Anthem

 PC
User Score
4.0

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 3707 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,141 out of 3707
  2. Mixed: 303 out of 3707
  3. Negative: 2,263 out of 3707
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  1. Vertreal
    Feb 22, 2019
    5
    You'll find many reviews giving zeros or tens, and few in between, which is where I feel the game truly lies. Sadly, user reviews on metacritic are more representative of people's feelings, good or bad, rather than facts.

    I'll do my best to provide an honest review of the game, by presenting both pros (+) and cons (-). + The gameplay mechanics are executed well for the most part.    You'll find many reviews giving zeros or tens, and few in between, which is where I feel the game truly lies. Sadly, user reviews on metacritic are more representative of people's feelings, good or bad, rather than facts.

    I'll do my best to provide an honest review of the game, by presenting both pros (+) and cons (-).

    + The gameplay mechanics are executed well for the most part. Flying and shooting (to a lesser extent) feels great and satisfying.

    + The game is pretty, despite the graphical downgrade from the E3 trailer. Exploration during free roam is entertaining, slightly reminiscent of Xenoblade Chronicles X, with lots of verticality.

    + The plot is decent, albeit short, but doesn't come close to even a fraction of Bioware's true potential. I'm only presenting this as a pro since the game is a looter-shooter at heart and not a story-driven RPG.

    + There is a solid foundation and potential for growth, which is something a live-service game desperately needs.

    Unfortunately, many of these positive aspects of Anthem are ruined by its flaws.

    - Level design renders the enjoyable flight mechanics pointless outside of free roam. Shooting becomes almost annoying and somewhat of a chore due to the excessive lightshows that obscure your vision, along with aimbotting enemies (who are also blatant bullet sponges).

    - The AI is rather dull, reducing enemies to mindless drones and the player to a mindless shooter. There is almost no need for tactics in this game. Anthem unfortunately also suffers from bugs, and a severe loading screen issue with frequent CTDs. The game is also badly optimized, barely running on high settings at a very unstable 50-60 FPS, on a GTX1070 and i7 CPU.

    - The graphical downgrade is nothing new to the gaming industry, but feels like a bait-and-switch nonetheless. However, the worst offense is the utter lifelessness of the game's hub area, Fort Tarsis. What appeared as a densely populated, living town in the trailer has been rendered a dead silent (literally), forced first-person, slow-paced and boring place to be. The NPCs are also lazily programmed to stand around while cycling poor animations.

    - For a looter-shooter, the loot is honestly rather disappointing. Both the actual loot and the looting mechanic. Don't epect to find unique items, since most are simply dull reskins with higher stats. Looting in Anthem is also a huge grindfest about three hours in and beyond, with missions always being one of two different types. Furthermore, as long as you play on the same difficulty level, all high-level items have the same odds of dropping regardless of activity.

    - The endgame is stale, which could be excused as the game is a live service. However, considering just how quickly you can reach the endgame, most people will find themselves at a halt with no incentive to keep playing.

    - Since this is an EA game, I feel I need to address the microtransactions as well. They're there, they're an obvious cashgrab, and you will feel a pull to buy them. Earning coin (the in-game currency), takes way too long. For instance, purchasing a skin for your javelin (mech) without spending real money will cost you 60000 coin, which is the equivalent to saving all the coin you earn from first playing the game until reaching the endgame. Meanwhile, the skins cost $6 with real money, which seems a bit steep.

    As you can see, the cons are more numerous and more detailed than the pros. You may be wondering, why not rate it lower, then? My reasoning is that many of these issues can be fixed, and that Anthem still has the potential to be a great game. At the moment, however, I do not recommend to purchase it. Wait until a sale or until the most jarring issues have been fixed, as well as more content added.

    All in all, the game is mediocre. It's not terrible, but far from amazing. At present, you're better off playing something else.    … Expand
  2. Chewbubba
    Feb 22, 2019
    5
    Positives: The graphics and facial animations are very impressive and the world looks gorgeous. The weapons feel quite fun to use and the jetpack movement is also quite fun. It only cost me 15 euros to play. End game weapons feel powerful. Most fun when playing with friends.

    Negatives: The story didn't grip me, I did not feel particularly connected to any of the characters. The    Positives: The graphics and facial animations are very impressive and the world looks gorgeous. The weapons feel quite fun to use and the jetpack movement is also quite fun. It only cost me 15 euros to play. End game weapons feel powerful. Most fun when playing with friends.

    Negatives: The story didn't grip me, I did not feel particularly connected to any of the characters. The conversation wheel is pointless and does not affect the story. Assets are constantly reused and there is not much content really. UI is annoying and unnecessary loading screens. Too many bugs at launch.    … Expand
  3. omggga
    Feb 22, 2019
    5
    Expecting great game with a thoughtful world and exciting gameplay...
    The result is another crappy session mmo with lootboxes.

    RIP Bioware
  4. Deathpunch85
    Feb 27, 2019
    7
    Much better game than I gave it credit for originally. It's fun. Rough around the edges, skippable dialogue, and repetitive 'Destiny' qualities. Haven't made it through the first 30 levels. Will update later.

    I would urge you to take the reviews that are 4 and below as disappointment from a game that was expected to be so much more... although I don't see why given most top developers    Much better game than I gave it credit for originally. It's fun. Rough around the edges, skippable dialogue, and repetitive 'Destiny' qualities. Haven't made it through the first 30 levels. Will update later.

    I would urge you to take the reviews that are 4 and below as disappointment from a game that was expected to be so much more... although I don't see why given most top developers reputation in the past 10 years.    … Expand
  5. fluxmulder
    Feb 22, 2019
    7
    Destiny-style sci-fi RPG looter featuring mechs, from the makers of Mass Effect. The gameplay is solid. Traversing around the world is a lot of fun, and the weapons feel good. There's a lack of mission variety though. The combat also becomes a bit one-note after awhile and doesn't take advantage of the game's traversal mechanics. There's also the usual customization and character levelingDestiny-style sci-fi RPG looter featuring mechs, from the makers of Mass Effect. The gameplay is solid. Traversing around the world is a lot of fun, and the weapons feel good. There's a lack of mission variety though. The combat also becomes a bit one-note after awhile and doesn't take advantage of the game's traversal mechanics. There's also the usual customization and character leveling options that you'd expect from a game like this. The graphics and overall presentation are top notch, though there are a lot of loading screens. The lore, setting and story are interesting. Not as deep as Mass Effect, but still good. I would have preferred the story be presented more in the missions rather than in the readable collectibles though. The load times are pretty bad at launch, and there are some visual/audio bugs. The game is also lacking content at the moment. Overall a very promising start. Hopefully EA continues to support this franchise.… Expand
  6. IamJoser
    Feb 22, 2019
    5
    The story was very underwhelming, the ending felt rushed. Quick boss fight finale was just so boring. Game feels great, with the new patch load times are bearable and about 50% faster in my case. Going out and exploring the world is fun for about 3hrs, then you realize the missions are all re used assets and come back to the same location multiple times. End game is pretty good with 3The story was very underwhelming, the ending felt rushed. Quick boss fight finale was just so boring. Game feels great, with the new patch load times are bearable and about 50% faster in my case. Going out and exploring the world is fun for about 3hrs, then you realize the missions are all re used assets and come back to the same location multiple times. End game is pretty good with 3 raids (strongholds) and 3 different difficulties even though they are just story mission that are replayable. This game does not deserve a 0 like most users are giving it. 5.5 is reasonable and in any way a good thing. Not worth 60$ but def try it out for 15$ using origin access.… Expand
  7. Anfraxx_
    Feb 22, 2019
    5
    I have read the other user reviews and understand their hate, however I think people are too harsh with a lot of their scoring.

    Yes the game has some bugs, this is a new IP with no base to work from so they are learning as they go, before the game even launched we had 2 patches to try and resolve stuff and a lot of things got fixed for "most" people. Also changes were made to balance    I have read the other user reviews and understand their hate, however I think people are too harsh with a lot of their scoring.

    Yes the game has some bugs, this is a new IP with no base to work from so they are learning as they go, before the game even launched we had 2 patches to try and resolve stuff and a lot of things got fixed for "most" people. Also changes were made to balance out the Javelins.

    My opinion on the game is if you have even one other person to play it with, it's a fun game to play. I've been playing it and so far about 15hrs in, still not bored, enjoying the different play styles of each Javelin, enjoying the missions DESPITE (read, I am acknowledging this) the missions been quite samey (Kill all the enemies, hold a spot for a timer to fill, and general grab item A and take it to B) it is still fun with friends (maybe the issue is people who are low balling the game score don't have friends?)

    Graphically the game is nice, not much stuttering making the game play smooth (I have a 7700k and a 1080 w/ 16GB ram) the loading screen issue has resolved itself for me (I do have the game on a SSD though also).

    Each Javelin is different enough to be fun to unlock, and the customisation makes them enjoyable to match how you want to play.

    All in all I would probably give it 7/10 in it's current state, however due to the unfair down votes I have ramped my score up a little.    … Expand
  8. GiantMoth
    Mar 23, 2019
    5
    It's not a perfect game, but it's not terrible, either.

    It's always best to start on a positive note, so I'll begin by saying that I really like the setting. It's beautiful -- and, in fact, it's rooted in fairly hard science-fiction. There's no faster-than-light travel without time dilation, there are no humanlike aliens that just happen to speak English and are not vastly    It's not a perfect game, but it's not terrible, either.

    It's always best to start on a positive note, so I'll begin by saying that I really like the setting. It's beautiful -- and, in fact, it's rooted in fairly hard science-fiction. There's no faster-than-light travel without time dilation, there are no humanlike aliens that just happen to speak English and are not vastly technologically superior to humanity, and there's little-to-no arbitrary space magic.

    In Anthem, humanity has spread through the galaxy and, on at least one colony world, has come across the remains of a vanished, godlike Elder Race. The ruins and relics of these Godlike Engineering projects are capable of causing all sorts of world-shaking catastrophes and events, and are hotly contested by different human factions, and a race of aggressively hostile insects that link together to form humanlike bodies. Your mission is to protect the free human outpost from the harmful effects of the ruins and relics, assist your faction's discovery and R&D efforts, and prevent particularly powerful relics from getting into the wrong hands. It's simple, it's straightforward, it doesn't insult my intelligence too grievously, and it works well overall. (That the insects and vanished Gods are really VERY alien is a nice touch.)

    Interestingly, the humans of Anthem appear far more technologically developed and sophisticated than the humans of Mass Effect, which leads me to believe that we're some thousands of years in the future. And, also, it is quite clear that the fragments of the Elder Race have accelerated human development -- which also seems to be the case for the bugs!

    The setting's art, like its background story, is solid. The art direction is not as inspired as it was in Mass Effect 1, and it's not as varied as many other games are, but it's polished to a high gloss, it looks damn good, and there are flashes of brilliance.

    (The visual focus here is "Modern Sci Fi" -- whereas the original Mass Effect was "1970s retro-futurism." For this reason, Anthem might seem less original -- as though you've seen it all before. You have. But, nevertheless, it's really well done, at least in my own estimation.)

    And the music is quite good, too. Not as good as Mass Effect, on the whole, but a couple of the tracks -- "Ancient Mysteries" and "Outlaw Ambush" -- have a unique sound that fits the setting perfectly.

    So, from an overall aesthetic point of view, I think that the game does extremely well.

    The game's mechanics are fun. Bioware have nailed the jetpacks; the four combat suits all feel very different; the gunplay is not bad. If you're familiar with Mass Effect Andromeda, you'll be familiar with the gunplay here -- but it's much better in Anthem. The sniper rifles, in particular, are infinitely better in Anthem than they were in Andromeda.

    And then there are the combat powers... Suffice it to say that the Storm exosuit is particularly fun to play. The elemental powers make you feel godlike -- quite literally like a Greek God -- and it offers a unique experience that I've never encountered anywhere else.

    So I think that there's a really solid foundation here. And the game runs very well on my two-year-old laptop with a GTX 1060.

    But there are many issues and annoyances:

    - Loading screens everywhere. So much ink has been spilled on this point that there's no need to write about it further.

    - The fact that playing with other people, in missions or freeplay, is a horrible experience. I wish that I could either (a) play with AI bots, or (b) just play solo without being penalized for it. Instead, I played all of the missions in Single Player mode, which made the game far harder, I got fewer equipment drops, and I earned less experience.

    Simply put, Bioware should make single player less painful. As things stand, it really is a sort of punishment... but STILL better than playing with other people. Online co-op is an even greater punishment.

    - Mission design is laughably bad. It's almost too repetitive to be believed.

    - The user interface is nearly as bad as the mission design.

    - Equipment drops and inventory management don't really make sense. You can't figure out what items you've just picked up -- let alone equip them -- until you're back in your base and the mission is finished.

    - The crafting system is totally opaque, to say the least.

    - The entire notion that you need to play in a team doesn't mesh with the story or lore of the game! In fact, the campaign ONLY makes sense if you play in Single Player mode! This was a major annoyance.

    - The sound design in general is sub-par.

    That's it.

    Ultimately, I believe that most of these annoyances can be fixed, and that the game's foundation is a very solid one. But it could have been released in a much better state, and some of the interface and mission design choices really make you wonder what the game's QA testers were doing.    … Expand
  9. MrHoots
    Mar 16, 2019
    6
    This is a flawed game, the game is riddled with bugs and god awful loading times (even on a top tier M.2 drive) but it is by no means a bad game. The people complaining that the game is repetitive should be ignored on the grounds they clearly have no understanding of the concept of a looter based game.

    The game does the important parts well, and with how masterworks and legendaries    This is a flawed game, the game is riddled with bugs and god awful loading times (even on a top tier M.2 drive) but it is by no means a bad game. The people complaining that the game is repetitive should be ignored on the grounds they clearly have no understanding of the concept of a looter based game.

    The game does the important parts well, and with how masterworks and legendaries change up the gameplay it feels closer to a Diablo game than Destiny, Division or Warframe (games, I'd like to point out, which all were deeply flawed experiences on launch.)

    I will say this, I don't think you should buy this game yet - definitely try it on Origin access if you're curious - but don't write the game off yet, there's still a lot of potential here, and being a looter shooter the two things the game does well are loot and shooting, so it's not as bad as the bandwagon hoppers will have you believe. I'll throw in a list of my personal pros and cons to close this off!

    The pros:
    - The expedition gameplay is fun (Fort Tarsis is trash)

    - Masterwork and Legendary loot feel special to get (I'm a Destiny fanboy but less than 10% of the exotics in that franchise feel better than a bog standard legendary, some even feel worse)

    - The world is a lot more interesting than you first give it credit for, it's easy to dismiss it as a generic rocky landscape but keep an eye on your cortex.

    - Many of the characters, even the more irritating ones actually have personality. (None of that relying on Cayde-6 to be your only three dimensional character)

    - Voice acting is a cut above all other games in this genre... Mostly ¬_¬

    - The boss fights, while bullet spongey, actually have mechanics and feel like actual bosses.

    - The game in the grandmaster difficulties is challenging, but not obnoxiously so.

    Cons:
    - It is incredibly buggy, even after the day 1 patch.

    - No in-game text chat (and the voice chat isn't particularly good.)

    - Titans are some of the least fun creatures to fight in video games, ever. Bioware decided that tedium and challenge are one and the same.

    - The expedition selection UI is horrendously archaic, and clunky.

    - Until you get to endgame and start getting masterworks, guns are kinda trash (DISCLAIMER: THIS DOES CHANGE WITH MASTERWORKS, GUNS AREN'T PERMANENTLY TRASH)

    - Fort Tarsis is so sluggish and bland, it feels like it belongs in a different game, coming out of missions into that is quite jarring.    … Expand
  10. Gvinpin
    Feb 26, 2019
    5
    it's Amazing game/ This is Bioware! People complaining about "not enough content" clearly haven't played enough because I can see myself easily getting another 100 hours at… Expand
  11. AbsydeAuberon
    Feb 22, 2019
    6
    I'm enjoying it even with all their faults. It's a great game and post-launch will be better for sure.
  12. Theformidable
    May 17, 2019
    5
    Anthem is a very pleasant game to look at and the combat for the game is very enjoyable with all the different skills for each class.
    The game's story is very bland, predictable and doesn't really draw you in enough to pay attention sadly.
    Where i think the game truly suffers in its in lack of end game content. Once you reach the max level the only new content open to you is a difficulty    Anthem is a very pleasant game to look at and the combat for the game is very enjoyable with all the different skills for each class.
    The game's story is very bland, predictable and doesn't really draw you in enough to pay attention sadly.
    Where i think the game truly suffers in its in lack of end game content. Once you reach the max level the only new content open to you is a difficulty option to raids you've already done, nothing new.
    Anthem could've been amazing with its graphics and fun combat but the game feels very unfinished, feels like you're paying $60 for a Beta version of the game.    … Expand
  13. chazden
    May 24, 2019
    5
    Very beautiful game but still feels incomplete as far as the market and endgame content goes. The market has nothing appealing and rotates inventory rather infrequent. Expect to get about 45 hours of worthwhile gameplay :(
  14. EustaceCS
    Jun 2, 2020
    5
    Better than 76. It's not pretending, at least.

    I wasted 4 hours on this game and decided that I can't take it anymore. Bugs. Minor but irritating. Like permanent fight for controls between my gamepad and my keyboard due to which I can't use either. Unplugging is not an option. Paints menu shows that I have something new there but that new paint simply don't show up. Air controls are    Better than 76. It's not pretending, at least.

    I wasted 4 hours on this game and decided that I can't take it anymore.

    Bugs. Minor but irritating. Like permanent fight for controls between my gamepad and my keyboard due to which I can't use either. Unplugging is not an option. Paints menu shows that I have something new there but that new paint simply don't show up. Air controls are becoming stuck in flight mode for unknown reason until 'overheat' occurs occasionally. Grrrrrrrr...

    Visuals. Low preset looks great but still fries my GPU - and some effects which, logically, had to be disabled/diminished on Low preset were not reduced.

    Loading times.
    Three minutes to launch the game.
    Three more minutes to get into the city.
    Three more minutes to spend into pre-battle lobby.
    Two to seven minutes to load mission.
    And only then you MAAAAAAYBE will make it into the battle.
    Guys, even WoT is making it into less than five minutes in worst case scenario!

    Sound. Same mistake Borderlands did. Pitching the mission through unskippable unsilenceable dialogue mid-battle. Distracts, irritates.

    Inventory management.
    You have two separate screens activate'able through two different NPCs or NPC-like objects.
    Problem 1: at one screen you can equip items but can't see per-class item breakdown. At another screen it's opposite.
    Problem 2: these NPCs are stationed at considerable distance from each other.
    Level 80 Usability.

    Add weird in-city controls and absolute lack of point in conversations with NPCs (as quests don't seem to give any reward - and non-quest conversations give some reputation points with uncertain application), NPCs mimics which will make any '90 game shine in comparison, Borderless Fullscreen mode game still taking over any other windows even after forcing its shrinking/hiding, random severe FPS drops (getting 2-5 FPS for 10 minutes then having 60 back mysteriously is no joke)...

    The only really positive moment is that cash shop is hidden in such depths of interface so I simply was unable to find it until I finished first few missions and became better acquainted with this game's horrible GUI.
    Besides, I only managed to complete only 4 (four!) missions in 4 hours.
    All four missions took about an hour to complete. Less, maybe.
    Joke of an exploring the city, waddling between two mentioned storages, unskippable cutscenes and loadscreens, loadscreens, loadscreens took the rest.

    NO fun.

    I spent 5$ and I have no regrets. This AAA project does cost 5$. Not more, not less.

    EA probably won't refund me it even despite I only have 1 hour of actual playtime.

    ...and you know what? This game is still BETTER than 76!    … Expand
  15. epicwinpt
    Mar 27, 2020
    5
    This game had potential. It was mismanaged and rushed and the lack of content and real focus shows. The gameplay itself is basically Mass Effect Andromeda.. with flying. Andromeda being the game that was sacrificed so that EA could have a looter-shooter.
    There is no point going on much further with this review. The grind is slow and gives you minimal reason to keep going. There is nowhere    This game had potential. It was mismanaged and rushed and the lack of content and real focus shows. The gameplay itself is basically Mass Effect Andromeda.. with flying. Andromeda being the game that was sacrificed so that EA could have a looter-shooter.
    There is no point going on much further with this review. The grind is slow and gives you minimal reason to keep going. There is nowhere near enough content and Bioware should just get back to putting their full focus into single story gaming.    … Expand
  16. Biberattacke
    May 10, 2020
    6
    Die tolle Optik und der coole Soundtrack treiben einen in eine ständige Schleife von sich wiederholenden Mission. Das Lootsystem wirkte auf mich ebenfalls unzureichend und über einen längeren Zeitraum wenig motivierend. Technischer Blockbuster der sich Anfangs gut anfühlt aber eigentlich eine eher leere Hülle ist. Wiederholung in wirklich übler Form, aber das Prinzip hat Potential.
  17. karahangke267
    Nov 2, 2021
    5
    Game play was amazing. World they've created was amazing. Bastion was amazing. But all of the other things was really tasteless. Inventory and item system was bad. Storyline was bad. Co-op thing was the worst. But at the end it took me 20 hours to finish the game. It was not bad at all.
  18. Aclevername
    Feb 18, 2021
    6
    Honestly one of the best movement systems in a game that I've ever seen. When you're flying or running around it feels great. Your movements have weight and feel controlled and smooth as silk. The gameplay itself is fairly satisfying. It needs work and could definitely be one of my favorites of all time if the core gameplay loop didn't get so dry
  19. Cafelattis1994
    Feb 27, 2019
    5
    Just mediocre. Good combat but lack depth, terrible loot. Horrible story and characters. It looks nice but the art direction is boring.
    Just another soulless EA game, and now Bioware is sinking as well. Mass Effect died for this?
  20. secretTempler
    Feb 25, 2019
    5
    Its a mediocre loot shooter with a nice looking sci-fi world and an interesting background story on the first look, but has still some technical issues.

    But Bioware did not manage to involve the story into the gameplay and the open world. The story plays only in Fort Tarsis and in your journal, the dialogues and your decisions are not relevant. The open world feels lifeless and    Its a mediocre loot shooter with a nice looking sci-fi world and an interesting background story on the first look, but has still some technical issues.

    But Bioware did not manage to involve the story into the gameplay and the open world. The story plays only in Fort Tarsis and in your journal, the dialogues and your decisions are not relevant. The open world feels lifeless and unvaried, especial if you compare it to the E3 trailer. There are many loading screens and the game feels not like an Open World Loot Shooter like e.g.
    The Division did. The numbers of opponents and fractions are limited, like mission types. Opponents are only a challenge by numbers. There is no real tactic with random team members, because there is no way to communicate ingame.

    You can have some fun for an hour at after-work if you want some instant action, but i don't know if Bioware can fill the world of Anthem with more life and a more involving and more interesting story which invites you and your friends to explore this strange sci-fi world.    … Expand
  21. snke
    Feb 25, 2019
    5
    Before i start this review let me get this out of the way, i have played almost all the games that came from this company and this is solely based on my experience during my 27 hours i have spent in this game.

    I ll keep this short. This game for me is mediocre. i say this with great sadness due to the company behind it and its glorious history. Lets start with the positive.    Before i start this review let me get this out of the way, i have played almost all the games that came from this company and this is solely based on my experience during my 27 hours i have spent in this game.

    I ll keep this short. This game for me is mediocre. i say this with great sadness due to the company behind it and its glorious history.

    Lets start with the positive.

    Gameplay: Exceptional combat, there is something very satisfying flying around Iron-man style obliterating everything in your path. Responsive gunplay, over the top environment and general graphics quality. In depth customization for the dudes that enjoy that kind of thing in a game. That`s all, seriously that`s all the positive and that baffles me.

    Negative.

    After the 5-6 hour mark everything becomes routine, the same old missions,go fetch that, come protect this and so on. Repetition in a game while it`s fun and it gives you a sense of progress, it is not that bad, however in this case it is boring, it`s tiring, the challenges are awful, competing against your team for resources IT IS bad,faulty, outrageous,wrong, change it, now.

    The Hub, yes my dudes the players hub, an eye candy of a place,astonishing to look at,however it is plagued by overthinking, full of crap npc`s that will tire you just by blabbing away your time with meaningless conversations, without any choices in the narrative like we used to adore in the Mass effect series. just traversing the hub it`s unbearable ,slow, time consuming experience that you can`t wait for it to end and get out in that gorgeous world to blow things up.

    The bugs. Where shall i start, the loading times? Averaging 2 minutes loading times with a high end rig and an nvme drive. Invisible or vanishing enemies, quests not registering (requiring you to restart) ,game crashing that caused me to miss some of the cut scenes having no clue what the hell was going on at times, missing out on quests, loots, and time, oh precious time.

    The loot. Unimaginative loot, different recoloring of the same weapons,the same boring loot (ah destiny destiny). For a loot based game like Anthem these kind of drops are...i leave that to you.

    I wasn't expecting this "Anthem". To be honest at a time i was very excited for this game,"omg bioware game, they must have learnt from their mistakes,this is gonna be an epic game". Nop, its not. ITS WORSE than Andromeda.

    This game has so much potential but as it stands right now, its bad, its rushed,its disappointing. Not worth the money.

    A message for the Devs. I know you have put a lot of time in the development of Anthem. I can see it, in the graphics, in the gameplay, in the concept. Don`t know what went wrong. The transition from unreal to frostbite? deadlines from EA? suits calling the shots? Don`t know, don`t care. Unfortunately it falls to you to fix it. Please do, i`d love to come again in a renovated Anthem universe.    … Expand
  22. Prism13
    Feb 24, 2019
    6
    20 something hours in, finished the main story and most of faction missions. Sure, the graphics and combat is great, especially in coop. The voice acting and performance capture is generally good. But everything else is bare bones or simply bad. If the story had 10 chapters, it's like you jumped right into chapter 2 and finished the game at around chapter 5, just when it's about to ramp up20 something hours in, finished the main story and most of faction missions. Sure, the graphics and combat is great, especially in coop. The voice acting and performance capture is generally good. But everything else is bare bones or simply bad. If the story had 10 chapters, it's like you jumped right into chapter 2 and finished the game at around chapter 5, just when it's about to ramp up and get you engaged. The side missions are ALL THE SAME, there is zero variety. The loot is bad and completely randomized. Customization is serviceable, to be generous. Many other design choices are bad. The game had potential but was delivered incomplete.
    EA live service is a cancer and needs to die now.    … Expand
  23. tegin
    Mar 5, 2019
    5
    Lets begin with the good, since the bad is too much to list. Flight mechanics are superb even on PC and I use keyboard and mouse. Played the demo and found under water travel mechanics to be very difficult. They've improved that by leaps and bounds in the release and even have fine tuning settings to help tweak the feeling for your individual style.

    Graphics are superb even though they    Lets begin with the good, since the bad is too much to list. Flight mechanics are superb even on PC and I use keyboard and mouse. Played the demo and found under water travel mechanics to be very difficult. They've improved that by leaps and bounds in the release and even have fine tuning settings to help tweak the feeling for your individual style.

    Graphics are superb even though they are not at the level that was shown in the E3 videos prior to the demo or release. Still one of the best on the market.

    Javelin powers are nice, fun, fluid, and feel great when using them.

    The skin, paint, and texture system is by far the best I've seen in any game. It is incredible and I've spent hours just tweaking and playing around with different combinations to find one cooler than the one I just spend 40 minutes creating. They could have released just that as a stand alone utility and I would have enjoyed that as much as the rest of the game.

    Now for the bad...

    1) Some weapons feel numb and the shotguns are almost useless taking too long between shots to be effective when you are being swarmed by dozens of mobs.
    2) There are only 3 max weapons for each weapon type. Most of them perform in similar fashions with very little to differentiate one from the next.
    3) Lack of enemy types - Three basic humanoid enemies in the game - so gets repetitive real fast. There is a fourth coming in an update, that still isn't that many in what is supposed to be a massive world with a core system that is supposed to create new monsters at will when a cataclysm strikes.
    4) NPC's are stationary, never move their feet, barely move their arms, and don't feel like real people. They more resemble animatronics than a person that is supposed to be in a living world full of interactions.
    5) There is a story, it is weak and thin and doesn't even last until max level before you are through it. I managed to finish the story on three separate characters between levels 16-21. All well before the level 30 cap. That makes it feel like you are end game before you even hit an end game level.
    6) You can only have 3 characters, so it makes role playing with one character per Javelin impossible.
    7) After the main story and the grind to 30, you find yourself not being rewarded with much at all. With such as low number of weapons to drop, you find out quick what works for your play style. That leaves the game void of anything worth the grind to max level. Master craft weapons start dropping at level 25, but what does that get you... they still look pretty much the same as level 1 weapons.
    8) Weapon design is very simplistic and lacking any style that makes me want to have a weapon. The coolest weapons to me are the ones that are used by the Colossus and they all look the same except for very minor changes between the models of auto cannon and the grenade launcher.
    9)Main hub doesn't have a chat and if you are grouped together, the game doesn't even put you all in the same social hub. It took our group of 4 and split us up into four different social hubs so we couldn't even check out each other's suits up close.
    10) no end game content. This explains why they refused to say how many hours of game play the game had. The Division 2 has already said it should take about 30 hours to get to level 30. After playing the beta, I can agree with that. Anthem would never go on record for a time frame... huge tell that something was amiss in that area.

    The list goes on and on and on. This game could easily have been polished for another year just adding content. Instead Bioware is forced to release it in this state by EA, because EA has shareholders and a schedule that cannot be skewed otherwise share prices drop. Its all about the shareholders people, don't think for a moment that EA gives two &*(#@ about releasing high quality games. They care about money. If you check their ticker on yahoo business, not a single article mentions Anthem... everything is Apex, Apex, Apex.

    I feel bad for Bioware because it is a shadow of its former self which most people knew when EA bought them out, that was going to be the result. Here were are seeing it first hand. There are very few developers that generate thoughtful, properly crafted games that tell a great story. Most of those studios are not owned by a major publisher. Even when critic reviews, which are rumored to be paid for, don't rate the game high, that is a huge red flag.

    Fortunately, we have the option of shifting over to the Division 2 which releases on the 15th of March and is likely to garner much of the customer base of Anthem. Its beta had more content than Anthem's release and is just as beautiful. Its benefit is that Ubisoft has actually put effort into a sequel that builds on Div 1.

    I am not saying I won't come back to Anthem. I will keep tabs on it after I get my fill of Div 2. Good luck Bioware... You'll need all you can muster to make it through the storm    … Expand
  24. JohnnyCanuck
    Feb 28, 2019
    5
    People writing 9s and 10s for this are NOT HELPING in any way. i was enthusiastic about its look and release - and about the potential character interactions from BioWare. But its clear they are NOT what they once were. There are some sparks of joy in the flights and messy fights. But - story is crap, characters are crap, bugs all over the place, stats and titles and badges that all goPeople writing 9s and 10s for this are NOT HELPING in any way. i was enthusiastic about its look and release - and about the potential character interactions from BioWare. But its clear they are NOT what they once were. There are some sparks of joy in the flights and messy fights. But - story is crap, characters are crap, bugs all over the place, stats and titles and badges that all go unexplained, some of the clunkiest menus EVER, poorly developed HUD for battle, ENDLESS loading screens - and just no real sense of connection or accomplishment. We will stick with it for 4-6 months - but it has a LONG way to go before creating a compelling experience.… Expand
  25. Katarxis
    Mar 3, 2019
    5
    The Combat is fun. The rest is a complete mess. Maybe good in a year. xxxxx
  26. GyrKestrel
    Mar 8, 2019
    6
    I want to give this game a higher review. It is the most fun I've had in a looter shooter than I can remember. Playing the Storm is literally what it would be like to have Gandalf in an Iron Man suit.

    However, this game is so bugged out and has a long way to go. It's unfinished and needed at least another month to work the kinks out. It will get better over time, but this release was atrocious.
  27. cinciangjanpang
    Feb 24, 2019
    6
    It's not that bad. If you close your left eye and forget that it's Bioware and close right eye you can have fun. It's a mediocre shooter in scifi world with blasters and lasers. Buy, play, forget. And the price is for the graphics. You can play any other MMO (guild wars 2 is better) and it's the same but with worse graphics. The technical issues are like in any other MMO, but this timeIt's not that bad. If you close your left eye and forget that it's Bioware and close right eye you can have fun. It's a mediocre shooter in scifi world with blasters and lasers. Buy, play, forget. And the price is for the graphics. You can play any other MMO (guild wars 2 is better) and it's the same but with worse graphics. The technical issues are like in any other MMO, but this time it's x2 because you get better graphics. And if you are into the great views you can play it for some time, but to be honest, there are better games on the market. I would recommend buying Anthem only to hardcore MMO players who want some break from their main game. I don't think it's anything interesting for Biowere fans or for casuals (GRAPHICS). I've spent my money, I don't regret, I had my time with it, but it's not my cup of tea (I don't like the grind or arcade mobile games, because it's basically in core a mobile arcade game). Just watch gameplay of it and decide for yourself. It probably won't be F2P cuz EA is EA, but I would play more if it were F2P. Just put there those bloody microtransactions and make it free, then we can at least have some fun.… Expand
  28. backohead74
    Feb 22, 2019
    5
    Its not a terrible game its just not great. After all these years it is surprising everyone that Bioware couldn't do so much more with the world of Anthem. How do these companies manage to make a looter shooter so boring and bland? Look at the Borderland series for ****** sake? Imagine that type of loot table in Anthem? Imagine if you could add different parts to your Anthem for boosts andIts not a terrible game its just not great. After all these years it is surprising everyone that Bioware couldn't do so much more with the world of Anthem. How do these companies manage to make a looter shooter so boring and bland? Look at the Borderland series for ****** sake? Imagine that type of loot table in Anthem? Imagine if you could add different parts to your Anthem for boosts and awesome cosmetic choices that change the look of your Javelin (not just colors i am talking wings and guns and launchers, different legs, torsos etc.)? It gets boring fast, the Loot is not varied or different enough at all. The World is beautiful yet empty and the story is just so-so. The loading screens are horrific, even after the patch. Pass on this for $60 but it could be worth $15 bucks for a month of Origin Premiere cuz you can do everything in a month easily and id say its worth that if you like these types of games.… Expand
  29. MarquisDeMizzle
    Mar 2, 2019
    5
    A pretty but fairly boring Destiny/Division clone. Forced multiplayer is a bummer.
  30. Argamas
    Feb 24, 2019
    7
    The combat mechanic is fun, and the game is beautiful. The biggest problem is the general mission structure; it is highly repetitive. It usually alternates between killing enemies and finding stuff scattered around. Occasionnally, you may be presented with a mini-puzzle but they always work the same; look around, find the pictograms and match them with what's being presented to you.The combat mechanic is fun, and the game is beautiful. The biggest problem is the general mission structure; it is highly repetitive. It usually alternates between killing enemies and finding stuff scattered around. Occasionnally, you may be presented with a mini-puzzle but they always work the same; look around, find the pictograms and match them with what's being presented to you.

    The story is ok, but not great. Some characters are just plain annoying and irrelevant. But the main characters are interesting enough and well developed, for the most part. The biggest problem is that most of the character/story development happens between the missions, at Fort Tarsis; not very imaginative.

    I haven't really played the game before the day 1 patch but since the launch, I haven't run into any major bug personally; the game is stable and the loadings are not too big either. Although I most admit I am mostly playing solo, with a fast SSD (Samsung 960 Pro).

    Overall, I think the game is promising but in its current state, it isn't for everyone. This game may succeed; it will depend on Bioware's ability to deliver content regularly, while adding content diversity. But right now, it feels a bit simplistic amd rushed.    … Expand
  31. Hack
    Apr 5, 2019
    5
    An "Iron Man" looter shooter should have been a blast, but they managed to make it very dull.

    First off I will say the game does have a couple of good points, visually it's very nice and the gunplay is enjoyable and I personally liked the story which a lot of people didn't, but that's about it. The biggest problems I have with the game are performance, lack of loot, boring loot, lack    An "Iron Man" looter shooter should have been a blast, but they managed to make it very dull.

    First off I will say the game does have a couple of good points, visually it's very nice and the gunplay is enjoyable and I personally liked the story which a lot of people didn't, but that's about it.

    The biggest problems I have with the game are performance, lack of loot, boring loot, lack of content and the emptiness of the world. Compare the map of Anthem to say The Division 2, which is massive, full of life and filled with stuff to do, all whilst not requiring loading screen after loading screen like Anthem. Division 2 is actually the game I switched to after Anthem and it's better in every regard, I just wish it had came out first so I wouldn't have wasted £40 on Anthem.    … Expand
  32. vempir
    Mar 4, 2019
    5
    The game is fun.....but there is so much more that needs to be fixed to make it stand out.

    Pros Javelins are fun graphics are great sound is great quest npc are interesting cons instance match matching does not always work some of the quest repeat to much as you do the same type not enough weapon diversity, each type looks the same. game crashes some bugs in the quest will    The game is fun.....but there is so much more that needs to be fixed to make it stand out.

    Pros
    Javelins are fun
    graphics are great
    sound is great
    quest npc are interesting

    cons
    instance match matching does not always work
    some of the quest repeat to much as you do the same type
    not enough weapon diversity, each type looks the same.
    game crashes
    some bugs in the quest will prevent continuation
    end game contracts are boring
    the story does not pull you in
    there is a load screen almost between everything you do.
    No way points on the map for free play.
    Needs a ping system in freeplay or some kind of alert for other people to know there is a event going on.

    and i am sure i could go on. The game should have had atleast 6 more months to iron out everything. You pay $60 for a product you expect it to work properly.

    With patches i think it will only get better. At least i hope, not sure months from now it will have a strong player base.    … Expand
  33. explorerbay
    Dec 31, 2020
    5
    For me this game is a third person Destiny, same type of quests in a open world, the game its not bad overwall but gets repetitive when playing alone, when playing with friends its a ok game
  34. Oseous
    Feb 24, 2019
    5
    Core gameplay, flying and combat, are done very well and is very fun. Unfortunately besides these 2 things, Anthem is an unfinished product being sold at full triple A game price. It does not matter whether there will be changes and additions being made in the future, I am simply rating the game as it is right now, fully released. Anthem needs a lot of time and love from the devs. LootCore gameplay, flying and combat, are done very well and is very fun. Unfortunately besides these 2 things, Anthem is an unfinished product being sold at full triple A game price. It does not matter whether there will be changes and additions being made in the future, I am simply rating the game as it is right now, fully released. Anthem needs a lot of time and love from the devs. Loot feels mediocre, coinsink is too heavy for what we are earning, not enough varying enemy and boss types, recycling missions as endgame raids, and not enough varying environment.… Expand
  35. Justanotherevie
    Feb 24, 2019
    5
    I have been playing the game not stop since the release on origin access (which is actually the official launch date releasing one week later on the 23rd was just another way for EA to try and incentivise consumers into spending more but I digress)

    The gameplay: 8/10 by far the best aspect of the game if you ever wondered what it would be like to play as Iron Man Anthem is for you.    I have been playing the game not stop since the release on origin access (which is actually the official launch date releasing one week later on the 23rd was just another way for EA to try and incentivise consumers into spending more but I digress)

    The gameplay: 8/10 by far the best aspect of the game if you ever wondered what it would be like to play as Iron Man Anthem is for you. Flying is awesome and the mechanics work very well. Shooting is ok but there was a definite improvement from the demo. However, once you faced the first few batches of enemies it will feel like you have already finished the game due to the huge amount of repetition

    Story: 1/10 Bioware is known for its compelling storylines games like Mass Effect 2/3 are today still fan favourites but if you looking for a similar experience in Anthem you ain't getting any. The protagonist comes off as an arrogant fool, side characters are awfully generic and your choices don't really influence the end game. Fort Tartis is also very bland especially if you compare it to the E3 a presentation, it feels like you are inside a cemetery every time you load into the game which in turn forces you to rush to Javelin to fly away into the beyond,

    Other aspects:
    The game is very buggy even after the "day one" patch. I can't tell you how many times I found myself in the infinite loading screens(despite placing Anthem's folder in my SSD hard drive), texture glitches happen often but the framerate is the worse so much so it makes me want to puke I have a high-end pc but frames drop quicker than Usain Bolt in a speed test.
    The implementation of Micro-transactions makes the game a distasteful(despite earning a decent amount of coins during your first playthrough after finishing the game earn rate drops significantly making cosmetic purchases harder through gameplay )

    Overall: Anthem is a decent game with HUGE amounts of potential if Bioware can polish it off in the coming months but at this stage, I don't recommend it to anyone.

    Tested on: Asus Tuf Gaming, 16 GB RAM, Intel I7-8770K GPU@2,20 HZ(6 cores), 4GB of Dedicated Video NVIDIA 1050TI    … Expand
  36. Slevin310
    Feb 25, 2019
    5
    This game is getting destroyed not only in reviews but by sales. I think the reason is the fact this is BioWare. A name that usually represents greatness in story telling, immersion and atmosphere. KOTOR, Mass Effect, Jade Empire, Dragon Age and Neverwinter Nights. I know this is EA's Bioware but that name isn't usually slapped on Triple A schlock like this. And that's exactly what it is.This game is getting destroyed not only in reviews but by sales. I think the reason is the fact this is BioWare. A name that usually represents greatness in story telling, immersion and atmosphere. KOTOR, Mass Effect, Jade Empire, Dragon Age and Neverwinter Nights. I know this is EA's Bioware but that name isn't usually slapped on Triple A schlock like this. And that's exactly what it is. Triple A schlock. It's not the worst game ever. It's not great. It's meh... but the execution is what really makes me disappointed. BioWare can't do a Destiny style co-op game. You can't have high paced online action and story. You just have 4 people sitting around bored listening to dialog saying "come on already" the two styles clash so poorly together I'm surprised the game strongly recommends NEVER doing solo missions. Maybe the story might come across better if people weren't speed running missions and emoting in front of "important" critical story moments. But I doubt it.

    And this game commits the biggest sin of "BECAUSE BIOWARE" I've ever seen. ME: Andromeda had some issues in this regard but that game fits what BioWare is about. We have dialog options that literally serve NO purpose. They have absolutely no effect on characters, missions don't change based off them... you don't even get a different reaction based on what you say. I tested it when my progress was reset during the trial. I picked all the different "dialog options" and the characters said the same thing with maybe an extra "well" or "yeah but" then the rest was the same. Why are they there? BECAUSE BIOWARE.

    Factions make no sense... you don't pick one, you level them all up. There's no real difference between them. I've played this game for days now and I for the life of me can't tell the difference between them. Or why I level some up by doing certain things? Why are they there? BECAUSE BIOWARE.

    Optional NPC dialog that usually provides some backstory or become interesting threads are just "Oh you're a freelancer cool... blah blah blah freelancer honor" what was the point of that? Was that supposed to immerse me into this city's people or... maybe give civilians something to do? I don't know but it's there to waste time BECAUSE BIOWARE.

    Nothing fits well. High paced action will literally grind to halt so we can get a cutscene of our character doing something. Just our character.... not my 3 other friends I did the mission with. Like Destiny does... you see your friends in some scenes in Destiny. But here they might as well not exist in my story. Where do they go during cutscenes? Into their own personal cutscene where my character isn't in. Why? BECAUSE I actually don't know. Why this game literally forces co-op on you to do NOTHING with it in the story makes no sense. It wants to be an immersive story driven game but forced co-op doesn't make sense.

    But it's not all bad. The Javelins are fun to control, flying and combat is amazing. Some boss battles are really fun and challenging. There is fun to be had here. But I can't believe I'm saying this... Destiny 2 did it better. There's more stuff to do. Characters have their own special role. The Javelins aren't different from each other and feel extremely similar all except the Colossus. And Destiny 2 goes "blah blah blah hand wave story now go kill stuff!" Here it's go kill a few things but ONLY a few things... cause you have to listen to 5 minute long conversation then get the next objective marker. Kill a few more things wait for dialog to be over and then the objective will finally come in on the map. Rinse repeat then the mission is over before you know it.

    So it would be a 7/10 as it's fun but not good. However the game crashes and freezes every hour! Literally the EA servers can't handle this game. Friends drop out of missions at least twice every time. And it's like this on PC, Xbox and PS4. This game is so unstable half my friends decide to stop playing through a mission cause they can't stand being kicked so often we just end up playing something else.

    This isn't BioWare... it's EA's BioWare. And it shows.    … Expand
  37. StrayKitty
    Feb 28, 2019
    5
    This is Full-price beta test.

    A Beautiful world, attractive action, and flying robot, this is a positive element.
    But due to frequent bugs you can interrupt your adventure and also the loading time is very long, it will be kept waiting frequently and induce stress.

    Recently I was forgotten that the presence of UBISOFT stands out, but again I could recall EA as EA.
  38. HamFischer
    Mar 4, 2019
    5
    Contrary to most reviews, I believe this game rests on the upper-end of the middle. It has a lion's share of faults, but complimented by enough good to make the experience entertaining, if not wholly fulfilling.

    I'll attempt to outline my points in pros (+) and cons (-), and explain why I consider them such. As a preface, I've sunk about 115 hours into the game to date. With that said,    Contrary to most reviews, I believe this game rests on the upper-end of the middle. It has a lion's share of faults, but complimented by enough good to make the experience entertaining, if not wholly fulfilling.

    I'll attempt to outline my points in pros (+) and cons (-), and explain why I consider them such. As a preface, I've sunk about 115 hours into the game to date. With that said, let's begin.

    (+) Gameplay is smooth and well-executed, insofar as movement and combat are concerned. Flight is an aspect of the game that fits seamlessly into shooting, melee and use of abilities, and at its best action in Anthem feels visceral and flowing.

    (+) The world is beautiful, and the lore team has done an excellent job with pumping it full of places and nuggets of information to discover.

    (+) Free-roam is (in my opinion) a direct upgrade over its competition, especially when stood next to games like Destiny. Public events are entertaining, if a bit repetitious, and the verticality of the world really lends to the experience.

    (+) Javelin design is interesting and fairly well balanced, with every option filling a niche that is both impactful in group settings and uniquely capable of dealing with tough content.

    (+) The story isn't terrible -- merely 'safe'. It doesn't take any leaps or bounds, and it suffers at times from predictability, but it doesn't bore. The characters involved are for the most part well-written, and I never found myself tiring of their company.

    (+) The way high-tier loot interacts with gameplay and the mechanics therein can be very interesting, and there is potential for a great deal of nuance.

    (+) Potential. Anthem is brimming with it, provided Bioware is of a mind to capitalize.

    Onto the negative.

    (-) Anthem's combat is a double-edged sword, and at its worst, it is a confusing mash of particle effects, bullet sponges and more than a few glitches. Enemies will teleport away, combos won't trigger, and so on. By the end of the game, shooting takes a back seat to abilities, whilst enemies aimbot (literally aimbot. Scar grunts fire bullets that will curve and track you behind cover).

    (-) Repetitious game design begets fighting a lot of the same enemies, which in turn saps a lot of the replayability out of the game. This is nothing new to the looter shooter genre, but i nevertheless feel it worthy of mention.

    Almost every unique boss encounter, or enemy encounter, is limited to story missions. Freeplay and contracts (general missions) do not feature these mechanics whatsoever. Strongholds have gimmicks of their own, but with how much the game encourages players to farm them, the novelty dissipates quickly.

    (-) The loot has a nasty downside. Prior to a recent fix, it was entirely possible to get high tier equipment that yielded stats objectively worse than items acquired through leveling. It is also purely based off RNG, and while the devs did implement ways of targeting specific categories (equipment and components), the latter is limited to a one-per-day timer. Duplicates are a serious, serious issue in this game, and if you choose to grind gear in the end game, expect a minimum of 50% of your drops to be duplicates with useless stats.

    Crafting appears to have been intended to offset this, but it doesn't ameliorate the issue of actually -getting- gear. To craft masterworks (the highest tier of gear below Legendaries), you have to first loot the item in question and then either use it to kill a specific amount of enemies or in a set number of public events before you can craft it.

    TL;DR - If you can't get an item to drop, you can't craft it. RNG is bad, and duplicates with trash or worse stats are VERY common.

    {-} Endgame has a very poor system of tiering. Grandmaster difficulties vary wildly from 'manageable but hard-hitting bullet sponges' to 'you absolutely must have an organized team to do even basic missions' as early as the leap from GM1 to GM2. As it currently stands, there is little to no reason to even attempt these higher tiers of difficulty as GM1 has a very similar chance of dropping the same gear without requiring a larger time investment.

    Lastly, though not necessarily a con, the game is a live service and does feature MTX. I haven't had any real issues with them, but the difference between grinding for in-game currency and paying is steep. Very steep. You will never have enough to fully clean out the in-game store without paying, or skipping rotations to save.

    In closing, Anthem is a fun experience that lacks longevity, brimming with potential but shrouded in uncertainty. I've put 115 hours into the game, and at this point in time, I don't feel terribly inclined to add any more.

    I'll be keeping an eye on it as updates roll out, and I encourage anyone interested to do the same. And if you're thinking of buying it, I suggest you don't. Rather, consider Origin Access (PC), which'll give you the full game for a month priced at 15$.    … Expand
  39. Tevoy
    Feb 22, 2019
    6
    Lets start with the positive:

    The game looks beautiful, and the combats are fun (for a while). Sound is immersing and flying around like Iron Man is really fun. The game itself has a good base. The negatives: Missions are repetitive, some of them clearly a time gate to slow the progress of the player. Loading screens.... loads of them and slow, even after the day 1 patch. Endgame    Lets start with the positive:

    The game looks beautiful, and the combats are fun (for a while). Sound is immersing and flying around like Iron Man is really fun. The game itself has a good base.

    The negatives:

    Missions are repetitive, some of them clearly a time gate to slow the progress of the player. Loading screens.... loads of them and slow, even after the day 1 patch. Endgame is a grindfest.

    Is a shame that the lack of content and excess of grinding plus the loading screens are really ruining what could had been a great gaming experience. I hope they fix the game with future patches, because it could had been much more.    … Expand
  40. MNSUAngel
    Feb 22, 2019
    5
    No BS, straight to the scores:

    Graphics quality: 8/10. It could look better, but it is nonetheless awesome. My only gripe is that the reasons I am given to explore the beautiful world are bad, and the world itself is ultimately empty. Free play allows you to explore that wonderful world, but there is nothing to see but the environments and randomly despawning enemies. If I wanted that,    No BS, straight to the scores:

    Graphics quality: 8/10. It could look better, but it is nonetheless awesome. My only gripe is that the reasons I am given to explore the beautiful world are bad, and the world itself is ultimately empty. Free play allows you to explore that wonderful world, but there is nothing to see but the environments and randomly despawning enemies. If I wanted that, I would take a road trip.

    Animation: 8/10. Again, same thing. Beautiful. Huge improvement over Andromeda, but same gripe, with the addition that some menu animations have delays (not lag, but delay) and some attack animations force the player to commit for way to long.

    Story: 4/10. Honestly one of the worst parts of the game, issues aside. The story is generic. It is boring. It is short. The story itself is 10-15 hours long, artificially made longer by an arbitrary quest that requires you to grind needlessly, and is poorly explained. This is unfortunate, given Bioware’s history, but I did not take that into consideration when assigning this score.

    Characters: 5/10. Characters in this game range from well-realized to caricatures. It is a sad, but unfortunate truth that most of the humor in the game is bad, and most of the writing around the characters is equally bad. Again, unfortunate given the developer is Bioware, but I did not take that into consideration when assigning this score.

    Customization: 7/10. Javelin customization in this game is innovative. It is cool. And it will be hard to find people who look the same as you if you genuinely put time into making “your” javelin yours, outside of skins. I love it. Sadly, it doesn’t make up for the disgusting load times you will have to deal with in continuously entering and exiting the menu to do said customization. And unfortunately, the novelty of the innovation here is lost when you release you lack more than a couple of options in changing the physicality of javelins, instead of merely their color and materials.

    Gameplay: 10/10. The actual gameplay – when you actually get to play – is fast. It is exciting. It is awesome. It’s only flaws stem from other areas. Sadly, it doesn’t carry the game in the same way great gameplay sometimes can.

    Voice-acting quality: 7/10. The voice acting quality for the most part, is great. The lines they are given to say range from bad to suitable though, which really holds the talent back. It’s really hard to give a higher score when what the characters say is either cliché, consistently obnoxious, or just poorly written. It’s not the voice actor’s fault, but it does affect the quality of their performance.

    Music: 4/10. This one is so weird, because the actual OST of the game is great. But the ways in which it was implemented into the game are bad. This is an issue I have never had with a game before, and honestly boggled my mind while playing. There were also multiple times when my sound just… turned off. This was supposed to be fixed at launch. Eventually, it got to the point when I turned the game’s music off and opened the OST to listen to in the background. That has to suck for the composer, because they did a really great job, but their work was poorly implemented. Plain and simple. This issue is actually very similar to the voice acting issues – an implementation issue, not a quality issue.

    Price of game: 1/10. The price of a game is always the last thing I rate, because I want to look back at all of the other scores I have given a game and really think about the value I have gotten out of said game. The harsh truth, is that Anthem is not worth $60. It just isn’t. The game, with how little content it has in its current state, is worth $10-15 at best. It isn’t meant to be an insult. It’s just meant to be the truth. The game is very shallow and feels more like it has just entered the early access stage of its development then the official launch window. And while what is there is no doubt fun, the fun doesn’t last as long as it should or needs to when the price tag is $60.

    Extrinsic positive/negatives: +0/-2 points for dramatic load times, both in length and repetition, even using RAID 0.

    Average score: 5.8/10. Anthem had the opportunity to learn lessons from those that came before and failed. However, they nonetheless present a subpar looter shooter experience for fans of the genre who only care about the gameplay and need a quick fix. Sadly, because the game lacks content, that fix won’t last. You should not play this game yet. But if you feel you simply must play this game now, do not buy it. Do not buy it. Pay for premiere and try the game out. You will complete everything the game has to offer very quickly, and will have plenty of time left over to experiment or play another game offered by EA.

    (This review will be updated when Anthem becomes a complete game).    … Expand
  41. kjmotz14
    Feb 22, 2019
    5
    Very disappointing. The game looks exceptional, and gameplay is excellent. But, that's about it. The entire experience is just incredibly shallow, empty, and soulless. The world is utterly devoid of life and energy -- the scenery is excellent, but it's just a barren wasteland -- nothing stands out or feels memorable. The story is flat and boring. And, the missions are just constantlyVery disappointing. The game looks exceptional, and gameplay is excellent. But, that's about it. The entire experience is just incredibly shallow, empty, and soulless. The world is utterly devoid of life and energy -- the scenery is excellent, but it's just a barren wasteland -- nothing stands out or feels memorable. The story is flat and boring. And, the missions are just constantly regurgitated and recycled -- the demo showed us most of what the full game had to offer -- and, it's not much ...

    Core design features also destroy immersion with constant loading screens, poorly designed menus, and a complete lack of basic features like squad communication, waypoint markers, ping systems, in-game menus, gear stats etc. In short the game feels very incomplete and unfinished. I've played demos that are more finished and polished than this "final" product.

    Sure, new content is coming -- but, that won't fix the many core issues that slowdown, cripple, and choke the life out of an experience that could have been amazing. This is far from the "Bob Dylan of video games" ...

    Sad really. I wanted this to blow me away.    … Expand
  42. ciorga
    Feb 24, 2019
    7
    The gunplay isn't as good as in case of Destiny 2. The actual flight mechanics are rly nice. Graphics are simply stunning. Nice game but could have been so much better.
  43. Ionianwarrior
    Feb 23, 2019
    7
    I played the beta for Anthem and thought it was extremely cool looking, but had a very rocky start in terms of performance. I thought the small glimpse we had of the game was just that; a small glimpse. It turns out that was basically the whole game. Add a little javelin customization and a lot of dull dialog, and that's all there is so far. The game is beautiful, and I love the flightI played the beta for Anthem and thought it was extremely cool looking, but had a very rocky start in terms of performance. I thought the small glimpse we had of the game was just that; a small glimpse. It turns out that was basically the whole game. Add a little javelin customization and a lot of dull dialog, and that's all there is so far. The game is beautiful, and I love the flight mechanics of the javelins. I played the main campaign well before max level; and even the grind to get from there to level 30 was a bit mind-numbing. The masterwork items are making it slightly interesting once you reach max...but that's about it. I won't spoil the ending to the story-line here, but what was the point of the little after-bit that doesn't go anywhere? It made me feel like I had reached the halfway point of the game, and then it stopped.

    I really wanted this game to be awesome, and it's just not. I'll probably continue to play it a bit longer, or until one of the other big games of 2019 comes out, but I'm sad that this one will likely sit on the shelf until they expand/improve it substantially.    … Expand
  44. Sinoce
    Feb 22, 2019
    5
    Combat is about what I expect. It's fun and yo have some ways to customize it. The better gear the better the results.
    Being Bioware, you expect a great story but they wanted to go in a different direction. So even though I didn't expect a big story, I see a lot of people hurt by not having a great one. I admit it is lacking and though the game looks great it doesn't feel alive.
    I    Combat is about what I expect. It's fun and yo have some ways to customize it. The better gear the better the results.
    Being Bioware, you expect a great story but they wanted to go in a different direction. So even though I didn't expect a big story, I see a lot of people hurt by not having a great one. I admit it is lacking and though the game looks great it doesn't feel alive.
    I imagine in a few months it will improve the bugs but they are going to need to improve the dialogue. I still think the Frostbite engine still doesn't deliver but bioware has to use it so what can you do.
    I think the some positive marks come from the team saying they like ideas and want to put them in the game. I don't think the game is for everyone and I think it shows with the reviews. As a collective, we need to hold game company's and publishers accountable for day 1 patches. Ship a completed game or delay it until finished.    … Expand
  45. Kuel86
    Feb 22, 2019
    6
    I have spent 40+ hours playing the game and have finished everything the main story has to offer. The combat feels great and flying around is a blast. Unfortunately the game missions are basic and unoriginal and the story doesn't feel developed enough to get lost in. Bugs are rampant everywhere and the loading times are abhorrent. Truly hoping updates over the next several months create aI have spent 40+ hours playing the game and have finished everything the main story has to offer. The combat feels great and flying around is a blast. Unfortunately the game missions are basic and unoriginal and the story doesn't feel developed enough to get lost in. Bugs are rampant everywhere and the loading times are abhorrent. Truly hoping updates over the next several months create a much better game than what is currently being offered.… Expand
  46. MooSmilez
    Feb 22, 2019
    7
    Anthem, a fun to play interesting looter shooter that lacks polish and depth. As with many games in this genre the story is a bit light and the content at launch is a bit light as well. There is plenty to love but plenty to want at the same time.

    The story of Anthem is enough, but it does lack a lot of depth. With how well acted the parts we did get were there is a clear miss on what    Anthem, a fun to play interesting looter shooter that lacks polish and depth. As with many games in this genre the story is a bit light and the content at launch is a bit light as well. There is plenty to love but plenty to want at the same time.

    The story of Anthem is enough, but it does lack a lot of depth. With how well acted the parts we did get were there is a clear miss on what could of been had the story been flushed out to closer to 35-40 hrs instead of just 25-30. Once completed they tease more but I found myself a little wanting as with a new world I wasn't fully immersed with what was here.

    The combat is satisfying and at times amazing, flying around is a treat. The gun sounds and music as you combat enemies is outstanding. The combat at other times though is utterly frustrating in design (looking at you GM2 and up strongholds). The loot drops will keep you going as there is enough of them, however diversity of gun models etc. could be more numerous.

    Overall Anthem is a game that will satisfy looter shooter fanatics and is not a bad game to play through even for a few weeks via the origin pass rather then outright purchasing the game. You can see what will be a year from now and see a game that will be much more deserving of a 8-9 score by then but unfortunately at the end of the day the lack of polish leaves me wanting a bit more.    … Expand
  47. Killua96
    Mar 6, 2019
    6
    Changed the review, first it was a 0/10 because it was unplayable, now it's a 6/10 because it is, but it's far from a "good game". Central hub on pc is bad optimized, frame rate drops below 40fps with a Vega64 and a 2600x, during battle it never goes under 60fps (avarage 80fps). The story is a bit intriguing, but nothing special atm, gameplay is very similar to destiny-like games but theChanged the review, first it was a 0/10 because it was unplayable, now it's a 6/10 because it is, but it's far from a "good game". Central hub on pc is bad optimized, frame rate drops below 40fps with a Vega64 and a 2600x, during battle it never goes under 60fps (avarage 80fps). The story is a bit intriguing, but nothing special atm, gameplay is very similar to destiny-like games but the possibility to fly it's a good plus, and it's implemented very well imho.
    TL;DR, simply an avarage destiny-like game where you can fly, repetitive quests (as usual), imho it's 15-20$, not 60-70, nor 40.    … Expand
  48. Ariakkan
    Feb 22, 2019
    7
    HONEST REVIEW AFTER +30 HOURS
    Disclaimer: I hate shooter looters and I am a huge fan of the pre-EA Bioware. Please note that the game is being roasted by delusional gamers how think that today's Bioware is the same company that gave us classics titles like Baldurs Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Dragon Age:Origins and Mass Effect. I am in peace with the fact that it is a different company under    HONEST REVIEW AFTER +30 HOURS
    Disclaimer: I hate shooter looters and I am a huge fan of the pre-EA Bioware. Please note that the game is being roasted by delusional gamers how think that today's Bioware is the same company that gave us classics titles like Baldurs Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Dragon Age:Origins and Mass Effect. I am in peace with the fact that it is a different company under the same commercial name.

    To the point:

    - There is a story. You can like, you can hate it. It's subjective. There is a story that goes from level 1 to 30. This is the only reason that kept me playing. My time with Destiny was 5 hours total. Yes, it is still an idiotic shooter-looter but you have a story around it. My only objective caveat around the story is the artificial grind lock they implemented with the Tombs quest. This is a cheap and unacceptable way to extend the story.

    - Graphics and sound: outstanding. Your first five hours are a guaranteed exhilarating experience, as long as...

    - Bugs: the main issue during my play time was the random disconnects. Specially when freeplaying (damned Tombs quest) and having all my progress and loot reset.

    - Loading screens: please do not buy this game unless you have a SSD. Mind you, having a SSD will not completely solve the problem as the core issue is the NUMBER of loading screens, not the speed.There is also a 'Day 1' patch that is supposed to fix the frustration a bit although I am skeptical as the issue is rooted deep in the game design.

    - Overall gameplay and mechanics: the experience is pretty solid until you play Grand Master difficulty and above. When you do you will start realizing a lot of weird things happen during fights (enemies disappearing, one-shot kills from invisible IA, powers not triggering properly, etc.) You can clearly see here the lack of expertise of the studio in the genre.

    - Content: yes, missions are very repetitive and feature ZERO innovation vs. other titles in the genre. Fort Tarsis (your HUB) feels empty and boring. Everything is extremely staged.

    - Loot: real loot starts at Grand Master. Until then it's just the same with slightly different stats and a different icon color. Grand Master items are very much unique with special characteristics and it's actually pretty cool.

    - Endgame: very limited at this point in time, but to be expected and in line with the industry. It is nonetheless a very good foundation to keep on building stuff.

    - Microtransactions: cosmetic-only for the time being.

    Conclusion: this game is a solid 7 in my opinion. If you expect to see here Bioware's previous magic you will be frustrated. If you expect to have cutting edge game mechanics, loot and endgame you will be disappointed. I concur with the reviews that highlight the fact that the game tries to cater to audiences so different that falls in no-mans-land. It still surprises myself that I was able to put over 30 hours of my time, which obviously justifies a purchase in my opinion.

    Why people expected more than a shooter-looter because of the Bioware tagline is beyond my comprehension. The game is exactly what I expected it to be since day one. I could not possibly hold any other expectations after Mass Effect Andromeda.    … Expand
  49. Mamoulian
    Feb 22, 2019
    5
    Bioware destroyed by EA too at long last. They somehow managed to hold their own for a decade before their soul evaporated for good. Anthem is a soulless, naive, contentless, primitive looter shooter with messy gunplay and minimal mission variety. The game is obviously incomplete and any RPG elements are simplified to the extreme. RIP Bioware.
  50. PerfectPerson
    Jun 17, 2020
    6
    I've played the game to the end of the first arc on Hard. It's an ok game, but once I'd made a run through it, I didn't want to go back. The UI is pretty bad, the baddies are pretty spongy, but I really enjoyed flying.

    The story says "This is a single player game. Ignore your friends and be immersed." The gameplay says "This is a multiplayer game. The story is fluff. Skip it and get    I've played the game to the end of the first arc on Hard. It's an ok game, but once I'd made a run through it, I didn't want to go back. The UI is pretty bad, the baddies are pretty spongy, but I really enjoyed flying.

    The story says "This is a single player game. Ignore your friends and be immersed."
    The gameplay says "This is a multiplayer game. The story is fluff. Skip it and get back to playing with your friends."

    It never knew what it wanted to be, so it failed at doing anything ground breaking.    … Expand
  51. ssweisz
    Mar 5, 2019
    6
    El juego no es tan malo, sin embargo, tampoco es bueno. Es muy parecido a Destiny pero haciendo esto a un lado el juego tiene muchos lados flacos.

    La historia no es nada interesante, no hay al menos al inicio una explicación del Mundo donde se desarrolla todo. Fuerte Tarsis que es donde se toman las misiones y se personaliza el equipo, no tiene vida, es totalmente plano, sin vida,    El juego no es tan malo, sin embargo, tampoco es bueno. Es muy parecido a Destiny pero haciendo esto a un lado el juego tiene muchos lados flacos.

    La historia no es nada interesante, no hay al menos al inicio una explicación del Mundo donde se desarrolla todo.

    Fuerte Tarsis que es donde se toman las misiones y se personaliza el equipo, no tiene vida, es totalmente plano, sin vida, los npc muy bien podrían no estar y no habría mayor diferencia.

    El "Mundo libre" selvático le pasa lo mismo que fuerte Tarsis, no se siente vivo, lo mejor son las cascadas y algunos precipicios, los enemigos que suelen salir en su mayoría son insectoides.

    Las misiones son muy equis, y esto lo agrava el hecho de que el matchmaking tardo mucho y te agrega a misiones que si bien te va, van a la mitad sino están por finalizarlas y solo llegas a hacer nada.

    Las mazmorras, nada espectacular, que si bien la dificultad aquí aumenta, no dan ninguna satisfacción al terminarla.

    Las armas que vas pudiendo recoger, los modelos parecen todos el mismo. La personalización de tu javelin solo se puede comprando las partes, con monedas que vas ganando en el transcurso del juego o pagando con dinero real.

    Si el juego si hubiera sido free2play muchos de los errores y falta de contenido se hubiera comprendido, sin embargo, pagar precio por completo por un juego así, no lo vale.    … Expand
  52. duremified
    Feb 25, 2019
    5
    the game is a huge MEH!, look like a huge demo payed 60 bucks. Stronghold (exclude Swarm tyrant one) is recycled to other quest, the story is boring and shallow. The gameplay is good but the missions look like the same. Impossible to put critic on reddit anthem (full of hysterical mods). 6 years for create a huge demo totally empty?
    Don't worth it sorry.
  53. Rrazed
    Feb 24, 2019
    5
    The game is a mess, the best part is the flying, stupidly grindy, minimal end game content, again it shows me that EA love just churning out games regardless of completion or not, no bug fixes prior to release, people saying thats fine wait for update contribute nothing to better games, the loading screen to loading screens are cancer and people actually are defending the constant loadingThe game is a mess, the best part is the flying, stupidly grindy, minimal end game content, again it shows me that EA love just churning out games regardless of completion or not, no bug fixes prior to release, people saying thats fine wait for update contribute nothing to better games, the loading screen to loading screens are cancer and people actually are defending the constant loading screens, you arent real gamers LOL 5/10 for Anthem and thats generous… Expand
  54. AllanLibrae
    Mar 2, 2019
    5
    Let me make meaningful decisions, No. Upgrade my Strider, or base? No. Listen to interesting story arcs? No. Put me into puzzle like boss fights? No. These are just a few of my personal but subjective disappointments.

    This game feels like just another slotmachine. Where I get to fly a constantly overheating Mech for minutes to get into the first fight. Then have to fight waves of bullet    Let me make meaningful decisions, No. Upgrade my Strider, or base? No. Listen to interesting story arcs? No. Put me into puzzle like boss fights? No. These are just a few of my personal but subjective disappointments.

    This game feels like just another slotmachine. Where I get to fly a constantly overheating Mech for minutes to get into the first fight. Then have to fight waves of bullet sponges to then fly to another bullet sponge arena. In the meanwhile listening to recordings talking into my ear giving me somewhat of an in-game story.

    The mediocre things about this game:
    -The most interesting gameplay is trying to not overheat your Mech by flying close to water.
    -Setting up combos, that are sadly not really necessary, except for the enemies dying a bit faster.
    -It looks good, with an RTX 2080 at least. Framerate still dipping under 60fps at high/medium settings.

    The fun things about this game:
    -Seeing combos work out by combining the right weapons.
    -Customizing your Mechs. At least the look of the Mech (The weapons have no character at all).    … Expand
  55. ubeguysmiley
    Mar 28, 2019
    5
    The graphics are great, the gameplay is good, the weapons feel unique enough and movement throughout also feels good. The lack of story is disappointing and the constant change to the loot drop system is frustrating. It appears as though a large amount of options (armor, vinyls) will be locked behind loot boxes because there was a significant amount of diverse content in the alpha, packThe graphics are great, the gameplay is good, the weapons feel unique enough and movement throughout also feels good. The lack of story is disappointing and the constant change to the loot drop system is frustrating. It appears as though a large amount of options (armor, vinyls) will be locked behind loot boxes because there was a significant amount of diverse content in the alpha, pack capacity MW/Legendary drops are borderline non-existent. It was great when they bugged the loot drop system. Even with 10 MW drops you might have only kept 2.

    Feel incomplete, would only recommend if free-to-play (like Warframe)    … Expand
  56. RiftSilver
    Apr 3, 2019
    5
    While there is some fun to be had here, Anthem is a hollow shell of what it could be. Between the severe bugs I encountered trying to go through basic game functions, to the lackluster Fort Tarsis and shoehorned story, Anthem feels more like a conglomerate of untested ideas than it does a full fledged game.
  57. Jishiiqua
    Feb 25, 2019
    5
    Yes this game has a lot of problems, from the large amounts of bugged items, missions breaking and long load screens. However this is not a game that is a "flop" or a game with "no heart" as people have said. I agree that in its current state it does not deserve the 60$ price tag that it has or to be called a finished game, but underneath this there is a game that has a strong core thatYes this game has a lot of problems, from the large amounts of bugged items, missions breaking and long load screens. However this is not a game that is a "flop" or a game with "no heart" as people have said. I agree that in its current state it does not deserve the 60$ price tag that it has or to be called a finished game, but underneath this there is a game that has a strong core that can easily be improved (and yes it should have to be improved this much when it is a game that has been in the works for 3-6 years). I'm not saying it is a great game and people shouldn't hate it because they are going to fix it in the future. I'm saying that this is a chapter 1 of a story that at this rate wont get to be told if it is crushed. I understand what many people mean about this being a very repetitive game in terms of the shear lack of creativity and diversity in the types of missions and the story being lacking compared to Bioware games of old. This is not a Bioware of old game however, and at least to me has never tried to be. This genre and the games in it, Destiny and the Division both had similar stories which were there but weren't the main focus. Destiny if you really wanted story you would go to the grimoire. The division you got a bit more story out of the main game but you would still go around New York and collect Intel and other pieces of lore to find out more about what had happened in the city. This is present in Anthem, this is story if you want it but not in the way that they did it back with their games like KOTOR.

    These games are all about the endgame which is getting the best gear and then getting the best roles on the best gear. Anthem does this, kind of. The end game is there but not balanced, there is no reason to play above grandmaster 1 unless you like dying to everything, and although they have a decent assortment of weapons and gear which can all role with different perks very similar to Diablo or the division, there is not enough staying power once you get these. The endgame is there but it just isn't enough, it is about half of what they really need and from what they have said on the road map we wont get the other half till May.

    So if you are looking at the game currently there is about 40-60 hours of content to play and enjoy, if that is enough to get you to May when they should be releasing the other half of the end game which we should have been getting more like a 4-6 weeks after release then buy the game. It truly is a fun experience to play and the feeling of seeing your javelin come together with different masterworks is great, but if you are someone who doesn't want there it be and shortage of content to play, then wait, get it in April or May if you are still interested then.

    As of right know though it is a chapter 1 of what can be a large expansive story, its up to you to decide if you want to get in at chapter 1 and wait for the next chapters or get in at chapter 5 however long from know that is.    … Expand
  58. OnionRings
    Feb 25, 2019
    6
    Being a bit more generous here with a 6. Short & sweet, game has potential and just needs to be seen and used. Combat feels great but everything else is just lackluster and boring. With work though, I believe it can shine.
  59. sarcasm83
    Mar 4, 2019
    6
    I find the game a lot of fun to play. The gameplay itself is very satisfying, with the mobility bringing a lot into the mix. I love how your abilities cool down so fast that you're using them very often. That combined with dodges, flying bursts, jumps, melee and shooting results in a bag of stuff you can constantly keep getting better at stringing together.

    Just today, I got a    I find the game a lot of fun to play. The gameplay itself is very satisfying, with the mobility bringing a lot into the mix. I love how your abilities cool down so fast that you're using them very often. That combined with dodges, flying bursts, jumps, melee and shooting results in a bag of stuff you can constantly keep getting better at stringing together.

    Just today, I got a "Masterwork" tier venom grenade for my Interceptor that has 200% charge = it can be thrown twice every full cooldown (or once every half a cooldown) which has a perk that gives it 100% increase in acid damage after a melee kill for 10 seconds. I also got a component that boosts any assault ability (the venom bomb in this case) 50% in damage for 5 seconds after each strike ability (tempest strike)...

    Both of those items add to how much ammo drops and I also have a component that adds 40% to pistol damage after picking up ammo AND my legendary handgun has a perk that it does 200% damage when hovering...

    So I can fly in, throw in poison from the air, drop, tempest strike them (detonates a combo, kills target, activates 150% damage boost to acid, hop in the air, throw in my second acid bomb doing huge damage and if I picked up a very likely ammo drop while on ground, I can then fire at the enemies below with 240% damage boost on my already hard hitting pistol, before dodging away.
    If I include my support ability before that which weakens enemy resistances by 33%, I will hit them fast and I will hit them hard.

    Made my javelin look like a giant killer bee to go with that. So that aspect of the game is very satisfying and very fun.

    HOWEVER the gameplay alone isn't something that can carry the game forward for long.

    So while this game easily has the potential to get a score of 8, I have to admit that the incredibly bad bugs in the start (most of which still persist) made the early experience VERY frustrating. The game feels undoubtedly unfinished and rushed out and suffers greatly for it.

    While I love the customization of actually being able to change the different parts to different materials and any color you wish (great not being tied to changing shaders or so), the cosmetics have been very bare bones, there only having been 4 armor sets to customize my favorite javelin with during the entire time and I'm now at the endgame.

    That 4 includes the one you start with and the legion of dawn armor set that is offered in the more expensive edition of the game (or in Origin Premier, which I am playing the game through, not having purchased the game itself.)
    1 of the armor sets have appeared in the (item recycling) "featured store" where you can buy items via in-game currency or bought currency and a SINGLE ONE has been on offer to buy from the game's forge. ONE.

    The cosmetic loot does not drop from missions or loot chests either.. atleast not yet. However they are planning on adding it to stronghold chests.. but it's yet another part in their journey of actually finishing the game they released.

    The loot... oh boy. It has some good, some bad and some simply unexplainable things... the good; I like the component system, how you can trade in different components that aren't in any way tied to cosmetics and make builds, some of which can create some very nice mixes and matches to build something powerful. Fantastic idea.

    The bad: The weapon types all have a few variations which all are the same 3d model. The masterwork and legendary weapons are the same model with fancier colors, but they hardly feel very exciting or unique. A lot of games have more unique looking gun skins than this games highest tier items. There also is no way to customize weapon looks. This results in none of your weapons having that "personality" we gamers often love in our looter shooters. In some other games, I have actually felt an attachment to a gun. Here, there's none of that. You just switch in the one with the best stats.

    The unexplainable: There is no stats screen where you can see the stats of your javelin. Gear raises damage, armor, shields etc.... great. But there is no way to see what they total up to. How on earth did that get by development?

    Right now it can also be very frustrating finding masterwork or legendary gear that simply are completely underwhelming. I understand if something drops and has a perk that isn't what you're looking for, but for pointless perks to be on "legendary" weapons... it's just demotivating.

    Has this game been worth the 15€(16-17 dollars) fee for Origin Premier on PC? YES. Absolutely. Alot of entertainment from such a small amount.

    But with the bugs, the clearly unfinished features and very little to actually do (3 strongholds, 6 samey contracts per day) in the endgame etc. this is certainly NOT a game I would recommend to buy fully priced at this time.

    I recommend you pick this up later when it has been finished/fixed and is on sale and I'm sure there is fun to be had with it.    … Expand
  60. Jeagr
    Mar 28, 2019
    5
    tl;dr - A very pretty, but very boring game. Not worth the time it takes to load. Out of the 6 RL friends that I started playing with, only one is still playing.

    I really wanted to love this game, and I gave it a full month of 3-4 hours daily play before I wrote this review. But this game is just dead at this point. It's like the Game Designers and the Game Developers are on two    tl;dr - A very pretty, but very boring game. Not worth the time it takes to load. Out of the 6 RL friends that I started playing with, only one is still playing.

    I really wanted to love this game, and I gave it a full month of 3-4 hours daily play before I wrote this review. But this game is just dead at this point. It's like the Game Designers and the Game Developers are on two different continents, meeting for maybe 10 minutes a day to flesh out what needs to be added or fixed. And then they get stoned and forget what the problems originally were.

    Now don't get me wrong, the original vision was awesome, and they really nailed the feel of flying through the game like Ironman...but that uniqueness only lasts a short time before you realize the mechanics are broken, the quests and missions are just not worth the time it takes to do them, and each patch just seems to make things worse.

    For the past 4 days I have logged in daily to give the game another go, and I end up logging out within about 20 minutes...just not fun anymore, and not worth my time.    … Expand
  61. stonedpixel
    Jun 8, 2019
    5
    Anthems beautiful visuals and novel flight mechanics are not enough for us to recommend it at this time. It consistently fails in every metric to bring the player any sense of accomplishment or gratification. Anthems potential to recover from its rough launch is hampered from Bioware's inability to listen to its community or to make good on promises made. Spending seven years inAnthems beautiful visuals and novel flight mechanics are not enough for us to recommend it at this time. It consistently fails in every metric to bring the player any sense of accomplishment or gratification. Anthems potential to recover from its rough launch is hampered from Bioware's inability to listen to its community or to make good on promises made. Spending seven years in development and having almost no depth or content is a dramatic contrast to its previous releases. This is the same developer that brought us the classic series Mass Effect and Dragon Age. We have to wonder if its time for Bioware to take a step back and reevaluate its corporate philosophies and business practices. Anthem is like a wise old man with loose bowels. It might appear that he is deep in thought but in reality, he is merely crapping his pants.

    We give Anthem a 5.3/10 which places it in the category of “Atrocious”.    … Expand
  62. MajorM
    Aug 8, 2020
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Posted: 8 August 2020

    Date of Review 8 August 2020

    OS Windows 10 64 Bit

    Run on the following hardware: Intel Core i7 5960x, 64 GB of RAM, Nvidia GeForce 2080 Ti
    Anthem is a online first person looter shooter.

    Graphics: Average. Exactly what one would expect in a triple A game in 2020.

    Audio: Average. See graphics.

    Maps: Average. Can be repetitive at times.

    User Interface: No mini map therefore difficult to maintain situational awareness. There is a compass ring but it is inadequate.

    Character Creation: Poor. Very Basic. Race and Gender have no effect in game outside of appearance. Character has very little back story. Dialog choices do not seem different.

    Inventory management: Average but functional.

    Economy: There isn't one.

    Social: Poor, no world chat

    Weapons: Very Good. Lots of different types of weapons but some seemed designed for a very special set of narrow circumstances. Aim point on weapon's sights are difficult to see.

    Crafting: Very basic.

    Tactics: Run, and gun, rinse repeat.

    Enemy Tactics: Poor and simplistic. Endless waves of the same enemy (which can appear from anywhere) who have no regard for there own lives.

    Coop/Matchmaking: Easy to find a group, but social aspects are minimal.

    Writing/Voice Acting: Falls above Destiny 2 but below Star War The Old Republic. Voice acting is good. Writing is average.

    Technical Issues: None that I could see.

    Game play: Gun play is fun. I got flying down but swimming I could never get the hang of. Game needs an up and down keybinding.

    Reputations system: Not a revolutionary system but it works.

    Bottom line: Game is fun and the loot system is OK until you get to the end game. At that point it seems rather pointless. Game needs some serious work, will reevaluate upon the release of version 2.0. Evaluated version was 1.7    … Expand
  63. JackPlack
    Mar 17, 2022
    7
    Game engine problems caused other problems, but game concept is great. I wish there would be some similar game without same development problems or just Anthem will fly from ashes.
  64. SkinsFan65
    Mar 8, 2019
    6
    Edit: Changed score from 9 to 6 and added a few comments. While I initially felt like Anthem was one the best games I had played recently, I'm modifying my review to reflect the current state of things. Things were fine for me initially but then I started having frequent network errors and mission issues (e.g. get taken to the main menu after a mission instead of seeing the results,Edit: Changed score from 9 to 6 and added a few comments. While I initially felt like Anthem was one the best games I had played recently, I'm modifying my review to reflect the current state of things. Things were fine for me initially but then I started having frequent network errors and mission issues (e.g. get taken to the main menu after a mission instead of seeing the results, getting placed in missions that don't end, getting placed in missions where the main trigger never occurs, try to start a mission only to end up at the main menu again) and a few hard crashes. Also, the game was so much better while the story-line played out. Now that I've completed it, the game play is pretty repetitive and hearing the same comments over and over gets old. Making it worse, frequently have to try a mission a few times before it actually works properly which makes the loading times more annoying. Potential is there but needs more content and it is currently extremely buggy.

    I really enjoyed Destiny and Warframe but was skeptical of Anthem due to the reviews. Decided to purchase it anyway since I thought the demo was okay. I really like it so not sure where all the hate is coming from. Great graphics and sound and gameplay has been a lot of fun. Took me a bit to get use to flying but really enjoying the flying aspect also. Hovering above the battlefield and bringing down elemental attacks is a lot of fun. I started out trying to solo most missions but like Destiny, found there was a greater chance of success if I joined others. Solo'ing can be overwhelming at my current level. Exploring has also been really enjoyable so glad they have a freeplay mode. I've taken hundreds of screenshots already.    … Expand
  65. koyettsu
    Feb 24, 2019
    7
    I hate to say it but a number of the negative reviews are from people that haven't actually played Anthem. I don't doubt they played the beta, but they didn't play the actual game on release and make reference to issues that are not in the final release of the game. Such is our day in age, everyone jumps on the bandwagon to rip something apart regardless of the actual quality of theI hate to say it but a number of the negative reviews are from people that haven't actually played Anthem. I don't doubt they played the beta, but they didn't play the actual game on release and make reference to issues that are not in the final release of the game. Such is our day in age, everyone jumps on the bandwagon to rip something apart regardless of the actual quality of the game. There are issues in Anthem, but the game is not worthy of 2 or 4.

    Graphics: The game looks fantastic, I have it on PC via the EA subscription I have along with I picked up Anthem for my PS4 to play with my friends. PC looks a bit better and IMO plays a bit better, but the PS4 version looks pretty damn good as well. Faces of people look nice, the motion capture looks quite realistic but there are some issues with eyes, nowhere near the last Mass Effect but still not 100% right.

    Sound: The sound is fantastic, lightning bolts sound incredible especially if you have a nice surround sound system. There are some issues with music though, on PS4 I noticed there was music in town and it fit quite well, but weirdly on PC I have no music in town, so the town ends up feeling really strange and empty. Another area that seems strange to me is the after mission summary, something about the sound there just doesn't seem right and needs some work. Outside of that the rest of the music and sound is great, same goes with the voice acting, voices are done well by a competent team.

    Gameplay: This is the area where the game shines, flying around in your javelin is incredible. There are times where the gameplay is so damn good you are stunned no one else thought of this system before. You will fly to a mission, drop in with an air attack, you slam into an enemy on the ground, whip out your gun and start mowing down enemies all around you. As they turn back to open fire on you, your shield becomes nearly exhausted, you take off and fly to a position where you are relatively safe to catch your breath. All while dropping bombs, elemental attacks, super abilities and heavenly judgement upon your enemies in glorious fashion. It is damn good! The flying is the best I have seen in any game I have ever played in my 30+ years of gaming. This is truly where the game shines and what makes you keep going back for more!!

    Game Quality: The game has some bugs left within it, while most of the bugs have been ironed out, a few still remain. This isn't a Bethesda game, aka a buggy mess, but it does need a little bit of work here and there fixing everything, no more then most well vetted out releases though. I experienced 1 loading freeze while in a mission out of the dozens of missions I have thus far completed. Since the last two patches, the bugs are down to next to never happening and that was done just in time for launch.

    Story: The story I have seen thus far is actually good, I am about 30 hours into the game and what I have seen has intrigued me making me want to play more. The stories you do as side quests are also interesting, they are right in line with you being a free lancer. You are hired to go do odd jobs to help people, find this or that, in a dangerous world. As the story ramps up with the plot twists, I think it has been done quite well, although the story could have kicked in a bit earlier to hook people into the game.

    Missions: Here is where I think the game needs some polish and why I would rate the game a 7.0. While I enjoy playing missions, they are kind of like destiny, short and a bit repetitive. There is a mission fairly early in the game where you have to open these tombs, this quest is really out of place and should be redone IMO. You are playing missions, get quest, go out, kill stuff, mission over and suddenly suddenly your next mission requires you to go into free play. You find one of the tombs you need to find, you go to open it and you are not worthy.. becuse you didn't complete a list of random tasks you were never told about. i.e. kill x enemies with head shots, kill x enemies with fist punch, complete x world missions, etc. You essentially hit a wall and need to go grind in a game that grinding previously was not needed. Once you complete this mission, it is back to the regular game/story with no grind needed.. its weird. That quest-line should really be tweaked, I don't see any issues with challenging people to do stuff like that, but that seems more like a weekly quest vs. a quest that is necessary to continue on with the game. Like destiny, you are going to be running out, doing a mission that will take you less than 10 minutes coming back to down, repeating that process. I wish Bioware had put a lot more time into the quests to make them unique instead of a lot of rinse and repeat style quests.

    Bottom Line: The game is good, if they continue adding content/stuff to do this will easily stand the test of time. I would recommend it, even at the $60 price tag.    … Expand
  66. renboy
    Feb 22, 2019
    5
    This game was NOT ready to be released. Maybe if it had an extra year in development, and actually added tons of varied content and some extremely basic functionality and features it would have been a good game - but as it stands on release day, it's a bad mix of very little content, tons of game breaking bugs and an extremely shallow RPG mechanics. I can't believe BioWare released thisThis game was NOT ready to be released. Maybe if it had an extra year in development, and actually added tons of varied content and some extremely basic functionality and features it would have been a good game - but as it stands on release day, it's a bad mix of very little content, tons of game breaking bugs and an extremely shallow RPG mechanics. I can't believe BioWare released this product - it just shows how their standards are pretty much non-existent these days. Sad.… Expand
  67. Hseeker25
    Feb 27, 2019
    5
    its not a bioware game, it doesnt have the indept comaradeship story or romance or any dramatic storyline mass effect has, its generic, any decisions you make wich is only two make no change to the story overall
  68. silverdragonaut
    Feb 24, 2019
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Positive:
    - Gameplay (Gunshooting, Flying, Fighting)
    - Graphics

    Negative:
    - Story (I dont know, why im fighting or for what - its hard to follow the story)
    - Weapons
    - Looting

    Overall its a good game, but not worth the price... lame story , weapons are boring and the looting system needs a Update    … Expand
  69. Clenmila
    Feb 23, 2019
    5
    Its meh, nothing more and nothing less. Im glad i have orgin access and did not buy this... Boring game.

    Bioware does not exist anymore
  70. chakramc
    Feb 25, 2019
    6
    + looks amazing, flying around is just breathtakingly beautiful
    + Movement system and flying is just awesome
    + Runs smooth with my 1070, i5-4690 and 16gb ram + in roughly 18 hours of play I have not encountered any game breaking bugs, got disconnected once. + It's fun, repetitive yes, but fun. And I don't mind repetitive fun + Sound design is solid, music, engine sound of javelins,    + looks amazing, flying around is just breathtakingly beautiful
    + Movement system and flying is just awesome
    + Runs smooth with my 1070, i5-4690 and 16gb ram
    + in roughly 18 hours of play I have not encountered any game breaking bugs, got disconnected once.
    + It's fun, repetitive yes, but fun. And I don't mind repetitive fun
    + Sound design is solid, music, engine sound of javelins, guns all just well done
    +battles are great fun to just epic
    +huge, beautiful map (exploration vertically)
    +For now I played interceptor and colossus, the javelins have a very different feel and and can be further customized to fit your play style.
    + easy to be matched up with randoms for missions, as I don't have any friends who play this also

    - Story doesn't interest me that much, but it's good it's there to give some background lore. But hey, for me the story in for example Dark souls 3 and dying light did not interest me either and these are two of my favorite games. Because they are just fun.
    - When done with missions getting new ones feels like a chore to me
    - I'd say the loading screens from time to time, but with an SSD it's really not that bad. Something like 30 seconds to get in or out town. People are either exaggerating or have patato pc's. Ever played GTA V / Online?! After experiencing that, this is peanuts concerning loading times.
    - Micro transactions, just ignore them totally, I do.

    I get there is a lot of hate towards EA for well,... being EA.
    I get people hoped for a Bioware story as deep as KOTOR and are disappointed it's nothing close to that.
    I get people are mad they did not get everything they were promised during development time (that took six years)
    I get people are mad because the game has micro transactions.

    What I don't get is that people rate Anthem 0 - 4 out of 10 because of the reasons written above.

    In the end, it's looter/shooter with that's great fun! If that is enough for you, as it is for me, then you'll have an awesome game.

    Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to play Anthem.    … Expand
  71. J2tallrich
    Feb 26, 2019
    6
    Update Feb 26th 9:58pm EST I have to be fair to this game something brings be back despite the repetitiveness, and the lack of things to do the combat can be very fun in this game, the graphical feats and things happening on screen without Frame rate drops is spectacular, This score is constantly changing i see things I like and things I hate, the Story is mediocre and somewhat predictableUpdate Feb 26th 9:58pm EST I have to be fair to this game something brings be back despite the repetitiveness, and the lack of things to do the combat can be very fun in this game, the graphical feats and things happening on screen without Frame rate drops is spectacular, This score is constantly changing i see things I like and things I hate, the Story is mediocre and somewhat predictable im about half way through. So updated Pros and Cons,

    Pros: Flying, Combat, Graphics, Exploration,

    Negatives: Repetition, Loading Screens, Lackluster Loot(non endgame), Mediocre Story, Slow movement speed in fort Taris, Overpriced Skins and Micro-transactions

    Final thought: This game has potential promise but its not worth 60.00 is its current state. Wait for it to be on sale.

    Update Feb 25, 2019 at 3:30pm EST. Just completed my first stronghold and guess what this trash game said connection error as soon as the boss died and took me back to the loading screen and i got absolutely nothing for my 2 hour effort. This game is absolutely garbage bioware and EA have both failed the gaming community. Yet Again the only thing left to do is just simply do not buy games from this company. Just trash im so triggered and there is nothing i can do because i bought a digital copy of this broken glitchy game with a loading screen for everything. I seriously hope someone can sue them into the ground for this game.

    This game had/has potential, Right now this game is hot garbage, there are only 2 Objectives in the game. GO fetch, of Go defend, with a boss or higher level bullet sponge sprinkled in. Right now I am Currently level 10, The first stronghold is unlocked for me, which if you played the beta, it is the beta stronghold. 10x Enemies basic enemies do absurd amount of damage and makes it basically unbeatable. The game is extremely repetitive mission to mission are identical in objective basically. Now its not as bad as Umbrella Corps but damn near close second.

    There are other things that I currently have issue with in this game. Number 1 damage output vs damage received. Example Using you the Colossus Javelin, you have no overshield just a health bar. That doesn't regenerate on its own. not even a smidge. Enemies can shoot you across the map with an auto cannon and take whole bars with each individual bullet. however if you attempt to shoot from the same distance with an auto cannon the damage you do is negligible. This is not a nit pick, this is core issue with combat in the game basic enemies can decimate you from any distance where is you are fighting mini bosses all the time.

    I will say this on the positive note. The game looks amazing. The graphics are probably the best there is currently on PS4 Pro. The flight and movement are also pretty damn fun, minus the lack of flight time but there are boosts you can use to help with that. To me that is the only thing this game is good for the graphics and the movement/exploration.

    Back to another thing that is really bad is the hit detection, as i said before any enemy can decimate you and its so trash how fast you will get put down, The game doesn't even tell where you getting hit from. you'll be in combat with infinite spawning enemies, then all of a sudden be downed and be quite puzzled on how you got put down almost instantly.

    Lastly the lack luster firepower of the ultimates, Anyone who has played you know the enemies with the blue shield that either fire a laser sniper rifle or auto cannon. I feel like its fair to say that one blast from my ultimate should obliterate that enemy well guess what not only did this 1 enemy take 1 blast from the colossus. it took all 3 shots and still had life left. That is absolutely unacceptable. Extremely dumb the enemy isn't even a boss but eats ultimates like its pez candy. This game to me is beyond dumb and i will simply wait for Ubisoft to show me what they got with The division 2.

    Bottomline: DO NOT!!!!!!!!! pay 60.00 for this game. Wait till you can get it for a bargain 30.00 or lower and it would maybe be worth it.    … Expand
  72. BenW91NE
    Feb 22, 2019
    5
    not bad but not good.... the story is just to meh for my personal opinion. best part the graphics.
  73. Neverija
    Feb 22, 2019
    6
    I just try to play, I can easy tell that graphic is very beautiful, is the same like Andromeda. This game is Andromeda+ Destiny mix... I also can agree that this game got just great graphic, even my RTX 2080 Ti usuage just 60-80 % most of the time, so not much fps arround 60-80... Game story and everythink arround totaly mess.. I can give just 6 from 10.
  74. Ryser
    Feb 22, 2019
    6
    it's got a really good foundation to become a great game but as it stands now it's barebones are hell. If you don't mind waiting on more content to be released i would suggest waiting
  75. kiaxxl
    Feb 22, 2019
    5
    The gameplay is fun when it works, but the more you play the more cracks appear and it's not a great launch either. I hope this will be a good game in about a month or so, but then again it should be a good game on launch. If you're considering buying I would definitely wait for updates.
  76. Acguydance
    Feb 23, 2019
    5
    The action, the combat system is great. That feeling when you wear some metal made suit is very comfortable. However the current endgame contents are too few, and the game cycle is all about, like you are paying "time" to "buy" loot boxes, and that feeling is so strong compared to other looter-shooters. Not to mention the frustrating town mode which is totally meaningless, probablyThe action, the combat system is great. That feeling when you wear some metal made suit is very comfortable. However the current endgame contents are too few, and the game cycle is all about, like you are paying "time" to "buy" loot boxes, and that feeling is so strong compared to other looter-shooters. Not to mention the frustrating town mode which is totally meaningless, probably implemented because the designers wanted to show off their hard works. Should have just make a map and click the destination to start a conversation with the NPC instead.

    As an online game. This game lacks to create good user experience environment. UIs, those "mystery" symbols in your gear details without explanation etc. are just awful.

    Not a bad game, but not worth the time right now.    … Expand
  77. FousekCZ
    Feb 23, 2019
    5
    Gameplay is really good and sexy but there is so many things wrong.
    Currently game lacks end game.
    Overall UI is very confusing and stupid.
    Biggest pain is poor technical performance, constantly lagging / rollbacking 3 secs back... Loading into Launch bay (1 room) takes longer than into Fort Tarsis...
  78. thantos911
    Feb 22, 2019
    5
    Not a lot of meat to the game currently, very pretty however and visually a 10 out of 10. Game play is very grindy and level cap comes around the 7 hours mark where as you will repeat the same 2 missions for gear, for the next 30 hours or so looking for minor upgrades to existing gear that incrementally get a .4% bump here or there as you go up the scale. With no pvp or other activitiesNot a lot of meat to the game currently, very pretty however and visually a 10 out of 10. Game play is very grindy and level cap comes around the 7 hours mark where as you will repeat the same 2 missions for gear, for the next 30 hours or so looking for minor upgrades to existing gear that incrementally get a .4% bump here or there as you go up the scale. With no pvp or other activities the game just falls flat at the moment.… Expand
  79. FelixMts
    Feb 23, 2019
    7
    Grow up! I know it's not the best game ever. But it's fun. It's a loot shooter and yeah it will get grindy! It only gets better from here. Have fun!
  80. manhatten12
    Feb 24, 2019
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. i personally like the game if you want to be a be ironman in destiny this is for you although this game is filled with tons of bugs and gliches (minor spoilers ahead) in one part of the game i have to kill these things called titans to get corium i killed a few which would have been past the amount i needed but it did not count to the objective so i had to go back to fort tarsis and re launch my expedition also the story is very lacking i expected more from bioware i also feel the openworld or freeplay is lacking its go here kill this enemy then complete this objective.so in my op ion the game is mediocre 25… Expand
  81. jeanfff
    Feb 22, 2019
    5
    It looks like we are playing the same mission over and over again! Maybe it will get better in the future, but I've paid a full price game and it looks unfinished! Lame!
  82. Nico79
    Feb 22, 2019
    5
    A good Game for maybe 15 hours, after this you have seen everything , the end Content clear and max Gear. But the Gunplay and flying is Fun, the Graphic is nice,the Sound is cool and the World Design is great. This is why i give 5/10. Give Anthem 1 Year of Updates, and it will be a 7 or 8/10.
  83. Hurbicide
    Feb 23, 2019
    7
    This game is not nearly as bad as some are putting it. Yes, as loot based games tend to be... it is grindy at the end.

    Pros - The gameplay is genuinely fun, though. The controls and feel of combat is extremely fun. The scenery is beatiful and the world, because of the multiple layers, feels very large. It's all open world, which is nice... instead of being instance based "zones"    This game is not nearly as bad as some are putting it. Yes, as loot based games tend to be... it is grindy at the end.

    Pros - The gameplay is genuinely fun, though. The controls and feel of combat is extremely fun. The scenery is beatiful and the world, because of the multiple layers, feels very large. It's all open world, which is nice... instead of being instance based "zones" like Destiny.

    Negatives
    Bugs. There are enough bugs that I wonder what other hidden mechanics are also not working. If a simple bug like my ultimate showing as ready when it is not is present... then what other hidden mechanics are not working properly. Does that augment I have really give me +25% damage or luck really giving me that bonus? There have been a couple patches that have taken care of most of the bugs seen in early access... I expect that within a week or two of launch most of the noticeable glitches are taken care of. This is a fact of life with games that do not pay professional testers to test their games, and their reputations take an appropriate hit because of it.

    And... If boss mobs do not drop anything at the end of a run... why would anyone waste the time to do that boss fight? Can put the setting on as hard as you want because you don't have to go through the boss fight at the end.

    The main story is fine... but all of the side conversations that provide absolutely no value to the game are ridiculous. You have all these bubbles everywhere that don't go away if you don't watch the cut scene... but you have absolutely no reason to care about the whining that is happening where all you can do is give an npc advice on what they should do about their social hang ups....
    Overall it is very fun, but they have some work to do to keep the replay-ability factor up... I feel like they wanted free roam to be an end game activity ... but with events spread out and you spend 15 minutes flying around hoping to stumble across one slowing the play down... people would probably rather just run the few strongholds over and over (Especially since you do not have to kill the boss to get the loots).    … Expand
  84. IgrokU
    Feb 22, 2019
    6
    I played for 7 hours or so, got bored and haven't bothered to turn it back on- origin premier. I felt no connection, with my character,the game, the story, or the NPCs.. it was just so...meh. The combat was good, but not oh boy, the world looked good, but so do a lot of other games, but the missions...... How many times do I want to stand in a circle, or fly around gathering orbs, boringI played for 7 hours or so, got bored and haven't bothered to turn it back on- origin premier. I felt no connection, with my character,the game, the story, or the NPCs.. it was just so...meh. The combat was good, but not oh boy, the world looked good, but so do a lot of other games, but the missions...... How many times do I want to stand in a circle, or fly around gathering orbs, boring after you realize that is what the game play is. I really didn't have any issues with bugs or performance/ knock on wood.

    I wanted to like this game and would say it's OK, just not for me. There are just too many other games I actually enjoy after many hours, anthem isn't one of them- anthem was OK at best.    … Expand
  85. Skychee
    Feb 22, 2019
    6
    So, the game itself isn't that bad. Though, a lot of details are making people think that it is.
    I bought it with a thought, that I won't lean on any other reviews and opinions and now I can say that the biggest part of them were too critical.
    From the gaming point of view, this is better version of the Destiny 2: it has more end-game content, it has more classes, more features and    So, the game itself isn't that bad. Though, a lot of details are making people think that it is.
    I bought it with a thought, that I won't lean on any other reviews and opinions and now I can say that the biggest part of them were too critical.
    From the gaming point of view, this is better version of the Destiny 2: it has more end-game content, it has more classes, more features and e.t.c. Aside from that, everything else is bad.
    Loadings are too annoying. (Even with a good SSD) And there are a lot of them. So in 1 hour I met something like 4 to 7 minutes of loading screens. Perfomance is worse than it was in Beta. It seems like it became 20-25% worse or something like that (~from 60 to 45). And with big amount of explosions and other effects 0.1% FPS is pretty low.
    I feel like the game will become better with time - but nowadays you have to polish your product, but Bioware (or EA) thought that they'll polish it sometime later. But I don't think people will need this game later.    … Expand
  86. ArcheMangus
    Mar 1, 2019
    7
    I gave this game over 200 hours of my time, I gave it every chance possible, We were lied to. I'll start by saying we were lied to about the Dynamic events, graphics, events, freeplay, and even the living environments. The looting is lack luster and very underwhelming (stats are completely random) If you don't believe we were lied to watch the E3 "Live game-play Demo"
  87. willardtk
    Feb 23, 2019
    7
    I don't know why someone would give this game a zero. I've seen in one of the reviews that they are disappointed that Bioware was tasked to make Anthem in lieu of a new Mass Effect game. My question to them for this is, "Did you really want another one after Andromeda?"

    For Anthem though, the graphics look great. The iron man suits look cool, and I really appreciate the level of    I don't know why someone would give this game a zero. I've seen in one of the reviews that they are disappointed that Bioware was tasked to make Anthem in lieu of a new Mass Effect game. My question to them for this is, "Did you really want another one after Andromeda?"

    For Anthem though, the graphics look great. The iron man suits look cool, and I really appreciate the level of customization available, both play-wise and visually. The level of detail in the world is great, and the visual aesthetic for the hub city is a cool blend of Middle Eastern cyber-punk.

    In my opinion, the levels of virtue signalling are at a minimum. The fact that that is something to celebrate is sad. However, the cast is incredibly diverse without trying to beat you over the head with it.

    Game play wise, Anthem is grindy. It feels less so than Destiny. Really, it's more like a 3rd person shooter version of Destiny 2 without Bungie's magical shooting touch.

    The story is okay. It isn't going to be winning any awards, but it is serviceable. Out of the cast there are perhaps two characters that are fun, Owen and Haluk. There's also a vendor with a weird fascination with making Javelins (the Iron Man suits) look fabulous.

    Overall, I don't mind Anthem. I don't regret buying it. The micro-transactions are for cosmetic items (that to be honest do not look worth paying for) which can also be unlocked with in-game currency. I'm sure since it's EA that they will manage to screw that up in the future.    … Expand
  88. pfrangetumor
    Mar 2, 2019
    7
    The game delivers a intense fighting style with combo elements combined with the flying mechanics this stands for a solid combination. Although anthems rough start people are enjoying it as it is right now.
  89. Wackaloon
    Feb 23, 2019
    7
    Well yeah, the game is not super-duper cool, but it is ok, there are few bugs and loading screens are pretty long, but the game itself is pretty good, and all DLC will be free, that's something. Maybe you will not buy it now, but it definitely worth to look at it after a month o two to check if it became better. Moreover if you are hesitating, you can get an origin basic access and get 10Well yeah, the game is not super-duper cool, but it is ok, there are few bugs and loading screens are pretty long, but the game itself is pretty good, and all DLC will be free, that's something. Maybe you will not buy it now, but it definitely worth to look at it after a month o two to check if it became better. Moreover if you are hesitating, you can get an origin basic access and get 10 hours of gameplay, I've used that option and decided to buy a full game, even if it is not so cool at start, I'm not a hardcore gamer, for me it is a game I'll play an hour or two after work - it is a good choice for me and something new and fresh. P.S. it is really not so bad as everyone says, people had too big expectations and no their expectations weren't met - they put 0/10, which is ridiculous, even worth game I've ever played deserved at least 1/10 for something. Anthem deserves 7 of 10 IMHO but is not lower than 5 at any point.… Expand
  90. Isolfer
    Feb 23, 2019
    7
    The story is an okay shell of a story, but it is by far not BioWare's best effort. I believe had this game come from anyone else the story wouldn't be tanking the reviews as hard as it is. Overall the game makes a lot of missteps but is on the whole one of the better playing experiences I've had in some time.

    I think it's main point of failure is EA forcing the use of it's frostbyte    The story is an okay shell of a story, but it is by far not BioWare's best effort. I believe had this game come from anyone else the story wouldn't be tanking the reviews as hard as it is. Overall the game makes a lot of missteps but is on the whole one of the better playing experiences I've had in some time.

    I think it's main point of failure is EA forcing the use of it's frostbyte engine that is not made for this kind of thing. With a better engine and writing the game could be one of the best of the year, but instead it falls a bit flat.
    Sound, world building, and gameplay however are top tier, and very enjoyable. The world to a decent degree makes sense, and with the recent event the open areas of nothing made more sense as they are more stages for boss fights than for general use, yet it needed another year in the oven to get the bugs worked out. If EA doesn't pull an EA and actually supports anthem it could become something good, but that is a big IF with EA's track record.

    Story and the engine are where this game fails, and that is due to the fact that the game feels like it should have been more to it instead of the paint by numbers meh we got. I would love to know if EA called for a rewrite at some point to make the game something else, instead of what it was supposed to be.

    The main reason I say this is the E3 trailers world was different, and the play style in regard to the world seemed different than what was delivered. Suggesting there was a rather large change at a some point. A change that impacted a lot of things, this feels like destiny all over again, where we see one idea of the game, then there is a massive change and no one lets us know about it.

    Having beaten the main story, played through it all I can say some design choices were well intentioned but stupid. The tombs were designed to push people into other things then freeplay to get them to help other players through quickplay, the same as the path of valor is setup to do. The issue I see with this is that it leads to burnout rather quickly as you end up doing stuff you have done over and over again. Which brings us back to time, the game is solid, but it needed more time in development to release with more content.

    This is the curse of we can patch it, developers and publishers need to stop having this mindset. Release a full title, then patch it, stop releasing half a game or less and saying we will patch it later. Anthem as it is now feels like act 1 of a 3 act game. It needs the other two acts, as it is the devs come off as liars as my fort and my friends are near identical, I have seen and felt no impact at all of my choices in the fort. Thus the game feels half baked in the story aspect of its world.    … Expand
  91. TerrorBahamutZ
    Feb 27, 2019
    7
    Innovative, beautiful graphics, amazing gameplay, however ... with certain flaws that ended up wrongfully damaging or not the game.

    For starters, Anthem has a p # $ the gameplay! That's what won most of its players. Fly like Iron Man, shootings, flying missiles, beautiful, noisy blasts that shake the screen of your television! But Anthem brings a story not much explored and does not    Innovative, beautiful graphics, amazing gameplay, however ... with certain flaws that ended up wrongfully damaging or not the game.

    For starters, Anthem has a p # $ the gameplay! That's what won most of its players. Fly like Iron Man, shootings, flying missiles, beautiful, noisy blasts that shake the screen of your television!
    But Anthem brings a story not much explored and does not captivate much, this for now since the game is being released in acts, 3 for now. But remembering that even being developed by Bioware, it is not a game focused on history as the Dragon Ages or Mass Effects.
    Another serious problem of Anthem are the loot, the weapons are practically identical, which is a serious fault for being a grind game, focused on farm. This makes the experience a bit annoying given that it is essential for a grind game, the player to repeat the missions several times in order to get better equipment.
    Compared with the trailer for E3, the game is different, but still the graphics are very beautiful with excellent light effects.
    I had no problems with servers but there are several reports of players complaining about instability.
    In my opinion, Anthem is a game that will be perfected over time, as well as the division and destiny. I think it was a little bit wronged at the beginning, mainly because of its connection with EA, but it still has time to redeem itself and be able to show all its undeniable potential

    Tradução em português:

    Inovador, gráficos lindos, jogabilidade surpreendente, porém... com certas falhas que acabaram prejudicando injustamente ou não o jogo.

    Para começar, Anthem tem uma p#$a jogabilidade! É o que conquistou a maioria dos seus jogadores. Voar como Iron Man, tiroteios, misseis voando, explosões lindas e barulhentas que tremem a tela da sua televisão!
    Porém Anthem trás uma história não muito explorada e que não cativa muito, isso por enquanto já que o jogo está sendo liberado em acts, 3 por enquanto. Mas lembrando que mesmo sendo desenvolvido pela Bioware, não se trata de um jogo focado na história como os Dragon Ages ou Mass Effects.
    Outro problema sério de Anthem são os sem graça, as armas são praticamente idênticas, o que é uma falha grave por ser um jogo grind, focado em farm. Isso torna a experiencia um pouco chata tendo em vista que é essencial para um jogo grind, o jogador repetir inumeras vezes as missões afim de obter um equipamento melhor.
    Comparando com o trailer da E3, o jogo está diferente, mas ainda sim os gráficos estão muito bonitos com efeitos de luz excelentes.
    Eu não tive problemas com servidores mas há vários relatos de jogadores reclamando da instabilidade.
    A meu ver, Anthem é um jogo que será aperfeiçoado com o tempo, assim como the division e destiny. Acredito que tenha sido um pouco injustiçado no inicio, principalmente pela sua ligação com a EA, mas que ainda tem tempo de se redimir e poder mostrar todo o seu inegável potencial    … Expand
  92. ensonar
    Mar 26, 2019
    5
    Game cycle is repetitive, story is boring and cliche. Graphings is amazing, but the world feels empty and not interesting to explore.
  93. Rydak
    Mar 8, 2019
    6
    Great feel to it. Fun play style, Just sooo many bugs. Really hope they get them fixed. Games live and die by this. If they do, and add more story, it will be a smash for the ages. If not, I predict its a blast for awhile and then sudden death.
  94. redbaron11
    Feb 22, 2019
    5
    currently have many bugs. errors that should have been resolved before its launch and more with a company like Bioware behind.
    I wish the best to Bioware, but at the moment it is doing very badly.
  95. Dravic2006
    Feb 22, 2019
    7
    This is the latest game to catch bandwagon hate. It's rough around the edges, but there's a lot there to like. Combat is well balanced and fun, the world is gorgeous and it's great flying around in it, and the motion capture facial animations give some life to characters that, admittedly, would be a bit flat otherwise. It was room to grow, and is certainly not a bad game.
  96. Kunray
    Feb 23, 2019
    6
    very very weak and quickly annoying
    nothing new
    I will update my review once they actually put bug fixes
  97. Tirah
    Feb 25, 2019
    6
    This game is definitely not bad and people giving it negative reviews are just bitter that Bioware's A team made this instead of Mass Effect Andromeda. However, Anthem is also painfully average - so average, in fact, that I can't even be bothered to write a detailed review. So to sum it up, here's a list of pros and cons.

    Pros: - looks gorgeous - flying feels exhilarating, at least    This game is definitely not bad and people giving it negative reviews are just bitter that Bioware's A team made this instead of Mass Effect Andromeda. However, Anthem is also painfully average - so average, in fact, that I can't even be bothered to write a detailed review. So to sum it up, here's a list of pros and cons.

    Pros:
    - looks gorgeous
    - flying feels exhilarating, at least for the first few hours
    - good controls
    - good sound design
    - technically competent
    - the javelins are cool
    - it's better than Fallout 76

    Cons:
    - gets boring real fast
    - repetitive missions (fly from point A to point B, shoot stuff for a bit, collect stuff, go back to the hub, do it all over again)
    - attempts to build a unique world with rich lore but ends up feeling generic and pretentious
    - long loading times
    - has none of the Bioware storytelling magic we're used to

    That's about it. Anthem doesn't deserve the hate it's getting, as it's a decently made game. The only problem is that there's not really much to do in it, and what little there is gets boring quickly. It has a lot of potential and it could've been a great singleplayer game. It really just feels like someone took the better parts of what was meant to be Mass Effect Andromeda, and turned it into a separate title. Obviously there's space for improvement and I'm sure more content will be released eventually, but right now Anthem's just not worth it. Buy it when it's on sale and after they've inevitably released some major DLC.    … Expand
  98. Crcapo
    Feb 22, 2019
    7
    I have 30 hrs in the game, near max level. I have been relatively "no-lifeing" it. The story is great, about 3-5 days of the story while "no-lifeing" it. if you played it casually.. most likely over a week of story. When I first played the enemies would not load into the areas and would deal damage to me, sort of like a ghost hitting me. Loading screens were a big problem, but after II have 30 hrs in the game, near max level. I have been relatively "no-lifeing" it. The story is great, about 3-5 days of the story while "no-lifeing" it. if you played it casually.. most likely over a week of story. When I first played the enemies would not load into the areas and would deal damage to me, sort of like a ghost hitting me. Loading screens were a big problem, but after I uninstalled and reinstalled on my SSD everything was good, quick loading screens and no more "ghost soldiers". Back to the story, even after you complete it is left open-ended... meaning more story WILL come out for it. After the story, you will grind Agent missions / Contracts / Strongholds / Freeplay Events. You can replay missions with friends. This game is made for people who are willing to put the time in, there is a large challenge too which you'll need to play the game consistently. Again, I've been waiting for this game for a while, I do not think its a waste of money, more so people have a negative view of EA coming into the game, which I get. At the end of the day you will either be an Anthem Fan or not, not much more to be said. This game was meant for a select group, those who enjoy Squad Action Adventure games will like this, again I know there were problems. I've been playing since Beta and since the 15th of Feb. An SSD helped me, or they could have updated it too within that time. None the less If you would like a game that you can play by yourself or squad-up in, this is it. If not move on and don't ruin the true fan's experience of this game.… Expand
  99. TitaniumDragon
    Mar 9, 2019
    7
    Anthem is a looter-shooter made by Bioware. Coming on the heels of other major successful franchises, like Dragon Age and Mass Effect, there were enormous expectations laid on this all-new IP.

    In Anthem, you play as The Freelancer, a man (or woman) who is suited up in a powerful javelin exosuit – basically a suit of power armor similar to what Iron Man wears. You can fly, you can hover,    Anthem is a looter-shooter made by Bioware. Coming on the heels of other major successful franchises, like Dragon Age and Mass Effect, there were enormous expectations laid on this all-new IP.

    In Anthem, you play as The Freelancer, a man (or woman) who is suited up in a powerful javelin exosuit – basically a suit of power armor similar to what Iron Man wears. You can fly, you can hover, and you can unleash powerful abilities like rocket launchers or lightning blasts.

    This is a really cool power fantasy, and the game actually delivers quite well on the core experience – you zoom around through the sky in a very satisfying manner, you land with a satisfying clunk, you blow up enemies with powerful explosions or lay into them with potent weapons. This is all pretty good, and the game as a whole is very pretty (even if the environments are limited to three or four major types).

    The game has four main suit types – the generic middle-of-the-road Ranger, the pseudo-mage Storm, the agile Interceptor, and the huge stomping colossus. Each of them has a different ability set and plays differently – the Storm hovers around the battlefield, while the Interceptor dodges very rapidly and the Colossus stomps around and uses a shield instead of dodging. All of them feel pretty satisfying to play, and they all have their own distinctive abilities and playstyle.

    The core of the plot starts out reasonably – you are one of only two survivors of an expedition into The Heart of Rage, a Cataclysm caused by an out-of-control artifact left behind by the Shapers, a race of neglectful precursors who tried (and failed) to harness the Anthem of creation and all left (or died) long ago, leaving their artifacts behind to periodically explode. It is up to the Freelancers to stop this, but after the Heart of Rage, they’re scattered and dispirited.

    You, as The Freelancer, try to rebuild the reputation of the Freelancers while protecting Fort Tarsis, a walled town near the still-raging cataclysm. You get missions around town from the various major factions – the remaining Freelancers, the Arcanists (scientists who study shaper relics), the Sentinels (basically the police/army), and Corvus (a spy agency that works for your government), trying to make things better. Most of the plot of the game is consumed with trying to get back into the Heart of Rage to silence the relic that is causing the disaster, but there are a number of side missions with the various side factions which help them to accomplish their own goals – finding various artifacts and scrolls, hunting down outlaws who are ambushing people, saving people who had gone missing due to mishaps with the artifacts.

    None of this is particularly remarkable – the main plot is merely serviceable, and also feels like some parts of it were cut out due to time constraints (or excessive numbers of bugs), and the side quests are of similar quality (though more coherent, if slightly lower budget in terms of cutscenes). While the actual plot is unremarkable, the various characters you deal with around town are interesting enough, and have solid voice acting and are reasonably fun to talk to, even if a few of them regurgitate their life stories out onto your boots at the slightest provocation.

    All in all, the core of this game is reasonably competent – the gameplay is fun, and the plot is mediocre but with some reasonable character moments. There’s some enemy variety, from your standard dudes with guns to enemies in the various types of exosuits you use to gigantic titans which send out waves of fire at you, but it runs kind of thin by the end, and there’s only about six types of boss in the entire game, plus a couple other elite enemy types to mix things up.

    But at the same time, it is a game that is really hard to recommend, because I’m really not sure whether the people who made it ultimately had a cohesive vision for how it should be, and how to keep players engaged. The game ultimately runs out of things to show you before it runs out of gameplay, and while at its present length (about 30 hours of content) it is reasonable, it still felt a bit lacking in variety by the end. Once you get to the end, you run out of content entirely, and there’s little value in sticking around – and yet, this is somehow a Games as a Service game, which intends to dribble and drabble out content over the course of months.

    And the game is quite buggy; while the patches have made it better, it still has some real issues.

    All in all, I liked Anthem, as did a number of its players. I definitely had fun playing it, even if it was frustrating at times. But if bugs bother you, this game will absolutely enrage you, and the game is only "good enough", not exceptional.    … Expand
  100. grizzyGR
    Mar 5, 2019
    7
    This game is Destiny + Mass Effect + the ability to fly. Overall, this is a fun game. Solid gameplay, and soaring around in a javelin is very fun. Unfortunately, this game lacks polish and doesn't meet it's full potential
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Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Most Discussed PC Game of 2019
4
#4 Most Shared PC Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
59

Mixed or average reviews - based on 76 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 76
  2. Mixed: 62 out of 76
  3. Negative: 9 out of 76
  1. Game World Navigator Magazine
    May 15, 2019
    69
    After a while, suspicion sets in: perhaps EA doesn’t believe in BioWare anymore, and had them release not only unpolished, but basically unfinished product to cut losses and avoid another total rework. [Issue#237, p.44]
  2. Riot Pixels
    Apr 20, 2019
    56
    If you want to see Anthem’s lush jungle and glistening Javelins, do it right away — this game is losing audience fast, and there’s almost nothing to do after the campaign ends. Or check it out on YouTube to save yourself some nerves and money.
    Read full review
  3. PlayGround.ru
    Apr 8, 2019
    60
    It's obvious that Anthem didn't have enough development time, but had some great potential. It's a real shame, that everything turned out this way. Even now, the game can bring out positive emotions. Hasty climbers have sudden falls. No matter how ironic this proverb may seem, it's incredibly relevant for Anthem.
    Read full review
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