Upon launch, EA and BioWare’s titleAnthemwas massively criticized by players, as those who had existing loyalty to BioWare felt the game lacked the in-depth storytelling that was found in previous hits likeMass EffectandDragon Age. Other players who were fans of the looter-shooter, action-adventure categoryAnthemfalls into were also underwhelmed by the game.
The premise ofAnthemsounded promising, which is why it had intrigued both BioWare fans and action-adventure fans alike. However, when the game released, it failed to deliver on its previous promises and left many players unhappy. At release, the game was riddled with bugs, to the point that those who played onPlayStation 4 had their consoles brickduring gameplay.
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BioWare has heard fans’ criticisms and critiques loud and clear, leading to a few different things. It has stopped doing “seasonal updates” to patch the game and instead started completely revamping and overhaulingAnthemto fix and improve the issues gamers saw. This isn’t necessarily unheard of for BioWare, who famously patched in a third ending toMass Effect 3after an outcry from fans, but it is definitely the biggest “retcon” in the company’s history. However, with no release date in sight for the improvedAnthem 2.0orAnthem Next, there’s a good possibility theAnthemreboothas a future on next-gen consoles.
Next-Gen Console Release Gives Extra Development Time
BioWare first announced the revamp back in February of this year, with the game having been out for a full year since its launch in February 2019. With over six months gone by andAnthem 2.0still in the incubation phase of its development, there seems little reason to rush any further development.
For many players, the main complaint they gave aboutAnthemwas feeling like they purchased an already broken game. This is easy to understand given the numerous bugs found in the game at launch, not to mention how subsequent patches seemed to do more harm than good at first. It’s entirely possible that theAnthem’s initial rush in development in 2017to meet an extended 2019 deadline led to many of the issues players described at launch.
If the development team focuses on taming the engine beast that is Frostbite 3,Anthemwill undoubtedly be better off for it. The issues with the Frostbite 3 engine aren’t to say that it’s a bad engine—it’s not. It is, however, cumbersome to work with and not ideal for games likeAnthem.Even during development, the team had to scrap previous ideas they wanted to utilize in the game, like crafting, becausethe Frostbite engine wasn’t equipped to handle it.
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Taking this extra time to perfect the re-launch ofAnthemwill be crucial to its success. Figuring out what will and will not work while using the Frostbite 3 engine will make sureAnthemis the best it can be when “re-launch” day comes. Also, making sure the aspects chosen for the game run flawlessly (or nearly flawless, as some bugs are pretty much unavoidable) will no doubt redeem the bad launchAnthemoriginally had.
Nowhere To Go But Up for Anthem
Besides bug fixes and making sure consoles don’t brick up while playing,Anthemneeds a complete overhaul of its story and variety in its missions.ChangingAnthem’s existing missionsto make them feel less repetitive will enhance gamers’ overall experience with the game, and hopefully, add more in-depth story telling that the game has ultimately lacked. That would likely satisfy a portion of BioWare fans, while those hoping for better loot also need to be a high priority.
Expectations were high whenAnthemwas initially announcee, and it’s a shame the game didn’t exceed its full potential at launch. However,Anthemisn’t the first game to do a complete overhaul and re-release, and this process could ultimately save the game from its lackluster reviews. The PlayStation 5 andXbox Series Xare only a few months away from release, so with proper consideration and time,Anthemcould be a massive success for next-gen consoles. Only time will tell.
Anthemis available now for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox One.
MORE:BioWare Should Remaster the Mass Effect Trilogy Rather Than Overhaul Anthem
