Although I have a couple hundred hours in Anthem now, this is my first post on the forums. (Unfortunately, because I know how the Internet can be, it's unlikely I'll return to the forums anytime soon for fear of seeing major plot spoilers or negative comments. Ain't got time for you, lol.)
I picked this game up long after most of the hype and Internet wars and controversies. I bought it during a sale right in the midst of the "Anthem Next" investors' talks, although since then I've picked up some shard packs.
A big realization hit me recently about those investors' talks: if there's one silver lining about development discontinuing, it's that I'm glad there was never an "Anthem Next". I get that this game had a bad launch (most games from major publishers do for the past 20 years). But none of the worst complaints I've read about this game seem to line up with the real, actual game that me and some friends have been playing. The game has a ton of content and customization, both in terms of my character and the types of activities and difficulties I might want to undertake on any given night, whether solo or teamed-up. It didn't need a whole dang makeover. I've gotten four of my buddies to pick it up over the last month. Anthem is a big, full game, but if you asked me what I wanted more of, I'd have said, such as with all "living" RPGs, additions of content over time, for example additional story arcs and character arcs, additional areas to explore beyond Bastion, additional gear types and possibly even additional javelin types. (And sure, continued balancing, maybe a nerf to colossus armor; as much as I love it, that javelin feels like the equivalent of a cheat code sometimes haha — ngl though it's saved my butt a couple times.)
Wow, I didn't set out typing this post to make a case or argument. More so, I just wanted to let any like-minded fans know they're not alone (in case they didn't already know that!). That includes any developers at BioWare who would've enjoyed continuing to work on Anthem: you're not alone! I love the gameplay, the story-telling, the diversity of characters and their evolution throughout the game, the universe, the graphics, it's a masterpiece of entertainment and science fiction. Definitely the most awe-inspiring game I've played on my RTX. It's like Warframe, Section 8, and Robota all got together and made a baby: the Iron Man game the world deserves but never got. I know that a very differently-toned conversation exists surrounding this game, but the only conversation I care about when it comes to entertainment is whether and how much I like it. You do you.
