Anthem Reviews
Anthem is a game with a lot of great ideas, but it doesn’t always have what it takes to put those ideas together. It suffers from trying to do too many things, but you can tell that under the three or four games they tried to make, a really good one is sadly buried.
There’s a great game somewhere hidden beneath the tombs of Anthem, it’s just not there quite yet.
Here's hoping for a swift fix for the game's most pressing issues, because almost everything that works, works well. With some more polish, Anthem could be a great way to spend an evening playing with friends - just don't expect the next Mass Effect or Destiny.
Many of the individual aspects of Anthem work well. The world of Bastion is gorgeous, the graphical fidelity is truly next level, and no game has done flight quite as well as this one. Unfortunately, when mashed together in a rough looter shooter, these great aspects of the game are hidden away and replaced with a slow and frustrating experience riddled with technical and balancing issues and a simply average story doesn’t make up for any of it.
The missions are ho-hum, but the combat more than makes up for it and the fact that all four Javelins play so differently is fantastic. Yet the games loading screen and bugs can put a serious damper on the enjoyment. It’s a decent foundation that will likely improve over time. But the latest patch that removed the respawn restrictions is a serious low blow for the hardcore crowd, and it has dampened my enthusiasm a great deal for it.
Anthem is yet another half-baked looter shooter. However, it's just at the beginning of its lifecycle and Its future success is only up to the developers. If you're a diehard Bioware fan, you shouldn't expect anything like their previous titles. Otherwise, you'll be even more disappointed.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Anthem isn't a terrible game. The core mechanics alone make it something worth at least trying, with the fluid Javelin control movement system and combat options offering up an interesting take on the modern shooter. The problem is that Anthem just isn't a complete package. It's buggy, boring and feels unfinished. It had potential to be another Bioware triumph, and it still could with updates and DLC, but for now, it's a bit like a shiny collectable that looks pretty but really doesn't really do much.
Anthem is not worth the money they’re asking. It just isn’t. It might be someday, the ‘quality of life’ has to be improved significantly because once you’re in the game, you can see what BioWare want Anthem to be, you know where it’s heading and the story ending leaves it open enough to ensure that it’ll continue in the same way that Destiny just keeps on going. It’s not dreadful, there just needs to be a serious overhaul of the navigation, the bloody menus and the ‘looter shooter’ aspect which at this present moment is ensuring you’re getting very little back for your momentous efforts.
My hope is that BioWare, too, will be able to overcome the ways that their game is broken. Since that demo, Anthem has steadily grown more stable. Some issues, though—like the repetitive mission structure—run deeper than glitchiness. But, Anthem’s core mechanics are satisfying, its world is enticing and its characters, by and large, are charming. With this review done, I will continue to play it. I want Anthem to get better, and I only hope that EA will give BioWare the time and resources to make this game as good as it can be. As it stands, it’s still worth a shot.
After playing many hours of Anthem, I was frustrated. Big promises are converted into just an empty execution from once beloved developers. There is still a potential. But right now the game has nothing much to offer, if we are talking about original gameplay at least. This is a sign that an over-successful team can always create a very average thing.
Review in Czech | Read full review
BioWare's first foray into the looter-shooter genre absolutely nails high-flying action, but drops the ball in all other aspects. A disappointment at launch, Anthem nevertheless contains plenty of untapped potential that will hopefully survive being buried under a tidal wave of negativity. BioWare sorely needs to turn things around for this game, but whether or not they will succeed remains to be seen.
Anthem is really not so bad, but has a lot of technical and content problems that hurt so much.
Review in German | Read full review
If you’re into your looter shooters, then I would highly recommend you giving this game a go. It has a beautiful world to discover, fantastic flight and movement mechanics and enough content to keep you going.
Anthem is one of my favorite games in a long time. Yes, there are some design and technical problems with Anthem but absolutely nothing that can’t be fixed.
The future of this legendary developer remains a question for another day, but its followers shouldn’t be so quick to write off this new franchise. This Anthem may not be a perfect song, but it has a lot of promise.
"Anthem, problems aside, is a solid game, it's beautiful, it's organic and it's one of the most enjoyable experiences I've had with an open world title since Assassin's Creed Odyssey as of recent and stays true to the values and traditions BioWare has been known for since their establishment."
Here’s the kicker, though; despite its myriad problems I actually kind of like Anthem. I found myself sinking into its simple gameplay loops. But there are too many basic design problems holding Anthem back. As a live service game it’s hard to know what the future holds for BioWare’s looter-shooter, but right now I’d recommend you wait a while before picking Anthem up. In its current state it has okay combat, poor enemy design, boring missions, dull loot and enough loading screens to let you catch up on your reading.
I didn’t anticipate that Anthem would launch as poorly as it has. I use the word “launch” because I know a majority of the game’s current issues can and will be fixed if EA and BioWare stick with it. However, the game currently isn’t worth it in its current state. It’s a technically inconsistent mess of a looter shooter that can’t seem to nail down the fundamentals of the genre. The most diehard fans of The Division and Destiny might find something enjoyable in Anthem, but you’ll quickly discover there’s nothing to keep players from returning to those other games because they do it so much better. Anthem has a lot of potential that I hope it can tap into it, but it’ll be some time before it reaches a state that’s worth investing in.
Anthem seems to be a really big lost chance for something trully enjoyable. It does not live up to its hype neither its full potential...for now. Bioware mirrors Bungie on Destiny 1 but in a much more messier scale. That doesn't mean that there is no room for improvement over time.
Review in Greek | Read full review
I’ll be playing this game for some time to come and will only hope that it gets better by year’s end, because honestly if it doesn’t address the issues they have now, I can definitely see this game being forgotten fairly quickly.