The world got its first real look at Anthem on Sunday afternoon, just as EA promised after Saturday’s teaser trailer, and it looks like Destiny 2 might have some pretty stiff competition when Anthem heads to PC and consoles in 2018. It’s still far too soon to make judgment calls about the limited amount of content shown this weekend. But we’d be lying if we said we weren’t intrigued by the massive, shared-world environment shown during Microsoft’s E3 Briefing.
Our first look at Anthem opens in a crowded marketplace. An unidentified Freelancer -- the in-game lingo for those who venture outside the safety of civilization -- and her partner discuss a deal gone wrong before hopping into their Javelins -- the exosuits we’ll be kitting out in Anthem -- and head out into the wild unknown. We don’t have much information on the game’s map yet. But if the Anthem gameplay premiere was any indication, the next big IP from EA and Bioware will give fans an enormous amount of territory to explore. The two characters featured in the reveal skydive tens (maybe hundreds) of meters before continuing their journey on land. They even spend some time underwater before the demo comes to a close.
We still don’t have much context for everything that followed. The freelancers take part in several engagements against the local fauna and diminutive faction that seemed to be outfitted with fairly advanced weaponry. We also get to see interactions between the massive creatures that roam the non-settled parts of the map. And they don’t seem to be very fond of each other.
From a feature standpoint, the Anthem gameplay demo seemed to confirm the game will support drop-in/drop-out cooperative action. The early action only follows a pair of freelancers but the duo is joined by another pair of friendlies moments before diving into a world event. Environments will be at least partially destructible and players will have several ways -- exosuit-assisted sprinting and leaping were shown in the demo -- to navigate the unidentified planet where the game takes place. And the search for increasingly valuable loot will be a big part of the Anthem experience.
For an early look at Anthem , set aside some time to watch the complete gameplay demo that aired during Microsoft’s E3 Briefing. Then head down to the comments section and let us know what you’re hoping to see in the game when Anthem heads to PC and consoles next fall.
Anthem is in development for PC and Xbox One and expected to debut in fall 2018.
Be sure to check back with Player.One and follow Scott on Twitter for more Anthem coverage in 2017 and however long Bioware supports Anthem after launch.
