After years of teasing it, BioWare’s next big game, Anthem, was shown off during Microsoft’s E3 press conference in LA today. In the world of Anthem, you are a freelancer who lives within the walls of a city that is protecting humanity. It looks dope.
In classic BioWare tradition, conversations with other people are cinematic:
During the presentation, we saw the player attempt to complete an objective to save some workers located beyond the walls:
Players will don suits called Javelins, which are customizable to look and play however you want. There are different types of exosuits: for example, the Ranger is balanced and all purpose, while the Colossus is a tanking powerhouse. Players can own more than one Javelin at a time.
During the footage, we saw the main character jet around on her suit, and then use it to swim underwater. Enemies are a mixture of animals and robots, and the landscape almost looks like a post-apocalypse. BioWare is calling this a “shared-world action-RPG” that takes place in an open world setting, which sure makes it sound like it wants to compete with Destiny.
At one point, the player comes across an ogre-looking thing, and then decides not to take it on—fans can tackle threats as they see fit, basically. Later, the players decide to coordinate and flank an enemy from different directions.
As the player goes along, they encounter different areas with their own objectives, as well as different mobs of enemies patrolling territory. Once foes are defeated, they drop some golden loot—it seems randomized, but it’s not clear.
Afterward, a storm event starts to unfold. BioWare says these are meant to “pull you off the beaten path” to discover new things. Within seconds of the event starting, the player calls in real-world friends to help. It’s all seamless.
Last month, we reported that the project had a code-name of “Dylan,” as in that Bob Dylan. The aim was to make a game that would “would be referenced for years to come,” as our news editor, Jason Schreier, put it. Yesterday’s brief glimpse stated that Anthem players would be able to “explore a landscape of primeval beauty.”
Anthem will release in fall 2018, though all platforms have not yet been specified.