The development of BioWare's Anthem has been a troubling story filled with high expectations and a number of high profile developers leaving the company of the course of the game's creation. This made the eventual release all the worse thanks to aggravating loading screens, limited loot pools, and a subpar story that eventually lead to Anthem's uneventful first year.
While there is little hope for the current build of Anthem to be able to get back on its feet through minor expansions and updates, BioWare is currently working on a massive overhaul to address fan concerns. Fortunately for the studied development studio, with some of the best sci-fi RPGs of the last few console generations, there are plenty of examples of similar titles that have undergone similar overhauls to draw from. As long as the developer is able to learn from both its own mistakes as well as the successes of likewise processes, there is still hope for fans of the game.
Final Fantasy 14 and Destiny's Vanilla Launches
The original launch for Final Fantasy 14 is easily one of the most infamous game releases from the last decade, with the players being incapable of initiating combat with basic enemies on day one. It was such a massive embarrassment to Square Enix that the team responsible was terminated and the entire game was rebranded as A Realm Reborn before throwing everything that came before away. These were fundamental issues that shouldn't have made it through testing and onto store shelves, and yet, the game's new build has somehow risen to being one of the most successful MMOs currently available.
Even closer to the current issues plaguing Anthem is the difficult development process that lead to the release of the original Destiny, which released to a strange combination of fanfare and fan frustration. While high level players thoroughly enjoyed the original Vault of Glass raid, those looking for a more story intense experience and casual gameplay were left wanting from the limited solo and narrative content. However, similar to how Final Fantasy 14 was able to find new success from rebranding and addressing concerns with the Year 2 update, The Taken King breathed new life into the OG Destiny.
The Issues with Anthem
There are plenty of poorly made games with frustrating controls, poorly designed enemies, and a story that just fails to meet up to what players expect when they sign in. However, what has caused Anthem to require an overhaul is the fact that the the base game is solidly built on a AAA budget, but commits the cardinal sin of being boring to experience. Controlling the Javelins is fun on its own for the novelty, but that quickly wears off, leaving the players with gameplay that isn't fun to watch or play due to issues with unrewarding loot pools and an uninteresting narrative.
The story, a staple feature in BioWare's titles, is uneventful with few characters to care about along the way and a lack of compelling villain to feel the need to compete against the whole way through. This is especially disappointing because of the developer's previous previous history with titles like the massively popular Mass Effect series, which also seemed to suffer as a result of Anthem's development. On top of this, the loot system is still lacking to this day, with a very limited pool of weapons and a number of bugs initially making what were supposed to be rare and exciting pieces of gear into mundane additions.
How Final Fantasy 14 and Destiny Recovered
There were a number of steps that went into rebuilding Final Fantasy 14's world into what players enjoy today, including re-staffing the entire development team and shutting down servers while Square Enix worked to fix its mistakes. Taking the time to pull back and rework the game from the ground up is what was able to eventually take the few pieces that worked and make them shine with the new coat of polish that A Realm Reborn brought with it. The simple fact that Square Enix didn't just ditch Final Fantasy 14 all together is impressive enough, but looking at what the developer has been able to do with the product at this point is nothing short of incredible.
Anthem, however, seems to be going the way of Destiny: The Taken King by leaving the game running for now, but putting all additional content development and optimization towards the overhaul. After the House of Wolves DLC launched without a raid, some players began falling away from the title due to a perceived lack of endgame content coming to the game. So, when Bungie instead doubled down on what worked in the original launch and enhanced endgame content with a new approach to loot and one of the best activities in the series, the King's Fall raid, many were immediately interested.
How Anthem Can Recover
While much of what is currently causing Anthem to suffer boils down to uninspired endgame content and a lackluster story, the basic feeling of playing the game is fairly engaging. A lack of PvP in Anthem, combined with few dedicated activities that require the type of synergy of Destiny's raids, is the biggest problem to overcome in the overhaul. Fortunately, the foundation is firmly in place for a successful title, and even the open world is expansive and exciting to explore for new players.
What BioWare really needs to focus on, similar to how Destiny leaned in on what excelled among the fan concerns and built a new raid that released as a step above all other content, is enhancing the gameplay loop with rewarding loot and interesting activies. By leaning heavily on a number of more dynamic encounters that force players into situations beyond simply standing in place and shooting the bad guy, Anthem's overhaul could bring the game to the level players hoped it would rise to from the beginning. Likewise, one thing that needs to be improved alongside activity design is the utility of the Javelin's mobility beyond being able to fly around the world from area to area, but as a more legitimate approach to combat situations.
Anthem is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.