
Anthem, as it stands right now, looks amazing on all three leading platforms, including the Xbox One X. Now, before we move ahead, let’s reiterate one more time. But does this tech showcase for the Frostbite Engine reach the level of visual fidelity that the E3 2017 gameplay demo promised? There is no denying the fact that the developers had sky high ambitions with this game and this is reflected in the its world, the lighting model and the various post processing effects involved. Regardless, when seen from a top level perspective, Anthem is still a visual masterpiece. The current design methodologies to break the map into different areas separated by loading screens only make sense in a single player but for Anthem, a game which emphasizes co-op experience this kind of design methodology doesn’t make any sense.
ANTHEM PC SETTINGS PRO
The PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, although pretty capable machines in their own right, lack the muscle power to render such massive levels in one go.

Now this could be due to a number of reasons but we think this is down to the current hardware restrictions which has impacted FrostBite’s capabilities to render everything in one go. In short, Anthem’s ambitions to deliver a truly seamless multiplayer experience across a massive map have been unsuccessful.
ANTHEM PC SETTINGS PATCH
Bioware released a day one patch but unfortunately, most of the issues related to loading still exist and it’s sad to see that these maps which are an indication of something wonderful and ambitious are all interrupted by regular loading screens. Unfortunately, these loading screens totally break the immersion the world is trying to build, not to mention the fact several gameplay elements like changing your Loadout requires a loading screen. The map in Anthem is a combination of different areas with each of them separated by a loading screen. Each map is a combination of open world elements along with in-door linear levels however the structuring design is very inconsistent. The lighting model for the most part is impeccable and it helps a great deal in making Anthem’s world more colourful. The world assets streaming renderer does a great job of rendering most of the details in one go but we encountered noticeable pop-in issues while you are traversing at high speeds, across the PS4 Pro, Xbox One X and PC builds. But generally speaking texture resolution across various world assets like foliage, mountains and several architectures are of high quality. Obviously the quality will decrease as we go from a maxed out PC version to the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro versions.

FrostBite engine is a monster at delivering enhanced volumetric and weather effects and although Anthem’s map scale doesn’t allow it to reach the impressive levels that we saw in Battlefield 5, the existing effects still manage to gel with the game’s world extremely well.Īnother noticeable achievement by Anthem is its abundant use of high resolution textures across the board.

Anthem has a dynamic weather system so it may rain in one multiplayer session or it may be clear day in the same map in another session. The game’s world doesn’t shy away from using plenty of volumetric effects like smoke and fire to enhance the world’s look and feel which is further enhanced by the game’s use of weather systems. And these features become even more prominent due to the Javelin which allows players to fly around like Iron Man and just experience the visuals on offer. Large maps rendered in top notch detail and a world which is dense with flora and fauna, are some of the biggest technical highlights of Anthem. Anthem uses the FrostBite engine, the very same one you saw being used in the likes of Mass Effect Andromeda and Battlefield 5, and as expected Anthem manages to deliver state of the art visuals with some bumps along the way.Īnthem is one of the most technically and visually ambitious multiplayer shooters we have played this generation (quite a statement, right? Given how it’s one of the most underwhelming ones from a gameplay perspective). However, if there is anything that shines in Anthem it has to be its grand ambition with its in-game visuals and the technology behind rendering its world. For more on why it was such a big let-down, we encourage you to check out our review. Bioware’s Anthem is finally here and what a massive disappointment it has turned out to be.
