Anthem Demo Impressions

By: AlanV

By: AlanV

Played On: Xbox One S

Anthem has had a rough time leading up to its launch, andthis weekend’s demo didn’t do anything to help its case. With just three weeksto go until it its official release only one word comes to mind while playingthe demo: yikes. There’s a decent game lurking but, it’s hard to see it whenthe game is plagued with so many issues.

One of the gameplay mechanics that should absolutely sellAnthem is flight, which players can do while in their Javelin suits. The worldof Anthem is designed to be massive and imposing, making the mechanic both funand useful. Unfortunately, the abysmal framerate rears its ugly head to put adamper on any kind of enjoyment.

While the sprawling world is impressive, another technologyissue comes to the front: load times. The world looks deceptively open, howeverit all comes crashing down a loading screen pops up. This happens when youtransition to another zone. This is made all the more frustrating when ateammate decides to blast ahead, and you get hit with the loading screen whenyou don’t expect it.

Things don’t get much better while exploring the hub world.An area of the game filled with characters, and a place where players can get asense of the world and what you can do in it. Again, the framerate becomes anissue. I don’t have any sophisticated measuring techniques but, it’s plainlyobvious that we’re talking sub-20 frames per second on Xbox One S.

Add the motion blur effect to the proceedings and it feelslike you’re walking through molasses, all while being drunk. It makes gettingaround this area tedious, when it should be a welcoming place for players. It’sincredibly disheartening to see.

It’s not all doom and gloom, though. There is fun to find inAnthem. Going out with a group of people to take on the various creatures thatinhabit this world can be enjoyable. Although I strongly suggest you find asolid group to play with, as being assigned to a group of strangers makes it alot more difficult to enjoy what’s on offer.

I wish I could tell you a bit about the story. Unfortunately,the last bit of the demo that ties everything together crashed on me. I have noidea what the reason for the search is, nor what revelations the character Iwas working with came to. It definitely feels like a fitting end to this demo,though.