Our first experience in Anthem, with all its jet-powered superheroics, was a delight. But after a full week with the game that shine has worn off, and Rich concludes that while the game is “beautiful and mechanically robust throughout,” it’s “weighed down by repetitive missions, a flabby structure, and a lot of the people you meet in Fort Tarsis.”
A week after the game hit Origin Access – now that it’s officially out – our Anthem PC review is echoed in tone by a broad array of critics. The game hosts an aggregate score of 60 on both Metacritic and OpenCritic. Most of the scores come right in that middling ‘six of ten’ range, and there aren’t many outliers offering sterling praise or utterly damning criticism.
IGN says that despite “energetic combat,” the focus on the endgame makes “playing through its mismatched story a tediously repetitive grind.” GameSpot says that “throughout the good parts of Anthem…you’ll inevitably come crashing back down.” Polygon says that “Anthem trips over itself trying to blend two genres into one.”
Xbox corporate VP Mike Ybarra recommends that you should “read reviews from your favorite sites/journalists as input.” We tend to agree.
COGconnected – 6/10
Destructoid – 7/10
Game Revolution – 2.5/5
GameSpot – 6/10
The Guardian – 2/5
IGN – 6.5/10
PC Gamer – 55/100
PCGamesN – 6/10
Polygon – unscored
USgamer – 2.5/5
If you’re digging into Anthem despite the drawbacks, we’ve got guides for you – whether you’re looking to improve your Colossus build, Interceptor build, Ranger build, or figure out Anthem combos.
Related: Check out the best co-op games on PC
There’s cool stuff at the core of Anthem, but it sounds like it’s going to take lot of work to deliver on that promise. BioWare’s stated plenty of plans to expand the game in the months ahead, so we’ll see what the future holds soon enough.