Learning from Others
As a shared-world shooter, Anthem had the opportunity to see where other games had succeeded and where they had failed. They had the chance to capitalize on the mistakes of others and provide a robust experience right out of the gate. Not only did BioWare fail to improve the genre in certain ways, it arguably was worse in others. Personally, I found the social space in Anthem to be less enjoyable than that of other games. While Anthem has undoubtedly been in development for a long time, I cannot imagine that slight deviations from their starting vision could not have been made after watching other titles release one after another.
Cross Platform
Cross-platform play has made its way into the news time and time again in recent memory, whether it be the application of cross-platform play or the denial of it. We know that Microsoft is on board with the idea, and would likely be allowed between PC and Xbox, and there is a chance that Playstation might say yes as well. With early access available on both PC and Xbox, albeit with different restrictions, cross-platform play or progression would have been nice for players who wanted to purchase the game on both platforms for various reasons. In the long run, cross-platform play would allow more friends to play together and could help a dwindling community.
BioWare Made This?
We all know that BioWare is known for single-player RPGs with a strong narrative and romance options. Anthem is almost the complete opposite, with the exception being the narrative depending on who you ask. “Typecasting” a developer isn’t necessary, and a look at Guerilla Games’ Horizon Zero Dawn after their work on the Killzone titles is just one successful example of developers moving away from what they are known for. Unfortunately, players still expected big things from BioWare given their pedigree. While a shared-world shooter might not be the best type of game to demonstrate BioWare’s previous strengths, it is a shame that BioWare was unable to showcase what makes them special so far in Anthem.
Anthem is just getting started, and despite this rough start, EA has provided a roadmap through to May thus far with more to come. Anthem has a decent base in terms of its combat and flying mechanics, and we hope to see BioWare do special things with this game in the future.