Problems that Keep Anthem from Being Great
Muddled Game Design
Anthem tries to blend multiplayer gameplay with the rich narrative of single-player storytelling but ends up doing both of them poorly. Matchmaking for every expedition, contract, and stronghold is turned on by default, but the game is insistent on giving you story beats and dialogue during missions.
So if you happen to load into a mission in the middle or have to load into an area because you are too far from your team, you end up missing vital story information.
This blend hurts whatever narrative Anthem is trying to give you and makes us question why this was implemented in the first place. It’s important to add that despite having three teammates, the game often refers to the player being the only one there. This feels wholly disjointed and is confusing for a game that has matchmaking on by default.
