Anthem is supposed to be the next big showcase from BioWare, but many players express skepticism about the new MMO shooter. They don’t quite trust the developers’ promises.
According to BioWare, they are following a specific marketing strategy: The developers consciously hold back information about Anthem and do not want any hype yet. The game should be mature enough to be presented in detail to the public.
Fans are expressing skepticism: We notice this on MeinMMO in the comments. But the mood is similar on community portals like Reddit. For example, our reader Visterface writes: “Oh, I don’t know. The more I read [about Anthem], the less I want to play the game.”
Often the tenor is that fans are unsure whether to trust the previous promises of BioWare. What is the reason for this?
The promise of delivering new information
There are info tidbits without context: While BioWare does not want to reveal details about Anthem yet, on Mark Darrah’s Twitter account, info tidbits are regularly offered. The Lead Producer holds a daily and open Q&A session where fans’ curious questions are answered tersely or in few words.
News that summarize these info tidbits often leave room for interpretation since they are rather vague. This alone is unsatisfying for some as it creates a hazy picture.
Info tidbits are not the problem: These info tidbits may not create a big hype, but they are exciting to follow. For instance, information about certain gameplay mechanics has come up that would not be known without Darrah’s Twitter.
Many promises, little concrete information: Fans are more annoyed by BioWare’s promise to reveal more concrete information soon. However, these promises are rarely kept:
- At E3 2018, it was said that more would be revealed about Anthem’s gameplay. The trailer shown there hardly differed from what was already shown in 2017.
- For the PAX West 2018 gaming festival, BioWare wanted to explain how storytelling in Anthem works. There was a new trailer and a Q&A session with the developers.
New information that aren’t new: The supposedly new information revealed at the events was mostly already known.
It was mentioned again that players would experience the story campaign alone in the hub Fort Tarsis, while in the open world there would be Fortnite-like events for multiplayer. However, this was already long known. The “how” would have rather interested the fans here.
However, how exactly it is supposed to function and what these events will be remains a secret. Ultimately, the only new information was that NPCs will get two dialogue options and when the VIP demo will be playable.
Exactly this “teasing of new information and then delivering only little new content” makes fans skeptical.
BioWare and EA’s reputation tarnished
EA’s loot box drama: Trust in Electronic Arts has suffered due to the great loot box debate surrounding Star Wars Battlefront 2. At the end of 2017, there was hardly a day when EA’s loot boxes weren’t central in gaming media. Since then, there have also been some statements from EA regarding their monetization policy, currently still with Battlefield V.
However, the drama was so present and significant that it is still ingrained in the minds of many. Although it has already been confirmed that there will be no loot boxes for Anthem, a bit of distrust remains.
Pancake Effect Andromeda: The BioWare brand actually stands for high-quality single-player RPGs with gripping stories and unforgettable characters. However, Mass Effect Andromeda had silly animations and facial expressions of a half-baked pancake. The game long embodied a joke on the internet and also failed to meet many expectations in storytelling.
Here, fans are being cautious towards the publisher and developer, wanting to first see what is ultimately delivered.
Not everyone is skeptical
The interest in Anthem is high: Even though skeptical remarks towards Anthem, BioWare, and EA are often encountered, players are indeed curious. It would hardly be possible otherwise for the world to gaze at the producer Darrah’s Twitter account and share and discuss every little info tidbit.
The ideas that BioWare presents for Anthem find considerable resonance. Even with us on MeinMMO. For example, our readers say…
- … Psycheater: “Drawing inspiration from Fortnite for the events doesn’t seem wrong to me. I have absolutely nothing to do with the game, and even I notice that there is something new going on every week. If Anthem can achieve something like that: Respect.”
- … Setias: “You all should just wait and see what happens and not spread bad vibes beforehand. We can only hope, and the ideas [from Anthem] aren’t so bad.”
- … Gothsta: “[…] If Bioware can deliver on their promise of ongoing content, the ‘events’ may well turn out to be mere fillers and thus positively impact the entire game.”
Is the skepticism justified? Anthem will be a full-price title, and the standard version is already around 70 euros. We can certainly carry a healthy portion of skepticism with us.
However, overall there is still too little known about Anthem to allow skepticism to turn into a negative mood directly. That would not be justified at this point, and a judgment can ultimately only be formed once Anthem is out and the first players can truly feel the gameplay and the story.
So far, Anthem makes a solid impression for an MMO shooter. If BioWare can actually avoid content drought through storytelling like in Fortnite and additionally deliver a gripping main campaign, a great game with high long-term motivation could be on the horizon for us. The gameplay must then be experienced individually.
For now, it is time to wait.
What impression have you had of Anthem so far?
