Anthem: The Complex Nature Of Hype and Expectations

It’s said you only have one chance to make a first impression. Right or wrong, so much of your life can be dictated by the first interactions you have with someone. It’s no different for video games.

The Division morphed itself into one of the most interesting and expansive games of the generation, however many remember it more for the buggy state in which it launched. Fallout 76 is unlikely to rise above the perception it earned upon launch of being an unfinished mess regardless of how they turn it around. More to this blog’s central thesis, Mass Effect Andromeda has become a solid spinoff, but the memes from the first few weeks tainted the reputation of not only the game but BioWare Montreal, resulting in low sales and the studio being absorbed by EA Motive.

Which brings us to Bioware’s current game, Anthem. A cooperative loot based shooter that should have been marketed as “you can be Ironman in space!”. Influencers, critics and those willing to pay a bit extra are already playing the game and the reviews are, middling to say the least. At the time of writing, the game sits at a 70/100, which may as well be a 0/100 based on the way games below an 8 are interpreted but that’s a different blog all together. Complaints range from bugs, to long loading times, and the Youtube mob is out in full force. This isn’t to say they aren’t justified, it takes a lot of work to make any game and that doesn’t go unappreciated. However, when people are paying $60-$100, depending on the version, they need to be cautious and make sure they are getting the best bang for their buck.

The hype culture surrounding games is partially to blame as well, sleek highly produced trailers and the seeming need for each triple A release to live up to an absurd standard, leave many games to feel underwhelming. At times it seems as if the conversation around these games boil down to “is it the best game ever? If not then it must be a disappointment”. Which in turn forces the marketing of the game to perpetuate the idea that this title is going to change games forever. So when it comes out and doesn’t feel as exciting to play, gamers are left disappointed.

New monetization schemes such as “games as a service” are also at fault. The feeling that games must make large sums of money beyond just the initial sale is forcing developers to make games they otherwise wouldn’t. There are reasons why games such as Destiny are considered disappointments when compared to Bungie’s Halo series, and a big one is the feeling that Destiny wasn’t finished upon launch. It was discovered content included on the disc was hidden away for future DLCs and this turned fans off and damaged its reputation. However, Destiny also made hundreds of millions of dollars over the game’s lifespan. If there’s one thing companies love more than money, it’s more money, and as such games like Anthem were born.

The idea isn’t the worst, if EA was keen on making this type of game, using BioWare, a studio known for epic RPGs, felt like a no brainer. Though in retrospect, forcing a team that built their reputation on story driven titles to make a cooperative loot shooter has seemingly not worked out, at least that’s how things are being presented.

To conclude if it were up to me, talented studios would be given resources to create the unique experiences they want. In this scenario the quality of the games would speak for themselves and this would drive sales. Things aren’t up to me, and I’m not the head of a company eagerly trying to please shareholders. So things are unlikely to change anytime soon. It will be interesting to to see if Anthem can put the pieces together and resolve the issues with patches. It will be just as fascinating to see if the players stick around or if the game is doomed based on first impressions.

 

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