Firstly, it is just awkward to watch an extended cutscene with four other people. It was during these cutscenes that I truly mourned how far astray this latest Bioware game has fallen in its storytelling. There are moments where larger missions cut into non-interactive cutscenes which you and your team watch together. But not only is this an unsatisfying approach to building a narrative, but this stream of audio is often nothing more than an annoyance when you are using party chat. Anthem mostly tries to do this by feeding you a stream of audio from characters in your earpiece throughout missions. In a game like Mass Effect, quests would intersperse narrative throughout periods of action and exploration. Mostly, this is because multiplayer games like this just don’t lend themselves well to storytelling. cutscenes contain the compelling character development and scenarios I love in Bioware, but completely without the input of me as a player and the consequence of my decisions. But, in practice, I never felt compelled or particularly connected to the backstory or unfolding narrative as much as the synopsis indicates I might have. On paper, it is actually a very interesting and complex scenario. It is in this setting that humanity struggles for safety and stability amongst the pressures of warring political factions of mankind and a history of enslavement by other species. Unstable relics can spontaneously terraform sections of the planet, creating terrible weather events or mutating animals into terrifying beasts. Anthem is set in a world filled with relics that can harvest an energy source called The Anthem of Creation –relics believed to have been created by a godlike prior civilisation.
The premise of the game is interesting, just not explored as organically or satisfyingly as in games such as the Mass Effect trilogy. Though these aspects of Anthem are serviceable, they are far from the calibre Bioware fans, like myself, have come to expect from their games. Traditionally, what Bioware fans have loved about their games is the story, and more specifically, character development and relationships.
Underneath them, there is a core loop and gameplay experience that could be incredibly gratifying to the right kind of gamer –although, that gamer likely isn’t a Bioware fan. I hope this because, despite these problems the game has had at launch, I still don’t think it lands in the “Skip it” category.
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