We now know that Anthem is alive and the devs are trying to figure out what went wrong with the game in the first place.
Anthem is alive, but barely
First we had rumors that BioWare was going to redesign the game from the ground up. Then we got official confirmation that they’re redesigning the game’s core gameplay loop to be fun and enjoyable. You gotta admire BioWare and their dedication to a title that was basically dead at launch. Yet, they’ve released updates every now and then, trying to get the game into shape. Have they succeeded? Not quite, but now appropriate steps are being taken. In their May Anthem Update they said:
The Anthem incubation team has kicked off and we are starting to validate our design hypotheses. Incubation is a term we use internally – it essentially means we are going back and experimenting/prototyping to improve on the areas where we believe we fell short and to leverage everything that you love currently about Anthem.
Basically, this incubation team is figuring out how to improve the most lackluster parts of the game. But, wouldn’t that be 90% of Anthem? Not to be mean, but this co-op sci-fi shooter was quite lacking in the “enjoyable” department. The shooting mechanics were mediocre, the loot system wasn’t rewarding at all, the missions were bland and uninspired, enemies completely generic, and bosses were tedious bullet sponges. I’m curious as to how they intend to improve on all of that without having to make a whole new game.
A small team is figuring out what went wrong with Anthem
This whole ordeal is them experimenting. Trying to take the lousy parts of the game and turn them into something fun and meaningful. Since only a small team is working on this, don’t expect to see Anthem in all of its reborn glory anytime soon. I don’t know how many fans of the game out there right now, but they are incredibly loyal if they’re sticking with this title through all of this.
But, on the flip side, we may get a version of Anthem that’s actually fun. The formula does sound awesome as hell. Get into a flying mech and destroy tons of enemies. Then you get cooler guns and wreak even more havoc. It’s hard to understand how they got it all wrong in the first place.
It’s going to be a long and hard process
The issue with this decision is that the entire process is going to be troublesome, long, and grueling.
The reality is you will see things that look awesome but end up on the cutting room floor or things that you might think suck that you feel we are spending too much time on – but in the spirit of experimentation this is all OK.
Naturally, this was to be expected. I mean can you redesign your entire game with ease? Hell no, this operation of BioWare’s is insanely difficult. Maybe it doesn’t even work out in the end. Perhaps the core formula just can’t be fixed. Yet, since they’ve been working hard to fix the game since it launched in February, I don’t think they’ll give up that easily.
BioWare is also putting together a better communication system. Since the fans should be aware of what’s going on and how’s the team doing. And what exactly they’re doing as well. Having the development team interact with the fans would be great. This game hurt the relationship BioWare had with their loyal fans. Now’s the time to repair it. The updates can come in the form of social media posts or even an ad-hoc live stream. We still don’t know how they’re going to relay their progress to the players.
Let’s see if BioWare can figure out what went wrong with Anthem. More importantly, let’s see if they can turn this title into something that we can all enjoy together!
If you wish to purchase Anthem and support the devs, you can find the game on HRK Game for both PC and Xbox One for an outstanding price!
