'Anthem' Discusses Gameplay Focus Over Narrative, "Invigorating'

February of next year can't come soon enough for BioWare fans anxiously awaiting to try out the studio's latest IP, Anthem. A big staple in BioWare games in the past such as the Dragon Age and Mass Effect series is that beautiful stories crafted in a way that throws the player all in. These branching narratives is what BioWare is known for but Anthem is shaking things up in more way than one. But before you panic, that doesn't mean they are sacrificing the story and they have mentioned that the personal narrative is extremely important to them. On the flip side, however, the new approach does offer a bit of relief from the pressure.

Creative Director for the game, Jonathan Warner, recently did an interview that gave us a very personal look at the development process and how the team is handling the change in artistic expression.

"It's very refreshing, it's invigorating," said the Creative Director when he sat down with GamesTM. "And usually, when you talk about a Mass Effect or a Dragon Age, people invariably end up talking about the plots or the points, and it's very refreshing, when people talk about Anthem, they talk about flying or fighting monsters, or the gear, the Javelins, and it's been a great opportunity for us to put gameplay first."

But don't take this as the story will be lacking. Far from it in fact, "It's very important to us that we create immersive worlds, where you can have companionship, and where you get to be the hero of your own story," Warner added. "I think those elements are very much intact with Anthem. We're adding things to it, we're adding these interesting social storytelling elements to it. But, those moments, that companionship and strong characters, those are very much there."

Anthem releases on February 22, 2019 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

Interested in learning even more about the game? You can check out our Anthem community hub right here for all of our previous coverage regarding the latest venture for BioWare.

You can follow the author of this story over on Twitter @DirtyEffinHippy.