Ever since Anthem’s initial reveal, the fact that it’s a co-op centric shared world shooter has been a sticking point for a large number of people, who expect to see single player, epic RPGs from BioWare. Though Anthem is going to be playable solo for those who want to go it alone, it’s vary nature makes it clear that it was built with the intent of being played with other players. Recently, BioWare’s Thomas Singleton, who’s working as a producer on Anthem, re-iterated that notion.
Speaking with the Official PlayStation Magazine in their January 2019 issue (Issue 157), Singleton noted that Anthem is a game that truly “shines” when it’s being played with other players, owing to the fact that it’s a game that inherently encourages co-operation and squad play. He noted that though the game is playable solo, those doing so probably won’t get as much enjoyment out of it as those who play it with a squad.
“This is launching a new IP for EA, for BioWare, and we’re super proud of it,” said Singleton. “We’re excited because we’re bringing connectivity and co-op environmental gameplay to the game along with great storytelling and that’s rarely done. We’re pushing team dynamics, that’s where the game really begins to sell. Where the product shines is playing as that squad, you’re working together as a unit to go and conquer various missions. If you want to play the experience solo that’s your option, it probably won’t be as rewarding, you won’t have that team dynamic. The game will scale based on whether you’re by yourself or playing with three other people.”
Anthem’s structure is a very interesting one, as far as the balance between solo play and squad-play is concerned. Though it acts as a single player, narrative-focused title in the hub area of Fort Tarsis, in all other areas the game’s built as a co-op shared world game. It should be interesting to see how it balances those two, and whether or not it tilts in either direction too heavily.
Recently, we also learned that any armour pieces players acquire in Anthem won’t be tied to stats or progression, while in separate report, we talked about end-game loot, and how it can be acquired even prior to that and is obtainable through other methods (on very rare instances)- read more on that through here.
Anthem launches on February 22, in just about two months from now, for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.