The online RPG Anthem is currently treated worse than it deserves. At least that’s what the head of Star Citizen, Chris Roberts, thinks.
Anthem is arguably one of the most controversial games of 2019. Alongside many gameplay criticisms, revelations about working practices at BioWare also made headlines and cast a shadow on the game.
However, not everything is bad, and many things just need some improvement – at least that’s what Chris Roberts, the head behind the in-development game Star Citizen, says.
Where was that claimed? In an interview with Newsweek, Roberts talked about the development of Star Citizen and compared it with Anthem.
“I played it [Anthem]. So I know there’s a lot of good in it. Good things that work, but also some things that don’t work. (…) I hope that EA and BioWare don’t give up, pull their heads in, get to work and improve things so that they work.”
Chris Roberts
There are many games that are “completely ruined,” but that is not the case with Anthem.
Roberts compares Anthem with No Man’s Sky, which also received a lot of backlash due to the much higher expectations of the game. However, the team behind No Man’s Sky managed to turn things around. Now the perception has changed.
Roberts apparently believes that BioWare can achieve this with Anthem as well.
Anthem has the EA disadvantage: Another factor contributing to Anthem’s poor perception, according to Roberts, is EA’s reputation among gamers.
EA has the reputation for ruining things. Additionally, Mass Effect Andromeda felt like it was released too early.
Players now have the same feeling with Anthem.
Only the negative voices were loud: Roberts also views the debate on the harsh “Crunch Time” at BioWare, uncovered by Kotaku, rather critically. Only those who had a negative experience spoke up. There were surely many at BioWare who had a much more positive experience.
At Star Citizen, they aim to adhere to a 40-hour work week. Overall, the industry is making great strides here.
This is what Anthem needs to do now: Roberts believes that a game like Anthem needs to be revised over and over again to become good.
Most players do not understand how difficult it is to deliver something that runs flawlessly. There are things that work and others that do not. Destiny was also an ongoing process.
He draws parallels to his game Star Citizen: There it runs similarly.
In addition, Roberts wishes for Anthem to have a bit more and be a bit deeper. He wants the story and the lore to be somewhat more dynamic.
What is your opinion on Anthem? Do you think the game just needs a few improvements to become really good? Or has Anthem hit a dead end?
