Everything you need to know about the Anthem demo

Anthem demo is coming soon. It's time to look at what to expect and when to expect it. Anthem is a very different game, an online shooter with RPG elements rather than an RPG. This demo is not final and will not be as complete or fully functional as the final version.

So what is Anthem? Well, it's essentially a magical co-op sci-fi shooter. You play a freelancer on a mission called Javelins with one of four different mecha friends. There are huge conflicts between various factions known as "Anthem of Creation" vying for control of the universe. Either way, you'll be dragged into the conflict.

In any case, let's take a look at the demo, which, by the way, is pre-downloadable.

Who can attend the demonstration?

For anyone, the biggest issue may be who can attend the Anthem demo. If you're a "VIP" player, you can start playing the Anthem demo this weekend (start time below). If you are not a "VIP" player, you will join the public demo that will begin later. But don't worry, whenever you jump into your javelin and fly to hunt down a powerful enemy (yes, there's a lot of flying in the game), you'll be able to give it a spin before the start of the race on February 22, 2019.

Start & End Times

VIP

Start Time: Friday, Jan 25 at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET / 5 PM UTC

End Time: Sunday, Jan 27 at 8 PM PT / 11 PM ET 4 AM UTC

Regular

Start Time: Friday, Feb 1st at 9 AM PT / 12 AM ET / 5 PM UTC

End Time: Sunday, Feb 3 at 8 PM PT / 11 PM ET 4 AM UTC

Introduce a friend

Anyone with access to the VIP demo can get three keys to send to friends so they can play, which definitely makes it easier to team up in a game designed around collaborative games. The friends in question can play on any platform they like, so they won't stay on the platform of your choice (although this obviously helps with teamwork because it's not a cross-platform game).

Only Online

You'll need an Xbox Live With Gold or PlayStation Plus subscription to play the Anthem demo. The game is limited to online games only, which means there are no offline games, can't fight against robot games and so on. If you do not have a suitable online connection and/or do not subscribe to these services, it will be difficult for you to play Anthem. PC players don't need to subscribe to anything, but they still need a persistent online connection.

Progress

The VIP demo will progress to the normal demo, but neither will progress to the main game. However, anyone attending the VIP presentation will receive free in-game Anthem Items as a sign of their participation.

Content

Players will start at level 10, giving them more power than you saw at the beginning of the game. You can use Ranger Javelin and another Javelin of your choice. Storm, Colossus and Interceptor each have their own advantages and disadvantages. One of the cool things about Anthem is that you don't need multiple characters to run these javelins - one character can go in and out of all four characters. But you only have two in the demo. Players will receive quests, a dungeon to defeat and an open world quest.

Other differences between the demo and the main release

BioWare producer Mike Darrah on Twitter lists the Anthem presentation and some important differences between major version, and points out that the demonstration in the last few weeks have been squeezed the and didn't like the main game after weeks of development benefit: it can be expected, but know some demo defects and mistakes will be solved in the release, it is always good. There is no doubt that others will continue to exist!

PC Specs

Here are the minimum PC specs for the Anthem demo:

Operating system: 64-bit Windows 10

Processor (Intel): Intel Core i5 3570

Processor (AMD): AMD FX-6350

Graphics card (NVIDIA): GTX 760

Graphics card (AMD): Radeon 7970/R9280X

Video memory: 2GB GPU RAM

Memory: 8GB System RAM

Hard drive space: At least 50GB of free space

DirectX: DirectX 11

Internet connection: 512 kbps or faster stable internet connection

Remember, you can preload the game right now if you're a VIP player. That's wise to do given that you're going to need tens of gigabytes of harddrive space and you'll want to get as much time with the game as possible. With just three days to play, every minute counts. Alright Freelancers, suit up and have fun. Here's to hoping this game is good...