Anthem Review: 4 Ups & 9 Downs

7. The Generic Story & Characters

If you thought that Destiny's original story was bland and forgettable, you ain't seen nothing yet.

To its mild credit, Anthem puts a solid amount of effort into presenting its narrative through glossy cut-scenes, but as is so often the case in AAA fantasy/sci-fi fare, it's too obsessed with vomiting exposition at the player while failing to grasp a consistent tone.

Above all else there's not much likeability to go around: apparent "charmer" Owen ends up more obnoxious than affable, while comic relief scenes are shoehorned into the story with an alarming lack of tact, often after a brutal sequence has unfolded mere moments prior.

The marketing never really sold Anthem as a well-written game, for sure, but even so, it piles lore so aggressively on top of the player that they're likely to be left exhausted and deterred by it.

If you leave the game remembering little about the characters or the overarching events of the story, nobody could really blame you. It is utter nonsense and never really asks the player to care.