'Anthem' Was a Half-Baked Attempt to Beat 'Destiny.' Instead, It Copied All the Bad Parts.
From the moment footage of BioWare's newest video game Anthem surfaced, comparisons were drawn to Bungie's popular Destiny series. Destiny long suffered from player frustration and burnout-even its sequel couldn't resolve its woes-and fans saw Anthem as something of a savior that would swoop in and right all the wrongs they felt Destiny had committed. It would be a "Destiny killer," so to speak.
Bungie was known throughout the game industry as the birthplace of Halo. BioWare, on the other hand, was associated with exciting role-playing tales like Dragon Age and Mass Effect. Anthem felt like an abrupt about-face for BioWare, likely still reeling from a wave of negativity for the latest Mass Effect entry, which was a disappointment, to say the least. Maybe it was conceived as a way for BioWare to emerge from the grubby chrysalis formed by harsh reviews and critical fan reception as an unfettered developer of the New, Hot Thing. Whatever the case, the pivot to a multiplayer-focused looter shooter felt undeniably calculated.
Everything about Anthem seems carefully, meticulously planned to resonate with players who dug into Destiny. It's clear BioWare wanted us to think of Destiny's Guardians when we embody Javelins as Freelancers, or at the very least pick up on some sort of subliminal messaging when it cast us as dudes running around in space armor working to defeat the Big Bad Space Guy within an all-too-serious narrative. Instead of the "light" that fuels the Guardians, we have the "Anthem of Creation," which fulfills the same generic role as a source of conflict and power. Just like Destiny is filled with wondrous machines of humanity's golden age, much of Anthem's plot centers around arcane devices that tap into the Anthem of Creation to channel devastating energies.
Destiny's narrative always was slightly confusing and bland, seemingly cast off to the side so players could just jump in, and Anthem is the same. There's the persistent promise of some deeper meaning, but to the game's detriment, it does nothing to deliver. BioWare was once known for its world-building, and its ability to tell profound stories and weave fantastically memorable characters, so it's odd that most of Anthem's dialog is superfluous. If you choose to roam around Fort Tarsis, Anthem's version of the Last City, you can talk to the citizenry and even get tangled up in a few plotlines. However, none of these really matter. They can't. Because of Anthem's always online, team-based gameplay, everyone pretty much has to end up with the same story. Just like in Destiny, there's no real player agency, although Anthem tries to give the illusion there is.
Unfortunately, Anthem relies on so many of the same types of missions that barely get off the ground, even when you, in your Javelin, do. You're always tasked with an uninspiring mishmash of flying to one area to clear out a stronghold of enemies, flying elsewhere to collect rewards, jetting to a new location to start the cycle over again, and then eventually taking out towers ad hominem.
And Anthem, like Destiny, has issues with lore. It feels like whenever the writers didn't want to explain something, the game just handwaves away details as being "mysterious." There are ancient ruins and powerful artifacts that, despite being everywhere you go, are somehow considered incredibly rare and valuable.
Where Anthem could have overtaken Destiny is in presenting a better gameplay loop. Destiny was all about grinding through the same small number of activities to try and get gear that was just a little bit better than what you had, so you could repeat the process. Because of the need to factor in the Crucible PvP mode, you never got any weapons or armor in Destiny that made you feel supremely powerful. With Anthem's lack of PvP, the gear grind could have been stupendous, the weapons and armor fantastical. That's not the case. The best guns in Anthem are just more powerful versions of the ones you've been using. Anthem chooses to make you chase numbers. There's no feeling of power.
Additionally, one of the coolest features of Anthem, the Javelins, don't even factor into your stats. Instead of looking forward to awesome armor customization, something that Destiny did rather well, the look of your armor is entirely cosmetic. I might have a different opinion on this if BioWare hadn't decided to lock most of the different armor styles behind microtransactions, but as it stands, there's no real pride in wearing a curated set of gear in Anthem. You can either toil forever for premium currency in-game or pay cold hard cash to buy it.
If you look at Destiny when it first hit the scene and how it has evolved over the years, as well as its sequel, you'd be hard-pressed to say it is the same game. It's likely that Anthem will continue to grow and evolve in much the same way. But right now, it feels more half-baked than Destiny ever was. If you're looking for a looter shooter, Anthem is a decent choice, but it's far from dethroning Destiny.
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