-world titles out there that would greatly benefit from the protagonist having the ability to fly, and with the cancellation ofAnthem,there is a void left to be filled.
Anthemis out for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
