BioWare and EA have uploaded the full 20-minute gameplay demo of Anthem shown at E3 2018.

The demo features BioWare lead producer Ben Irving taking a team of four Freelancers on the “Scars & Villainy” mission.

Anthem is described as a “social, co-op action-RPG,” which sounds a whole lot like Activision and Bungie’s Destiny series.

In Anthem players use their Iron Man-like mech suits called Javelins to explore the world and complete missions. Javelins come in four different flavors. Three are seen in the video: Colossus, Ranger, and Storm. Javelins can be customized and equipped with different weapons and abilities.

The most obvious feature is they allow you to fly, and quickly traverse the dangerous world.

During the demo, the four-player party embark on a Stronghold mission, which sounds like Anthems’ versions of Destiny’s Raids. Strongholds are specifically designed for a full party of four Freelancers, and grant extra rewards.

One of the biggest questions for Anthem is how it can translate BioWare’s signature single-player RPG story-telling into a cooperative action-oriented game. Lead Producer Michael Gamble recently posted an interview-style blog post addressing these exact concerns.

“We’ve focused a lot on being able to tell a BioWare-quality story, with BioWare-quality characters, in a social environment,” writes Gamble. “This is done through the concept of “Our shared world – my personal story.”

You can pre-order Anthem now to receive the Founder’s in-game banner.

Anthem launches February 22 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC (Origin). EA Access and Origin Access members will gain Early Access to Anthem on February 15. It has not yet been rated by the ESRB.


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Eric has been writing for over nine years with bylines at Dicebreaker, Pixelkin, Polygon, PC Gamer, Tabletop Gaming magazine, and more covering movies, TV shows, video games, tabletop games, and tech. He reviews and live streams D&D adventures every week on his YouTube channel. He also makes a mean tuna quesadilla.