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The Internet Swears Anthem Is Just like Destiny

The first major presentation of E3, EA Play 2018, showcased the studio’s upcoming games. Many of EA’s usual suspects (including NBA Live, Madden, and FIFA) were front and center, as were unexpected announcements like Unravel 2 and Sea of Solitude. Everyone and their grandmother knew EA would reveal more information on the upcoming BioWare game Anthem, but nobody quite expected the Internet’s response to be, “Where have I seen this before? Oh, right: Destiny.”

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EA wanted to save the best for last. It hyped Anthem with a little teaser at the beginning of the presentation, provided some new gameplay, and even gave the audience a semi-Q & A with the developers. However, instead of giving praise and adulation, audience members have responded with a bunch of disappointed Tweets claiming Anthem will be a repeat of Destiny/Destiny 2. Given the games’ middling reviews, that is a worse insult than you think:

https://twitter.com/SavinTheBees/status/1005527117889658880

https://twitter.com/heelmasamune/status/1005532686876905473

Several commenters even have gone one step further to sarcastically call Anthem the third entry in the Destiny franchise:

https://twitter.com/JsinG604/status/1005525426175741952

Anthem is being compared to more than just Destiny. A few users mentioned the free-to-play game Warframe since Anthem, like Warframe, will revolve around using different suits of power armor. Sure, Warframe has a metric ton more suits (and a unique art style), but many can’t help but see similarities, myself included:

https://twitter.com/xcapimBr/status/1005527702240153600

https://twitter.com/BlameHush/status/1005534496714870784

https://twitter.com/YepWeOut/status/1005561689826320384

Not everyone is a negative nelly, though. While the majority of commenters think Anthem will suck, some are confident the game will surprise audiences in a good way. If Anthem can succeed where Destiny failed, players will regain confidence in BioWare, and after the disappointment of Mass Effect: Andromeda, the studio is in dire need of gamer approval:

https://twitter.com/hqxed/status/1005525578827616261

One of the biggest concerns several gamers have with Anthem isn’t that it resembles Destiny (that’s still a major concern) but that it doesn’t resemble other BioWare games. The studio has developed some of the best RPGs in gaming history, including Mass Effect, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights, and Jade Empire. All of Anthem’s gameplay trailers focus on the gunplay and mechs, not the RPG mechanics that make BioWare games so beloved, which is a red flag to many gamers:

https://twitter.com/JFonzerrelli/status/1005559230085017600

You could spend all day scouring the Internet for responses and reactions to the E3 Anthem presentation, and most will likely repeat each other. However, some Tweets stand out, such as this one that will tickle the fancy of anyone who has ever played an instrument or joined a band:

As will this Tweet involving a bingo card, because apparently Anthem wasn’t the only thing people disliked about the EA Play presentation:

And lets not forget this Tweet featuring a clip from the ever meme-able 1967 Spider-Man cartoon:

https://twitter.com/kjmurphhyy/status/1005525973268353024

What is your opinion about Anthem? Do you think it resembles Destiny? Are you concerned about a general lack of RPG elements? Will you buy the game anyway because you’re a sucker for mechs and power armor? We’d like to know.

About the author

Aaron Greenbaum

Aaron was a freelance writer between June 2018 and October 2022. All you have to do to get his attention is talk about video games, anime, and/or Dungeons & Dragons - also people in spandex fighting rubber suited monsters. Aaron largely specialized in writing news for Twinfinite during his four years at the site.

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