Anthem's conversation system allows for two dialogue choices

During a Q&A session at a pre-panel press briefing on Anthem at PAX West, BioWare debuted footage of the conversation system players will use in Fort Tarsis, the singleplayer area players visit between multiplayer missions.

Forgoing the complex conversation wheel of previous BioWare games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, Anthem will only allow for two dialogue choices in conversations. The two choices aren't aligned with a morality system of any kind, but do differ in tone slightly.

When asked why the system was simplified for Anthem, executive producer Mark Darrah replied, "We are showing this to an audience that is not used to these kind of decisions and conversations. We wanted to keep it simpler, but we also don't want to present you with any false choices."

Fort Tarsis is where you'll do most of the talking, and from a first-person perspective as opposed to the third-person javelin camera in the shared world. Conversations pull the player in close and provide supplemental information about who you're talking to, whether they're tied to a political faction, and whatever back story BioWare deems important. Character models look great, and the facial animations are leagues better than Andromeda's, but I'll still miss the impression of complexity I got from more choices.

Clearly, Anthem isn't just another BioWare RPG, but I don't blame anyone for expressing concern at its differences from the studio's previous games. Change is hard, but everything we know about Anthem so far points to an impressive, entertaining cooperative shooter with a heaping of BioWare's storytelling on the side. It's hard to be mad about that.

James is stuck in an endless loop, playing the Dark Souls games on repeat until Elden Ring and Silksong set him free. He's a truffle pig for indie horror and weird FPS games too, seeking out games that actively hurt to play. Otherwise he's wandering Austin, identifying mushrooms and doodling grackles.