History YMMV / Anthem2019

* SoOkayItsAverage:
** The game received mainly lukewarm to middling reviews after release, with many critics noting that on a whole, the game is solid and competently put together, but they also felt that it lacked the charm of [=BioWare=]'s storytelling, and that the gameplay doesn't feel unique or polished enough to differentiate itself from its competitors within the genre, such as the ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' series. The overall scores were so mediocre that ''Anthem'' has become [[https://www.vg247.com/2019/03/04/anthem-lowest-rated-bioware-game-ever/ BioWare's lowest-rated game ever]], around a 60/100 on Metacritic.

* {{Misblamed}}: [[ZigzaggedTrope Zig-Zagged]] when it comes to publisher Electronic Arts. Many fans are quick to blame EA for everything wrong with ''Anthem'', given how the publisher was widely hated for its divisive monetization schemes. However, the issue is a bit more complex according to a Kotaku insider report. EA did mandate the use of Frostbite engine, which wasn't meant to work for [=RPGs=], and didn't provide much technical support. However, EA also provided 6 years of development time, which is more than double that of industry standards, and it was [=BioWare=] who was responsible for the poor management and bad creative decisions like the employee burnout. Though on the other-other hand, it does not reflect well on the EA management that they apparently didn't notice how troubled production was becoming or work to address the fundamental issues that were causing it. Importantly, it was [=BioWare=], not EA, who wanted the game to be an online multiplayer game and not a single player [=RPG=]. In short, while EA didn't give the right tools for [=BioWare=] and seemed hands-off to a fault, many of the bad decisions rested almost entirely on [=BioWare=]'s shoulders. Ironically, EA's real error was being entirely too ''lenient'' towards Bioware- actual ExecutiveMeddling, as they were formerly accused of doing, probably would have saved the game (or at least saved years worth of time and tens of millions of dollars).

** The Announcement that ''Battlefield V'' wouldn't contain any lootboxes, all microtransactions would be direct-purchase, strictly cosmetic and earnable through gameplay; coupled with the announcement that all of its future DLC would be free made quite a few people optimistic that ''Anthem'' would follow a similar monetization model.
*** Mark Darrah seemingly confirmed this at EA's 2018 E3 show, claiming there will be cosmetic items for sale and the players will always know what they're getting before they buy it. He flat-out said there will be no loot boxes for sale, neither will there be anything that provides advantages in combat. He also confirmed through Twitter that there would be no paid story expansions. He didn't rule out paid DLC entirely but did say that any story expansions would be made free to everyone.

* {{Misblamed}}: [[ZigzaggedTrope Zig-Zagged]] when it comes to publisher Electronic Arts. Many fans are quick to blame EA for everything wrong with ''Anthem'', given how the publisher was widely hated for its divisive monetization schemes. However, the issue is a bit more complex according to a Kotaku insider report. EA did mandate the use of Frostbite engine, which wasn't meant to work for [=RPGs=], and didn't provide much technical support. However, EA also provided 6 years of development time, which is more than double that of industry standards, and it was [=BioWare=] who was responsible for the poor management and bad creative decisions like the employee burnout. Though on the other-other hand, it does not reflect well on the EA management that they apparently didn't notice how troubled production was becoming or work to address the fundamental issues that were causing it. Importantly, it was [=BioWare=], not EA, who wanted the game to be an online multiplayer and not a single player [=RPG=]. In short, while EA didn't give the right tools for [=BioWare=] and seemed hands-off to a fault, many of the bad decisions rested almost entirely on [=BioWare=]'s shoulders. Ironically, EA's real error was being entirely too ''lenient'' towards Bioware- actual ExecutiveMeddling, as they were formerly accused of doing, probably would have saved the game (or at least saved years worth of time and tens of millions of dollars).

* {{Misblamed}}: [[ZigzaggedTrope Zig-Zagged]] when it comes to publisher Electronic Arts. Many fans are quick to blame EA for everything wrong with ''Anthem'', given how the publisher was widely hated for its divisive monetization schemes. However, the issue is a bit more complex according to a Kotaku insider report. EA did mandate the use of Frostbite engine, which wasn't meant to work for [=RPGs=], and didn't provide much technical support. However, EA also provided 6 years of development time, which is more than double that of industry standards, and it was [=BioWare=] who was responsible for the poor management and bad creative decisions like the employee burnout. Though on the other-other hand, it does not reflect well on the EA management that they apparently didn't notice how troubled production was becoming or work to address the fundamental issues that were causing it. Importantly, it was [=BioWare=], not EA, who wanted the game to be an online multiplayer and not a single player [=RPG=]. In short, while EA didn't give the right tools for [=BioWare=] and seemed hands-off to a fault, many of the bad decisions rested almost entirely on [=BioWare=]'s shoulders.

* {{Misblamed}}: [[ZigzaggedTrope Zig-Zagged]] when it comes to publisher Electronic Arts. Many fans are quick to blame EA for everything wrong with ''Anthem'', given how the publisher was widely hated for its divisive monetization schemes. However, the issue is a bit more complex according to a Kotaku insider report. EA did mandate the use of Frostbite engine, which wasn't meant to work for [=RPGs=], and didn't provide much technical support. However, EA also provided 6 years of development time, which is more than double that of industry standards, and it was [=BioWare=] who was responsible for the poor management and bad creative decisions like the employee burnout. Most importantly, it was [=BioWare=], not EA, who wanted the game to be an online multiplayer and not a single player [=RPG=]. In short, while EA didn't give the right tools for [=BioWare=], many of the bad decisions rested almost entirely on [=BioWare=]'s shoulders.

* {{Misblamed}}: [[ZigzaggedTrope Zig-Zagged]] when it comes to publisher Electronic Arts. Many fans are quick to blame EA for everything wrong with ''Anthem'', given how the publisher was widely hated for its divisive monetization schemes. However, the issue is a bit more complex according to the aforementioned Kotaku report. EA did mandate the use of Frostbite engine, which wasn't meant to work for [=RPGs=], and didn't provide much technical support. However, EA also provided 6 years of development time, which is more than double that of industry standards, and it was [=BioWare=] that was responsible for the poor management and bad creative decisions like the employee burnout and lack of content. Most importantly, it was [=BioWare=], not EA, who wanted the game to be an online multiplayer and not a single player [=RPG=]. In short, while EA didn't give the right tools for [=BioWare=], many of the bad decisions rested almost entirely on [=BioWare=]'s shoulders.

* InternetBackdraft:
** Following a news story that Anthem was apparently "Do or Die" for Creator/BioWare, and that if the game fails, the studio "could look very different in the future," many of their fans felt like EA was forcing them into a HeadsIWinTailsYouLose situation with regards to Anthem. If the game succeeds, then [=BioWare=] will support it with continued development and we will get fewer of the single-player, story-driven games that the fans expect from them, and if Anthem fails, [=BioWare=] might be [[CreatorKiller dissolved completely and absorbed into EA]], like so many other studios.
** Furthered in 2018's E3, in which quite a few revelations about the game were made. The fact that the game will not have any companions or romance was particularly badly received considering the fanbase [=BioWare=] collected over the years has grown attached to the characters the studio creates and the many romantic sidequests. The many, ''many'' similarities in story and gameplay to ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' also caused some people to complain about the game's lack of originality. The focus on multiplayer also made some people accuse EA and [=BioWare=] of being completely out of touch with their own market, due to a general desire of players at the time for single-player, story-driven games.
** After a leaked screenshot showing off the game's microtransaction store made its way online, quite a few people were upset. The screen showed armor sets (cosmetic items) being sold for 2000 shards, the game's premium currency. While how much 2000 shards cost is still up in the air, most are assuming that they're equal to about twenty dollars, both because that's how these microtransaction systems usually work and because EA is involved. The fact that [=BioWare=] only released a vague statement about how they're continuing to "iterate" on the in-game store, combined with the fact that neither EA nor [=BioWare=] have released any sort of statement that says exactly how much the microtransactions actually cost when that exact thing could put an end to the controversy has only added fuel to the fire.
*** Alleviated somewhat with early access players getting their hands on the game. While the pricing of shards at about 100 shard per dollar was accurate, Javelin armor sets have been adjusted to 850 shards (about $8.50), with decals and textures hovering around 300 to 500 shards each. On the other hand, the in-game currency prices were raised across the board. While still a bit early to say for sure, some players have calculated the prices for Javelin skins to break down to about a week's worth of grinding, playing for two to three hours a day. For a number of players, the new prices are much more fair (or at least, much more palatable), while those who are against microtransactions in full price games are still left with a bad taste in their mouths. And then there is the third faction who claim that either EA "leaked" the original screenshots themselves as a decoy & always intended for the final prices to be what they are, or that they'll try to add even more expensive items further down the line.
** The game's convoluted release schedule has drawn a lot of ire online. Similar to ''VideoGame/BattlefieldV'', the game has multiple release dates depending on whether or not you're an Origin Access subscriber. Premier members on [=PC=] get full access to the game a week early, other subscribers on other platforms get a ten-hour free trial a week before the game comes out, and everyone else has to wait until a week after the game launches to play it. Quite a few people who play on console or don't want to subscribe to Origin Access Premier are upset that they'll essentially have to spend a week dodging spoilers while some people get a week-long head-start on the game.
** The [[https://www.ea.com/games/anthem/acts 90-day roadmap]] was not received well by some players. The game at launch was fairly content-bare, but some were willing to give [=BioWare=] some slack because the first content drop, Echoes of Reality, was a three-part expansion, starting release in March 2019, according to the general roadmap released before the game. However, when [=BioWare=] released the 90-day Roadmap, many players were quite disappointed, as only part one of Echoes of Reality is coming in March, with part two in April and part three in May. On top of that, most of the content seems to just consist of freeplay events or stuff like the expanded progression system, guilds, leaderboards, Legendary Missions, and Stronghold Challenges that should've been in the launched game. All told, the only actual new content in the 90-day roadmap is a single Stronghold coming in April, and the Cataclysm coming in May. For a game that many feel is very light on content already, the fact that the next ninety days hold very little in terms of content is very worrying, and only furthers concerns that the game was rushed out by EA in order to come out before their 2019 fiscal year ended in March. The Cataclysm being released in May is a point of particular contention because many players feel like three months is way too long to wait for the game to release what is supposed to be the pinnacle endgame activity.
*** And to add to the game's woes, at the end of April, Bioware admitted that they would have to delay the promised features in the roadmap indefinitely, leaving many fans convinced they will never be released.
** There's been quite a bit of online backlash over the banning of Gladd, a notable Twitch streamer. According to Gladd, he was banned by [=BioWare=] for manipulating the economy of the game by taking advantage of a bug where chests dropped masterwork gear more often than usual and streaming it online. Fans were quick to point out the holes in [=BioWare=]'s logic of why they would go out of their way to ban a player who was just opening chests for an extended period of time, and why they would protect a loot economy that's not [=PvP=] or trade focused. Finally, Gladd was one of the few streamers who was dedicated to consistently streaming ''Anthem'' and cheerleading for the game, something that (everyone can agree) the game sorely needs.
*** [=BioWare=] later issued a clarification that Gladd was banned for streaming a known exploit that involved getting an infinite ultimate on the Storm Javelin. However, that reasoning is still baffling since Gladd actually reported the issue to [=BioWare=] and didn't actually materially benefit from using the exploit on stream. Additionally, [=BioWare=]'s justification that Gladd using the exploit was supposedly "having a negative impact on other players" was treated with open derision by everyone because of the fact that ''Anthem'' is an entirely [=PvE=]-focused game, so any possible impact use of the exploit could have on other players could only be, if anything, ''positive.''. All around it's still considered a poor PR move on [=BioWare=]'s part.
** ''Anthem's'' launch was controversial enough, but [[https://gamerant.com/anthem-ps4-system-crash-sony-refunds/ news of the game]] '''bricking consoles''' instantly started making headlines, with commentators comparing the disaster of Anthem's launch to ''VideoGame/NoMansSky'' and ''VideoGame/Fallout76.''
*** Sony clarified that [=PS4s=] weren't actually being bricked, they simply needed to be restarted in safe mode to repair their databases and no permanent damage was suffered. However, considering the average console owner wouldn't be aware of or expect to actually troubleshoot their console, it's easy to make that assumption. Besides, the fact ''Anthem'' corrupted [=PS4=] databases in a fashion easily mistaken for ''bricking'' is still disastrous.
** In early-mid March of 2019, [=BioWare=] released a patch that accidentally caused Loot Drops to become much more generous, and then reverted them back shortly after. This was the second time that this has happened, and Players were not happy. Many were greatly enjoying the more generous drops and repeatedly asked [=BioWare=] to not "fix" the changes back to what they were, and when they did, began demanding that they then "unfix" them. What makes this particularly frustrating for players is that this is a [[HistoryRepeats lesson that many other loot-based games have already learned.]] Most notably, ''VideoGame/DiabloIII''.
** After update 1.0.4 dropped, which was supposed to improve loot quality, players were furious to find out that Stronghold bosses in Grandmaster I and II no longer dropped guaranteed Masterwork gear and instead have started dropping epic and rare quality gear. Even worse, embers were added to the loot pool as well, so a player can theoretically play an entire Stronghold and leave without picking up a single tangible piece of gear.
** The delay between introducing the second pair of Scar-themed armor sets (Colossus and Interceptor) to the in-game store caused something of an uproar, particularly coupled with the overall scarcity of cosmetic items. Only one armor set per Javelin class, six Vinyls, one special Arrival Animation per Javelin class and two generic Victory Animations are permanently available for purchase exclusively with in-game coins, while the special offer that changes twice a week is limited to six items.
** After Jason Schreier published [[https://kotaku.com/how-biowares-anthem-went-wrong-1833731964 an article about the game's development]] in April of 2019, [=BioWare=], after declining the chance to comment within the article itself, responded with a blog post less than ten minutes after the article was published. Considering that Jason's article is eleven thousand words long, it's highly unlikely that anyone would have been able to read the post and type up a response in that amount of time. The blog post itself was not received very well, with [=BioWare=] coming across as overly defensive and dismissive to many. The overall reaction was that the post made [=BioWare=] seem tone deaf at best, and stubbornly refusing to listen to criticism at worst, an opinion which was exaggerated when workers anonymously revealed that the company sent out an email ordering all staff to not speak to the press after Schreier's article went up.
** After the first May 2019 update went live, a wave of righteous indignation swamped the internet. Aside from minor bug fixes, this update unexpectedly removed Elysian Chests from the game. Even though [=BioWare=] claimed that the chests were always intended to be temporary (since the game tells you there are a finite number of them), players exploded with rage over why [=BioWare=] would make such a stupid decision to remove what little content they actually added to a content-bare game. Even though the chests only contained crafting materials, vinyls and emotes, most people felt it was a decent reward for doing Strongholds and added some much needed replay value. With their removal, everyone who didn’t play as often as they used to lost out on a ton of rewards that they may never get a chance to obtain again. Coupled with the fact that [=BioWare=] also recently decided to delay the roadmap’s contents to fix the game’s ObviousBeta state, this update caused many people to abandon the game entirely.

* {{Misblamed}}: [[ZigzaggedTrope Zig-Zagged]] when it comes to publisher Electronic Arts. Many fans are quick to blame EA for everything wrong with ''Anthem'', given how the publisher was widely hated for its divisive monetization schemes. However, the issue is a bit more complex according to the the aforementioned Kotaku report. EA did mandate the use of Frostbite engine, which wasn't meant to work for [=RPGs=], and didn't provide much technical support. However, EA also provided 6 years of development time, which is more than double that of industry standards, and it was [=BioWare=] that was responsible for the poor management and bad creative decisions like the employee burnout and lack of content. Most importantly, it was [=BioWare=], not EA, who wanted the game to be an online multiplayer and not a single player [=RPG=]. In short, while EA didn't give the right tools for [=BioWare=], many of the bad decisions rested almost entirely on [=BioWare=]'s shoulders.

** The Anthem of Creation itself counts as a wasted plot element. In his angry review, [[WebVideo/TheAngryJoeShow Angry Joe]] pointed out how the device could've been used to offer interesting gameplay scenarios like warping reality, reversing gravity, or even opening up new dimensions, with its ''actual'' implementation ([[spoiler:it just spawns more enemies]]) being relatively mundane in comparison. This is because the game had its name changed from Beyond to Anthem very late in development, about a week before the E3 2017 reveal, because "Beyond" would be too hard to copyright. So the developers went with Anthem as one of their backup choices, and then created the concept of The Anthem of Creation to justify the title.

* AbridgedArenaArray:
** Of the three Strongholds available on release, the Tyrant Mine is the easiest out of all of them. And since all three Strongholds give the exact same rewards, there's no incentive to run the longer and more difficult Strongholds so most players exclusively grind the Tyrant Mine for gear.

** Bizarrely enough, the Ranger, The JackOfAllStats javelin, is usually [[AvertedTrope the least encountered]] javelin amongst players despite being able to bolster every team just from its versatility.
** Of the three Strongholds available on release, the Tyrant Mine is the easiest out of all of them. And since all three Strongholds give the exact same rewards, there's no incentive to run the longer and more difficult Strongholds so most players exclusively grind the Tyrant Mine for gear.

** The game received mainly lukewarm to middling reviews after release, with many critics noting that on a whole, the game is solid and competently put together, but they also felt that it lacked the charm of [=BioWare=]'s storytelling, and that the gameplay doesn't feel unique or polished enough to differentiate itself from its competitors within the genre, such as the ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' series. They also heavily criticized the lack of content, with more than one reviewer noting that the totality of the game's content can be completed in about twenty hours, with the rest coming down to grinding for slightly better stated versions of the exact same gear you already have. The overall scores were so mediocre that ''Anthem'' has become [[https://www.vg247.com/2019/03/04/anthem-lowest-rated-bioware-game-ever/ BioWare's lowest-rated game ever]], around a 60/100 on Metacritic.

* SnarkBait: ''Anthem'' is hands down early 2019's biggest disaster in gaming, being a very [[ObviousBeta unpolished release]] that stems from a really bad case of TroubledProduction (for starters, EA gave Bioware about 7 years to make this game, yet development didn't actually start until ''five years in'', with E3 2017's spectacular demo becoming the foundation for the type of game they eventually went for). [[LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading Long loading screens]], artificial grindfests ([[ThatOneLevel Tomb of the Legionaries]], anyone?) and uninteresting loot compound the problem for what amounts to a ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' [[FollowTheLeader clone]], with patches that only seem to make the already-glitchy game even worse.

** The game received mainly lukewarm to middling reviews after release, with many critics noting that on a whole, the game is solid and competently put together, but they also felt that it lacked the charm of [=BioWare=]'s storytelling, and that the gameplay doesn't feel unique or polished enough to differentiate itself from its competitors within the genre, such as the ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' series. The overall scores were so mediocre that ''Anthem'' has become [[https://www.vg247.com/2019/03/04/anthem-lowest-rated-bioware-game-ever/ BioWare's lowest-rated game ever]].

* HarsherInHindsight: The fact that the game is about a world that was abandoned by its creator deities before it was finished became, this after the game came out and it became clear that the release version of the game was an ObviousBeta, as well as Creator/BioWare failing to follow their update schedule, leading many to fear that they too were going to abandon the game.

** Its [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthem_(video_game)#Sales sales]] were also firmly in the "average" category for an AAA game, being in line with the ''Mass Effect'' series (more than ''1'' or ''2'', less than ''3'', around the same as ''Andromeda''), going by their respective launches. This was quite disappointing for EA as they expected 6 million launch sales and (implicitly, going by their expectations for [[https://www.vg247.com/2017/02/01/ea-expects-mass-effect-andromeda-to-sell-around-3-million-units-in-the-first-week/ other games in the "open world third person shooter with RPG elements and microtransaction-dependent multiplayer"]] category]]) 12 to 18 million lifetime sales.[[note]]Its sales on launch being less than those of ''Mass Effect 3'', which sold [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_Effect_3#Sales slightly over 6 million]] in its lifetime, suggests that ''Anthem'' will sell less than half of even its most conservative lifetime projection.[[/note]]

* SpiritualSuccessor: Its gameplay heavily resembles ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'' (and to a slightly lesser extent, the rest of the ''Mass Effect'' series).

* SoOkayItsAverage: The game received mainly lukewarm to middling reviews after release, with many critics noting that on a whole, the game is solid and competently put together, but they also felt that it lacked the charm of [=BioWare=]'s storytelling, and that the gameplay doesn't feel unique or polished enough to differentiate itself from its competitors within the genre, such as the ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' series. The overall scores were so mediocre that ''Anthem'' has become [[https://www.vg247.com/2019/03/04/anthem-lowest-rated-bioware-game-ever/ BioWare's lowest-rated game ever]].

* ChristmasRushed: The entirety of the game, despite having at least ''[[EpicFail seven years]]'' of development time was rushed to [[ObviousBeta "completion"]] in eighteen months. See InternetBackdraft below.

* ChristmasRushed: The entirety of the game, despite having at least ''[[EpicFail six years]]'' of development time was started and rushed to [[ObviousBeta "completion"]] in no more than eighteen months. See InternetBackdraft below.

* ChristmasRushed: The entirety of the game, despite having no less than ''[[EpicFail six years]]'' of available time was made in no more than eighteen months. See InternetBackdraft below.

* ChristmasRushed: The entirety of the game, despite having no less than '[[EpicFail six years]]' of available time was made in no more than eighteen months. See InternetBackdraft below.

* ChristmasRushed: The entirety of the game, despite having no less than [[EpicFail ''six years'']] of available time was made in no more than eighteen months. See InternetBackdraft below.

* ChristmasRushed: The entirety of the game, despite having no less than [[EpicFail 'six years']] of available time was made in no more than eighteen months. See InternetBackdraft below.

* ChristmasRushed: The entirety of the game, despite having no less than [EpicFail 'six years'] of available time was made in no more than eighteen months. See InternetBackdraft below.

** The audience at E3 2017 and Bioware both sharing the reaction "Oh shit, '''that'''[='=]s the game!" [[labelnote:Explanation]]Joe Vargas from ''WebVideo/TheAngryJoeShow'' was quick to rip Bioware to pieces in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUopKcRLNGA&t=32m03s his video]] concerning the revelation of the game's TroubledProduction via a Kotaku article, comically vulgarizing that the E3 2017 demo essentially had both the gamers and the developers exclaim that it's ''the'' game they are looking forward to, when in reality ''Anthem'' was nowhere as defined at that point and the demo really was just a fake tech demo with the fals claim that it was using live gameplay footage.[[/labelnote]]

** The audience at E3 2017 and Bioware both sharing the reaction "Oh shit, '''that'''[='=]s the game!" [[labelnote:Explanation]]Joe Vargas from ''WebVideo/TheAngryJoeShow'' was quick to rip Bioware to pieces in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUopKcRLNGA&t=32m02s his video]] concerning the revelation of the game's TroubledProduction via a Kotaku article, comically vulgarizing that the E3 2017 demo essentially had both the gamers and the developers exclaim that it's ''the'' game they are looking forward to, when in reality ''Anthem'' was nowhere as defined at that point and the demo really was just a fake tech demo.[[/labelnote]]

** The audience at E3 2017 and Bioware both sharing the reaction "Oh shit, '''that'''[='=]s" the game!" [[labelnote:Explanation]]Joe Vargas from ''WebVideo/TheAngryJoeShow'' was quick to rip Bioware to pieces in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUopKcRLNGA&t=32m02s his video]] concerning the revelation of the game's TroubledProduction via a Kotaku article, comically vulgarizing that the E3 2017 demo essentially had both the gamers and the developers exclaim that it's ''the'' game they are looking forward to, when in reality ''Anthem'' was nowhere as defined at that point and the demo really was just a fake tech demo.[[/labelnote]]