Anthem is a lot of fun. But multiplayer action and single-player story do not go well together. At least that’s what Cortyn thinks.
Last weekend, like many others, I spent countless hours in Anthem. Many missions and contracts were completed, dialogues were attentively followed, and with the Storm, every enemy that came into my crosshairs was frozen, blasted, or burned.
It is incredibly fun to play the missions with one, two, or three friends, shooting down enemies and exploring the cool world. Yes, playing outside of Fort Tarsis is really enjoyable in a team, and the combo system as well as the different roles of the various Javelins create a great team feeling.
But unfortunately, that’s not the whole game.
To be honest: the rest of Anthem is a burden in a group and anything but fun. At least if you haven’t played the story yet and have an interest in the dialogues.
The process is annoying. Because while you can usually pile up between two and five missions to complete them “in one go,” returning to Fort Tarsis in a group is bothersome. There, all players are running around alone in their instanced version of the game.
You turn in quests, get involved in (sometimes really funny) dialogues with NPCs, and stroll at a snail’s pace across the map, back and forth. Because as soon as you turn in a quest, three new characters want to talk to you.
That would be cool if Anthem were a pure single-player game, where you can take your time because other players aren’t waiting impatiently. But that’s exactly what Anthem is not.
Playing Anthem alone is not fun at all. Anyone who sets missions to “private” and completes them without players will probably fall asleep from boredom after just a few minutes. The real fun only comes when playing with others.
That playing together in large parts of Anthem is absolutely not enjoyable greatly diminishes the fun. You keep encountering these snippets of conversation in Discord:
- “Huh? Why am I missing the contract?”
- “What was the name of the chief from the Domi-” – “Shh, just talking!”
- “Can we go?” – “I’m still listening to the radio from the Crimson Lancer…”
This kind of game design is annoying. The game motivates me more to “rush through the game” without my friends so that I can relax and listen to the dialogues at my own pace, in the hope of spending more time with the actual action gameplay at the max level, which is not often interrupted by long solo dialogue events.
Perhaps that is different in the endgame, when you only chase missions and only enter Fort Tarsis for a few moments. But anyone interested in the story and wanting to talk to all characters when they have news to share will have a problem with group play. At least if they want to play with a fixed squad.
How do you feel about playing Anthem in a group? Do you experience the story as a team with friends? Or do you only team up with “randoms” for the missions?
The first impressions of the community on Anthem have been presented here.
