[Video]‘Anthem’ Is BioWare’s Open-World Iron Man Simulator With Friends

During Microsoft’s E3 presentation, the company unveiled several games that will be available on the Xbox One. One of these is “Anthem,” the open-world MMO that BioWare was developing. Based on the footage that lasted six minutes, two things are clear. It’s an open-world game that turns players into Iron Man and it’s the company’s answer to “Destiny 2.”

According to the video’s narrator and the commentary from the presenter, “Anthem” is a game about warriors called “Freelancers” who venture into the dangerous outside world. These warriors protect humans living in a walled city from something or other, Kotaku reports, and it looks absolutely stunning.

During the first few seconds of the video, viewers were treated to fantastic visuals and animation (especially facial animation) from the characters that appear onscreen. Cue the scripted mission, the video then shows the controllable character getting inside a power suit called a Javelin. Apparently, these suits are customizable to fit the player’s needs and playstyle.

After getting inside the armor that has an uncanny resemblance to the Iron Man suit, the clip showed a gorgeous world for a moment before the characters jumped down into a dense, jungle area. What’s really exciting about it is the fact that players can literally fly like Tony Stark using jet propulsion on the suit and it looks absolutely thrilling.

Once the characters land, the similarities between “Anthem” and “Destiny” become pronounced, with players fighting enemies in a scripted multiplayer scene. There was even one instance near then end where other players were summoned to complete the “Squad,” which can seem a little odd considering BioWare made this game.

As Forbes points out, the studio is known for narrative-driven titles, not multiplayer shooter grind fests. What’s more, it’s clear that the facial animations and overall quality of the visuals are superior to that of Mass Effect: Andromeda, and based on the comments section on YouTube, others noticed the discrepancy as well.

Looking past that, it’s clear that BioWare is trying to carve its own space in the MMO competitive market that’s occupied by “Destiny” and “Titanfall”. If “Anthem” looks and plays as well as the footage, the studio might just have a hit new IP on its hands.