I know I’m going to get into a lot of trouble for saying this, but Anthem truly is one of the greatest games BioWare ever made. Listen, I know just how many great games BioWare has made—from early classics like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Baldur’s Gate 2 to Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins—and I’m not denying just how incredible those games are. However, Anthem was great for a different reason, as it represented a radical, albeit risky, shift for BioWare, and though that risk never literally paid off, I personally think it was one worth taking. To this day, I have yet to experience what Anthem offered me in terms of worldbuilding and gameplay, and I think that says something significant about it, regardless of its failure to sustain the live-service promise it was built on.
Of course, I’m not going to sit here and pretend Anthem was perfect, because it was far from it. The game’s loot system left plenty to be desired, its endgame struggled to give players a reason to stick around, and BioWare ultimately failed to deliver on the long-term vision it had for the experience. But I also don’t think a game’s success or failure should be the only thing that determines whether it deserves to be remembered as something great. Whenever I think about Anthem, I don’t immediately think about everything wrong with it. I think about how it felt to take off in my Javelin for the first time, how much I loved exploring its world, and how badly I’ve wanted another game to make me feel that way again. That’s what makes Anthem so special to me, and why I still consider it one of BioWare’s greatest achievements.
Anthem’s World and Gameplay Were Unlike Anything BioWare Had Made Before
Other than having what I still consider to be one of the absolute greatest theme songs of all time, Anthem was just a heck-ton of fun to play. Firstly, traversal alone was a major part of Anthem‘s appeal, because it let you fly freely around one of the most gorgeous worlds BioWare had ever crafted. Everything about it just made you feel powerful, weightless, without a care in the world. I can’t tell you how many times I found myself flying around Bastion with absolutely no objective in mind, simply because I enjoyed it that much. Diving through waterfalls to cool my thrusters, weaving between monstrous cliffs, and then going from flight straight into combat never really got old for me. In fact, I think that’s one of the biggest compliments I can give Anthem.
But that’s because even the combat itself was a blast—and I mean that quite literally. It was explosive, action-packed, and, in my opinion, some of the most satisfying combat BioWare has ever put into a game. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen some excellent combat systems over the years, but Anthem‘s stood out immensely. I loved the different Javelins, I loved how ridiculous some of their abilities were, and I especially loved how chaotic everything could get. And I know I’ve already mentioned the game’s disappointing loot system, but I think it’s worth bringing up again here because, as frustrating as it could be, I genuinely didn’t care half the time. I was having too much fun to worry about what I was getting out of it, and I can’t help but miss that feeling, especially when so many games nowadays seem more concerned with giving you a hollow reason to keep playing than making sure you’re actually enjoying yourself.
Other than having what I still consider to be one of the absolute greatest theme songs of all time, Anthem was just a heck-ton of fun to play.
I also have to give Anthem a ridiculous amount of credit for its Javelin customization, because I genuinely think it had one of the most extensive customization systems I’ve ever seen in a video game—and I’ve played countless RPGs in my lifetime, so I don’t say that lightly. Between the different armor pieces, colors, materials, textures, and patterns, there was so much freedom to make my Javelin look exactly how I wanted it to. I could spend an absurd amount of time just messing around with different combinations, and I often did. I genuinely wish more RPGs would take a page out of Anthem‘s book here, because I still think its customization system deserves more recognition than it ever received.
But I think what I miss most about Anthem, apart from its gameplay, is the world itself. Bastion was absolutely gorgeous, as I’ve already mentioned, but it also felt incredibly alive. I even enjoyed spending time in Fort Tarsis, getting to know its inhabitants and learning more about the world they lived in. And as unpopular as this opinion might be, I actually enjoyed Anthem‘s narrative as well. The whole idea of a world left unfinished by its creators fascinated me, and I loved uncovering more of its history as I played. There was a surprising amount of depth to it all if you knew where to look, and I think much of that was unfortunately overshadowed by Anthem‘s more obvious problems.
Anthem’s Greatest Failure Was Never Getting the Chance to Become What It Could Have Been
Unfortunately, as much as I loved Anthem, I can’t deny that the game had some serious problems that ultimately prevented it from becoming the success BioWare and EA wanted it to be. Its rough launch, disappointing endgame, and inability to maintain a healthy player base made its future increasingly uncertain, even as BioWare continued working to improve it. At one point, the studio was even developing a massive overhaul called Anthem NEXT, which was supposed to address many of the game’s biggest shortcomings. However, BioWare ultimately canceled those plans in February 2021, citing the challenges of development during the pandemic and a need to focus on its other projects. I, for one, was incredibly disappointed by that news, because I genuinely believed Anthem deserved a second chance.
Of course, things only got worse from there, as EA eventually shut down Anthem‘s servers on January 12, 2026, making the game completely unplayable. And I’ll be honest, that one hurt. I understand that maintaining an online game costs money, especially when it isn’t bringing in the audience needed to justify keeping it alive, but it’s still a shame that something I enjoyed so much is now completely inaccessible. What makes it even more frustrating is knowing that Anthem had so much potential that was never fully realized, and now we’ll never get to see what it might have become. I would have loved nothing more than to see BioWare get another shot at it, even if that meant abandoning the live-service model altogether.
I think BioWare’s recent closure is ultimately what’s making me look back on games like Anthem with an even greater appreciation for what the studio accomplished over the years. After all, this was a developer that gave us some of the greatest RPGs ever made, but it was also willing to step outside its comfort zone and try something completely different. Not every risk it took paid off, obviously, and Anthem is perhaps the greatest example of that. But I can’t help but admire the ambition behind it all, especially knowing now that BioWare won’t be around to give us another experience like it. And while I know plenty of people will always remember Anthem as one of BioWare’s biggest failures, I personally choose to remember it as one of its greatest achievements, because even with all its problems, it gave me an experience I’ve yet to find anywhere else.
- Released
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February 22, 2019
- ESRB
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T for Teen: Alcohol Reference, Language, Mild Blood, Use of Tobacco, Violence
- Publisher(s)
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Electronic Arts
