Review - Mass Effect Andromeda

Confession time: I never finished ME: Andromeda. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

The truth is that there wasn’t enough to keep me going within the game. The plot didn’t make me feel connected to many characters, it felt too much like the standard Bioware fare. Nothing felt unique or relatable to Ryder. The environments weren’t “interesting” to explore, and I felt like I was just playing Dragon Age Inquisition: Space edition. It wasn’t so much that I actively stopped playing the game, as I just found better games to play…and with the whole “new trilogy” put on ice, there’s just no incentive to keep playing to find out what happens next…

So I haven’t written anything about this one yet, because I’m still playing it, but as I go along I’ll jot down thoughts I have as I go along. I’ll put spoiler warnings wherever I mention one.

  1. A little disappointed by the character creator - Why can’t my Ryder have long hair if he’s male? Why does the female Ryder HAVE to have a ponytail? I feel like they didn’t include many options for hair/beards.

  2. Wait your dad sounds like Lex Luthor from DC’s Justice League animated Series! OH WAIT IT IS HIM

  3. Not sure how I feel yet about increased fluidity in the combat system. It’s a ton of fun to zip around the field, but not being able to snap to cover feels like it adds an unnecessary challenge to the gameplay. It’s not easier for me to be hit now - the dodge button makes me flit incredibly fast and makes it easier in fact to not be hit, but its disorienting.

  4. I love the new class/point assignment system. I don’t feel locked into a single class anymore, but I am still clearly building towards something very powerful and highly specialized (p.s. VANGUARDS FTW- they’re still incredibly powerful)

  5. Spoiler warning The entire “ancient tech” stuff just feels very Halo-esque. Like at any point I’m expecting either a bunch of monks to start singing, or to turn into the Master Chief….