Zero Punctuation Season 13 Episode 9 Anthem

Zero Punctuation is a web series of video game reviews by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, known for its fast-paced, humor-laden style. In season 13, episode 9, Yahtzee takes on Anthem, the cooperative third-person shooter developed by BioWare. As usual, Yahtzee pulls no punches in his assessment of the game, critiquing everything from its story to its gameplay mechanics.

The episode begins with Yahtzee setting the stage for Anthem's world. The game takes place in a shared open world where players take on the role of freelancers, elite soldiers who wear exosuits called Javelins. The Javelins come in different classes, each with their own unique abilities and weapons. The premise is promising, but Yahtzee quickly puts the story into question. He compares the narrative to a science fiction Mad Lib, where players are dropped into a world with nothing explained about it. The story is also plagued by characters that never seem to gain any depth.

Moving on to the gameplay, Yahtzee starts by critiquing the controls. He finds that the movement is floaty and unresponsive, making it difficult to feel like a powerful Javelin. The game also has problems with responsiveness in other areas, such as interacting with objects in the environment. Yahtzee also finds the combat to be unsatisfying, with AI enemies that seem to be too bullet-spongey and attacks that lack impact.

Another aspect that Yahtzee criticizes is the mission design. He finds the missions to be repetitive, with objectives that feel like busywork. The missions are essentially just variations on the same thing over and over again, which makes the game feel like a chore to play. He also takes aim at the lack of variety in the environments, which are all just different versions of the same jungle biome.

Yahtzee also has a bone to pick with the loot system in Anthem. He finds that the loot drops are not frequent enough, and that the loot itself is not worth the effort. He compares getting loot in the game to getting a bag of chips with only a few crumbs inside. Yahtzee notes that the loot system is very similar to that of Destiny, but that Anthem does not do it as well.

The episode ends with Yahtzee summarizing his thoughts on Anthem. He finds the game to be a collection of good ideas that have not been executed properly. The game feels like it was rushed out the door, with unfinished features and an underdeveloped story. Yahtzee notes that the game feels like it is caught in a feedback loop, where players are not enjoying the game because of its flaws, but the developers are not fixing the flaws because players are not enjoying the game. He concludes that Anthem is a game that is best avoided unless the developers can improve it significantly.

In season 13, episode 9 of Zero Punctuation, Yahtzee takes on Anthem, the cooperative third-person shooter developed by BioWare. Yahtzee criticizes everything from the game's story to its gameplay mechanics, finding that the game is a collection of good ideas that have not been executed properly. Overall, Yahtzee feels that the game is best avoided unless significant improvements are made.