Anthem in so many ways looks to be a departure from what BioWare has done before– here we have not an RPG with an emphasis on story and characters, like the Canadian studio has come to be synonymous with, but rather, a shared world multiplayer shooter, in the vein of Destiny and the likes. I’m sure it can still be good- but it’s not what you expect from BioWare, right?
However, BioWare themselves don’t see it that way. Speaking to GamesIndustry, Anthem director Johnathan Warner said that in spite of what appear to be so many differences at first, the game ultimately has all the makings of a true BioWare game, and is an evolution of what the studio has been doing until now.
“It’s a true amalgamation of all our experiences and all of our game teams,” he said. “If you look at BioWare games on a spectrum, from Baldur’s Gate to Neverwinter, and Jade Empire to Knights of the Old Republic, to Mass Effect and Dragon Age, you’ll see that the games have always been about evolving our technique and storytelling… so the way that we look at it, Anthem is not a departure, it’s the continued evolution of our craft and our technique.
“I think once players get their hands on it and dive in they are going to find a world that is well realized and full of rich characters that you’re going to want to get to know, and you’ll be the hero of your own story, and honestly that is the heart and soul of a BioWare experience.”
I mean, from that perspective, just about any game that has even a slight emphasis on storytelling is ultimately a BioWare game. I know Warner is doing what he can to sell the upcoming BioWare title, but ultimately, I am sure he knows as well as I do that there were very specific things the studio’s games were known for- for good and for bad, Anthem eschews those.
Anthem launches on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on February 22, 2019.
