From the legendary studio that brought us the sprawling universes of Mass Effect and Dragon Age comes a bold and visually stunning new IP: Anthem. Poised to enter the competitive shared-world shooter arena, BioWare’s latest endeavor is a symphony of sci-fi fantasy, explosive action, and the promise of deep, evolving storytelling. Anthem isn’t just another looter-shooter; it’s an ambitious attempt to merge the studio’s narrative pedigree with dynamic, cooperative gameplay set in a savage, untamed world. As Freelancers, players will don powerful exosuits called Javelins to explore a land left unfinished by the gods, a place where humanity clings to survival behind the fortified walls of Fort Tarsis. This preview delves into the core pillars of Anthem, from the exhilarating freedom of flight to the deep customization of its combat systems, exploring the immense potential and the monumental expectations resting on BioWare’s shoulders.
Anthem seeks to carve its own identity in a genre dominated by titans. It bets heavily on its unique traversal mechanics and a world teeming with verticality and danger. The promise is a living, breathing ecosystem that evolves over time, fueled by a mysterious cosmic force. Can BioWare successfully blend its single-player storytelling prowess with the persistent, multiplayer world of a live-service game? The stage is set for what could be the studio’s next great saga.
A World Left Unfinished: The Savage Beauty of Bastion
The narrative foundation of Anthem is built upon a fascinating and dangerous premise. The world of Bastion is a land abandoned by its creators, the Shapers, who left behind their world-shaping tools powered by a boundless energy source known as the Anthem of Creation. This untamed force continually terraforms the landscape, spawning ferocious creatures and unleashing cataclysmic events. What remains of humanity lives in fortified settlements, with Fort Tarsis serving as the central hub. Protecting them are the Freelancers, elite pilots who venture into the wilds in their powerful Javelin exosuits to quell the Anthem’s chaotic influence and protect civilization from the myriad threats that lurk beyond the walls.
The Freedom of Flight and Vertical Exploration
The single most defining feature of Anthem is its traversal system. The Javelins are not just armor; they are sophisticated flight suits that grant players an incredible sense of freedom and mobility. With the push of a button, you can launch into the air, soaring through dense jungles, diving into deep underwater caverns, and navigating treacherous mountain canyons. The experience is immediately gratifying, often compared to embodying Iron Man. This isn’t just a gimmick; the world of Bastion is built around this verticality. Missions and combat encounters are designed to take advantage of three-dimensional space, encouraging players to use height and aerial positioning as a tactical advantage. To maintain balance, Javelins can overheat, forcing pilots to cool down by flying through waterfalls, skimming across bodies of water, or simply landing for a moment. This mechanic adds a layer of resource management to exploration and combat, preventing players from staying airborne indefinitely and forcing strategic decision-making.
Fort Tarsis: The Narrative Heart
While the action unfolds in a third-person perspective out in the wilds, life within Fort Tarsis is experienced in first-person. This design choice is a deliberate nod to BioWare’s storytelling roots, creating a more intimate and personal space for narrative development. Fort Tarsis is where you’ll interact with a cast of characters, from agents and cyphers to vendors and everyday citizens. It’s here that you’ll pick up contracts, advance the main storyline, and build relationships. BioWare has promised that player choices within these conversations will matter, shaping their personal story and their relationships with the inhabitants of the fort. This bifurcation of gameplay—cooperative action outside the walls and personal story inside—is one of Anthem’s biggest gambles. Its success will depend on how seamlessly these two disparate experiences can be woven together to create a cohesive whole.
The Freelancer’s Arsenal: Javelins and Combat
At the core of Anthem’s gameplay is its combat, defined by the four distinct Javelin exosuits. Each Javelin functions as a unique class, catering to different playstyles and promoting team synergy. Players are not locked into a single choice; they can unlock and switch between all four, customizing their loadouts to suit the mission at hand. This flexibility is crucial for the game’s cooperative focus, allowing teams to build a balanced squad capable of handling any threat.
Anthem’s combat is a beautiful chaos of elemental explosions, heavy ordinance, and agile maneuvering. The synergy between different Javelins is where the gameplay truly shines, turning every encounter into a dynamic, cooperative spectacle.
The Four Pillars of Combat
- The Ranger: The quintessential soldier, the Ranger is the first Javelin every Freelancer pilots. It’s a versatile, all-around exosuit that serves as the jack-of-all-trades. Equipped with a variety of grenades and assault launcher options, the Ranger is adaptable to any combat scenario, equally capable of dealing single-target damage and controlling crowds.
- The Colossus: For players who want to be the immovable object on the battlefield, there is the Colossus. This hulking Javelin is the tank of the group, capable of absorbing immense amounts of damage with its physical shield. It forgoes a regenerating energy shield for more health and armor and is the only Javelin that can wield heavy weapons like mortars and autocannons. Its purpose is clear: draw enemy fire and clear a path for its teammates.
- The Storm: The Storm is Anthem’s version of a glass-cannon mage. It boasts the weakest armor but compensates with powerful elemental abilities and the unique ability to hover for extended periods. Floating above the battlefield, the Storm unleashes devastating area-of-effect attacks using ice, lightning, and fire, freezing, shocking, and burning entire groups of enemies. It’s a high-risk, high-reward playstyle that requires careful positioning.
- The Interceptor: The polar opposite of the Colossus, the Interceptor is a hyper-agile, melee-focused Javelin designed for speed and precision. It excels at getting in close, dealing massive damage with its double-bladed daggers, and getting out before the enemy can react. Its abilities focus on movement and single-target elimination, making it the perfect assassin for high-priority targets.
The Gameplay Loop and Endgame Ambitions
Like any live-service game, the long-term success of Anthem will be determined by the quality of its gameplay loop and the depth of its endgame content. The core structure is familiar: players will venture from Fort Tarsis to take on missions, which range from story-critical quests to repeatable contracts and open-world exploration. Completing these activities rewards players with experience points and, most importantly, loot. This loot comes in the form of new weapons and components that enhance the power and abilities of their Javelins. This cycle of mission, reward, and upgrade is the fundamental loop designed to keep players engaged.
Strongholds, World Events, and the Promise of Cataclysms
To provide variety, Anthem will feature several key activities. Strongholds are the game’s equivalent of dungeons or strikes—challenging, multi-stage missions designed for a full squad of four, culminating in a difficult boss battle and promising high-tier rewards. The open world will also be populated with dynamic World Events that can appear at any time, encouraging exploration and spontaneous cooperation between players. However, the most ambitious promise for Anthem’s future lies in its endgame content, specifically the Cataclysms. These are teased as massive, world-altering events that will introduce new challenges, new areas to explore, and powerful new enemies. They are intended to be time-limited events that push the game’s narrative forward and provide the ultimate test for well-geared Freelancers, representing BioWare’s commitment to a truly evolving world.
Hopes, Concerns, and the Weight of Expectation
Anthem is launching under a microscope. BioWare is a beloved studio with a legacy of creating some of the most revered RPGs of all time, but it is also coming off the divisive launch of *Mass Effect: Andromeda*. The shift to a “games as a service” model brings its own set of challenges and skepticism from a fanbase accustomed to finite, narrative-driven single-player experiences. The primary concern is whether BioWare can deliver a compelling story within a framework that demands endless repeatability. Can the narrative told in the first-person confines of Fort Tarsis feel connected to the third-person cooperative chaos outside its walls?
Furthermore, the success of any looter-shooter hinges on its loot. The itemization needs to be deep, meaningful, and exciting. The grind for better gear must feel rewarding, not like a chore. Another significant question is the endgame. Many similar titles have stumbled at launch due to a lack of meaningful content for players who reach the level cap. BioWare has promised a robust roadmap, but the quality and cadence of that post-launch support will be critical. Despite these concerns, the potential for Anthem is undeniable. The core mechanics of flight and combat are exhilarating. The world is breathtakingly beautiful, and the premise is ripe for epic storytelling. If BioWare can successfully merge its narrative strengths with a satisfying and sustainable endgame loop, Anthem could become a landmark title in the genre.
Conclusion: An Ambitious Anthem Awaiting Its Crescendo
Anthem stands as one of the most ambitious projects in BioWare’s storied history. It is a breathtakingly beautiful game built on a foundation of truly spectacular flight and combat mechanics. The promise of a deep, personal story unfolding within a dynamic, shared world is incredibly alluring. Flying through the lush, dangerous landscapes of Bastion in a fully customized Javelin with three friends is an experience that few other games can offer. However, this ambition is matched only by the weight of expectation and the inherent challenges of the live-service model.
The game’s ultimate success will not be measured by its opening hours, but by its longevity. It will be defined by the depth of its endgame, the satisfaction of its loot progression, and BioWare’s ability to deliver a continuous stream of compelling content that keeps players invested in the world of Bastion. The instruments are all in place, and the overture is powerful. Now, players must wait to see if Anthem can deliver a performance that lives up to its monumental promise.
