Why Anthem falls short of being classic Bioware

Whenever a new Bioware game comes out, fans inevitably ask the same, almost maddening question: Is this a classic Bioware game, or something that EA has poisoned with its corporate ways?

And, frankly, the last few games to come out of the studio have not quite satisfied the public’s desire for something that is both solid action game and heady role-playing title. Let’s not even get started on the Mass Effect: Andromeda scandal, one that that series and Bioware have struggled to shake almost two years later.

Anthem highlights flaws in current gaming trends

So, where does this leave Anthem? Is it the game people have waited for and wanted ever since Bioware supposedly “lost their way?” Yes and no. Sure, Anthem is a solid action game, but it calls to mind two prominent trends in current gaming and those are the dying single-player experience and the need to create an online, iterative platform for endless downloadable content as well as monetization.

You see, Anthem is a multiplayer, online action role-playing game, much in the vein of the Destiny series. One marked change is that it offers a contiguous open world and an aesthetic that doesn’t seem like it was deliberately ripped straight from the Halo series. But, outside of that, it is largely the same type of stuff we’ve played for a while in the FPS/RPG crossover genre. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, yet when you consider Bioware’s history of making solid RPG titles… it is strange.

There’s a huge emphasis on cooperative gameplay in Anthem, and that already will turn off a huge swath of gamers. It’s not just a little bit of co-op here and there, either; rather, it is a core element of the game. Forcing people to interact is never a bad thing, right? Especially in an online world that you want to feel alive. Indeed, interaction is often a huge part of any Bioware game.

Interactivity falls short of Bioware’s best

Still, even here, the game falls glaringly short of past efforts from the developer. Remember the heady conversation trees and deep interaction you had with non-player characters in the past?

A lot of that is still here but one huge element is missing: Romance. Whereas you could woo almost any NPC in previous games, that’s gone in Anthem, a game that we suspect expects you to flirt with real people instead of AI bots. Nonetheless, when it comes to the core elements of what makes a Bioware game a “true” Bioware title, the lack of this interactive option is not only the first sign something is different but also a sure sign that the old Bioware is long gone.

Studios change and game design evolves. But that doesn’t mean that tradition and heritage won’t impact your future. Devs are usually given a lot of free reign in making their own version of something, especially when they are as pioneering as Bioware. Anthem, however, feels like a rehash of so many old concepts, none of which that studio has anything to do with nor nothing it is really known for in the end.