In the newest official Bioware blog post, Anthem has exceeded all of Bioware’s expectations. during the duration of both demo weekends Anthem has been player for more than 40 million hours across PS4, Xbox One and PC. This past demo weekend also saw no repeats of server issues that plagued the previous VIP weekend. Spotlights have also been placed on the favorite user customized Javelins that appeared during the duration of the demo. Bioware has now shifted 100% focus towards the launch of Anthem and post launch content assuring player that there is a “long list of updates and improvements” coming in the final build. The post concludes by thanking players for participating in the demo.
This last weekend I got to partake in the Anthem public demo. Now I must admit I have had very little interest in Anthem up to this point beyond covering some news on it. I haven’t been the biggest fan of the shared co-op shooter genre thanks to games like Destiny and Destiny 2. Shoot even the early days of Warframe were a major turn-off. Warframe has since turned into a fantastic game but those early days did little to build my enthusiasm towards the genre. Flash forward to the Anthem reveal during E3 2017, Bioware finally pulled back the curtain on its next ambitious project.
I really wasn’t that impressed to be completely honest. It looked like Destiny had a baby with Iron Man. Anthem did go on to win a ton of best of show awards but I never gave the game a second look, that is until the demo was releasing. after covering the game in a couple article right here for GameTyrant I decided I would hop in on the public demo because what was the worst that could happen, I not like the game and delete it? To my absolute surprise I loved it! Anthem was the best time I have had playing a co-op shooter in years! Best of all my small group of friends, who enjoy the genre, could all play together without one of us having to be left out to do our own thing thanks to 4 player co-op.
The movement Anthem includes was also far more enjoyable than I could have imagined. Being able to run, jump, transition to flight and seamlessly transition into a hover to attack targets became second nature. Thankfully this type of movement is not unlimited and is governed by a heat system allowing for strategic awareness of when to utilize flight. Shooting also felt great with various weapons available during the demo to try out including machine guns, snipers and shotguns. special weapons were also a blast as I would missile blast or laser enemies from above while my buddy would tank them head on.
Now the demo was far from perfect with numerous performance issues to be found throughout. but to be objective on the matter the demo is from a vastly outdated build of the game so I am willing to let those issues slide, for now. If the final build on February 22 still has performance issues I will have to be slightly more critical on the matter. By the end of the demo I went from not caring about the game to wishing I could pick it up at launch. There is so much more customization and story elements that I can’t wait to see how they are played out.
Did you play the Anthem demo? What did you think? Let us know below!
