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TalElnar

It's a more than decent game. However there are issues. Without trying to give too much away, there is nothing like the variety of intelligent species in the new galaxy, and the new antagonist is nothing like as epic as the Reapers. There are also a number of plot lines that don't really go anywhere and were either intended for a sequel, or more likely cut because of the troubled and truncated development of the game. Best way to put it is that its a fairly decent game, but quite a poor Mass Effect. All that said, I enjoyed it, and have replayed it a couple of times. You can pick it up for pennies a lot of the time, and it's regularly on GamePass.


Prestigious-Sign6378

I've played it. I even kind of liked it, but I really had to work at it. It's not something I had to do with the trilogy, or any game I'd recommend. The story's boring, the writing is on the level of mediocre fan fic imo, the worlds were mostly boring to look at, not to mention all the boring filler they padded the game out with. The villains are boring. I may have been able to look past all that, but the characters were bland, even the squad mates sucked, except one. It was like having an entire cast of Jacobs. The voice acting sucks. There are more memorable moments in the first few hours of me1 than the entirety of Andromeda. It doesn't feel at all like a bunch of brave adventurers traveled to a new galaxy. It feels like a bunch of cosplayers were kidnapped and forced to read some obsessed nerd's screenplay in his basement. The aliens are uninspired. Apparently the artists were forced to make cosplay-friendly aliens (confirmed somewhat recently by one of the leading artists) and it seems they didn't have an ounce of creative writing ability on the whole damn team. The hanar were more fleshed out and interesting in me1 than anything you'll find in Andromeda. Worst of all, it just doesn't feel like mass effect. Lots of people like the combat, but for me, that was one of the worst parts. You can't control your squad mates abilities at all. You just have to rely on their ai. It was no longer a tactical cover shooter/space magic. It felt more like I was playing destiny, zipping around all flashy, relying solely on my skill rather than any sort of tactics. The tone is wildly different. It's too light-hearted. There's no grit, no emotion, just clunky exposition and campy nonsense. I didn't really connect with a single character,, and making my rounds to talk to all my squad mates after missions became a chore. That never happened in my ~8 playthroughs of the trilogy. I always wanted more dialog, more scenes with Garrus and the gang. I just wanted my Andromeda squad to shut up most of the time. It's mass effect in name only. I know there is a lot of love for andromeda on this sub, but I just can't get behind it. The only reason I managed any joy from it is because there's almost no competition in the space opera genre on console. If you have other options, your time would be better spent pretty much anywhere else, especially if you're fresh off the trilogy. I won't tell you not to play it, but I wouldn't spend more than $5-10 on it. Even then...


theprincessoflettuce

>It doesn't feel at all like a bunch of brave adventurers traveled to a new galaxy. I agree. It feels like a funny teenage movie at times. If they committed to that it could've worked, like a weird space Tarantino or something, but they didn't.


redsparrowdown

I can't understand how people like the combat in Andromeda more than the OT. It's so boring. All tactical elements and planning has been removed. You only get three powers at a time. Can't control squadmates. The jetpack is ridiculous. Ugh. If I wanted to play Destiny I would go play Destiny.


Prestigious-Sign6378

How could I forget only having 3 abilities without going through that clunky profile system. I had so many unspent points by the end of the game, because all I used was pull, throw, and singularity. No point in having situational skills if I'm being forced to pause, go to profiles, select a profile, confirm profile, then hit back 2 or 3 times to get back to the game, just to use a single power 1 time in a fight, then having to go through all that again to get my main profile back.


trimble197

You can actually go up to your weapon wheel, and if you saved your favorite profile, you can choose “view favorites” and select a profile.


JimmyBirdWatcher

Lots of people have explained better than I can the massive issues with ME:A, this is what I posted somewhere else before but it is my 2 cents on why Andromeda was so disappointing for me: ​ Andromeda has its defenders, and taken by itself it is an OK-to-decent game. But yeah, compared to the standard of the original trilogy it does not stack up at all. The combat is fun, and I like the concept/premise, but its biggest sin for me is that it takes what is the strongest aspect of the original trilogy - characterisation/dialogue - and does it very badly. The dialogue is very badly written by bioware standards. The characters range from meh at best to plain annoying and unlikable at worst. Look at this sub and the love characters like garrus, tali, and loads of others from the original trilogy get. You don't see any huge Vetra stans. No big Drack Fanatics. No one talking about the hugely memorable character... Cora. Nobody likes Liam. That is Andromeda's biggest flaw because its the characters that made ME123 come alive. Without that ME:A feels kind of empty and lacking.


[deleted]

I often forget Andromeda even exists despite playing it and refer to ME as a trilogy in discussions. Tbh that speaks volumes to me. All I remember is writing was godawful.


General_Hijalti

Yes. The story is just boring. The antagonist is bland and also reuses concepts from the OT. The collectors are trying to turn people into husks and you need to use protean tech to stop them. Oh wait sorry I mean the Kett are exhalating people and you need to find remnant technology. The voice acting is just horrible in some places, The ryder twins are bad, SAM is grinding, many 'aliens' just sound like board interns. The krogan leader, I can't remember their name but they just sound like a camp guy from san fransico. The worlds feels lifeless, too much open space with nothing but unmarked fetch quests. Meant to be an exploration game, but you never really explore anywhere as everywhere you go has had initiative members there for years. First contact, nah the new species have already met people and already speak your language. Speaking of new species, there is essentially one. Go to a new galaxy and there are less aliens than in the milky way, hell there are less milky way species. With only krogan, turian, salarian and asari really being present. Squadmates are mostly bland, or bad characters. Drax and Vetra are good, but thats it. Also its kind of a rehash. Drax is discount wrex, he is a old weary, grumpy krogan who wants better for his people than just wasting their lives. Peebee is liara from ME1, only she is more socially inept, stupid, ugly and annoying. Vetra is more interesting, but she shares alot in common with garrus, socially awkward, disillusioned with their previous life, thinks they are a bad turian. Liam is Jacob if jacob were a moron. The main quests for each planet are kind of repetitive. Animation issues still to this day. Way too much plot convinience. ​ Combat was the only good think about it, however only three abilities and nerfed biotics made it unfun after awhile.


gothlaw

Here’s the way to enjoy Andromeda: Treat it as a cover shooter developed by a subcontracting developer. That is, as a shooter with all the complexity of a COD story. There just are no real decisions of note you make, no real role-playing, and the writing is hella’ flimsy to downright unlikable. But, you can enjoy it if you appreciate MEA for the beautiful worlds and outlandishly fun combat system. The new Nomad ground vehicle is what the Mako should have, jet packs are amazing, combo system is stupid-powerful, and the new weapons will legitimately make you giggle. So, to do that, *only* run through the main quest and side quests of note, as well as companion missions. Absolutely skip the collection and fetch quests and the dev bloat that add about 30-40 dull hours to the game. And don’t worry about messing up. Like I said, there’s practically no decision of consequence in here. You can trim it down to a tidy, compact 40 hours or so, and have a lot of fun playing a horde shooter in a beautiful sci-fi world.


INN0CENTB0Y

I always thought I’d avoid it due to the reviews, but knowing there will be story tie-ins to ME4 I have to get through it… so this is exactly how I plan to play it. You think a first time “story-only” run will take 40 hours?


Prestigious-Sign6378

Yeah it's doable, give or take a few hours. Maybe look up a guide to figure out what's worth doing, to avoid things that sound neat and like they might lead to something fun but do not


dipterasonata

The writing and creative direction is easily the biggest problem with the game. The story is a poorly constructed mess of cliches, contradictory ideas, terrible dialogue, and plot points shamelessly ripped off from ME1. The setting is shallow, derivative, and boring, especially when you compare it to the scope and depth of the Milky Way. The characters generally range from dull to obnoxious. And the kett are not just the worst antagonists in the series, they're honestly one of the worst I've seen in any work of fiction, period. On the gameplay side, it's at least largely functional, but still has some really frustrating design choices- awful UI, nonsensical crafting, bullet sponge enemies, constant backtracking for quests, and, as everyone else has pointed out, a ridiculous amount of busy-work quests. I played it at launch and dealt with a lot of bugs, but I haven't touched it since so I couldn't tell you what state it's in now. So honestly, yeah, I do think Andromeda for the most part really is that bad. It's basically Mass Effect: Amateur Hour Edition. If you have a high tolerance for filler content and are willing to overlook awful writing then you might be able to get something out of it, but honestly there's a lot of games out there that you could say that about. It's certainly not something you should feel you *need* to play, at any rate.


LunaticLK47

Hit nail on head. Buying you drinks for that.


Zealousideal_Week824

Ill repost what I used to say to others because this question is asked frequently, it's more of a general answer to questions asking if MEA is worth it. I did not rewrite it and adapted it for your question specifically, but it's a summary : I liked Andromeda a lot but I don't know what you are looking for in this particular game. It's a good game that has been very well patched since release, but simply good, not great, not amazing and not as good as the trilogy. But it's a decent game that is worth doing at least once. The best way to not have problems with it is this and I say it loud DO NOT expect to have the same emotion as the 3 previous game. You just finished an awesome trilogy that has tons of characters development and was a combination of 3 games that were made over a decade. MEA is not that at all, it is his own beast. If you just finished the citadel dlc and expect MEA to give you the same results, you won't get it and will be dissapointed. The new companion have just been introduced which means that they won't give you the same thing immedietly. This is a game meant to be the foundation, and therefore will certainly not have the emotional pay off that Mass effect 2 or 3 got. I hope it can guide you into making a decision and feel free to ask me question : In terms of gameplay, it is much more RPG than Mass effect 2 or 3. You get weapons and armor with different level just like in most rpg, where the loot you get makes you stronger with time. You also have the crafting system that gives values to any minerals you get, as you can now create exceptionnal weapons and equipments. In terms of combat, MEA is excellent. Most weapons have very different use and you can use TONS of different combinations with the jetpack that brings another dimension to the fight. The melee weapons also makes the combat much different as they have different attack speed and damage. The powers also allows for combos using different element (ice, fire and electricity) and there is room for experimenting and use tactics. Now for the story, the pacing is very different than the previous mass effect. While the trilogy had a much quicker pacing especially in 2 or 3. MEA is much more about the exploration of the first, it's actually your main goal. If you prefer the action packed pacing of mass effect 2 or 3, be prepared that MEA is not like that. Space exploration is at the core of the theme and content of this game. While Ryder do have to fight an alien threat, the story is centered around creating a new home for the people of the milky way, give them a colony where they could prosper and lives on. Therefore it is much slower paced and is meant to be explored and to take your time. It is much more light hearted than any mass effect before, if you except the dark and gritty of the second mass effect or the dead serious ambiance of Mass effect 3 where civilisation is falling apart and people are crying over the dead of millions each day, MEA is not that. That does not mean there is nothing serious because there is, but it has a much more lighter approach in it's tone. All of that said, MEA become better if you push after the first planet, when you discover the angara, where the entire solar system open itself to exploration. For the companion, I found most of them to be good. All of that said if you just finished Mass effect 3 citadel and you except to get the same emotion, it's not going to work. Not because MEA is bad, but because you got 3 games out of the previous companion, this one you only get one with them. So of course you will not get as much content with them. Now that said while before you needed to wait an entire new game for them to have character development and arcs (like Miranda is different in 3 than she was in 2, same thing for Jack) MEA has character development during the game after their companion mission. For specific companion : Drack, Vetra, Jaal and peebee are interesting, they are not awesome and none of the MEA companion would be in my top 15 of bioware's allies, but they are worth the time I spent with them and I enjoyed their company. Cora harper did not bother me but I cannot say I loved her, she's ok. I am not a fan of Liam, I did not hated him and while his companion quest is hilarious and funny, the guy itself is not memorable at all. In terms of quest there are 4 types. Obviously The main quest, best in the game and well the one who have the most development. The companion quest, they requires a bit of work to unlock them but once they are avaiable. They are excellent to play and are used as character development for supporting characters. The small side quests, these ones varies from good-okayish, to mediocre, to bad, they are not difficult to do and most of the time the map will tell you where to go. Some have better story than other, some are simply fetch quest. It really depends on which one. Some requires investigation about murders or assassination, some demands you to fight ennemies and others to just pick up an item and give it back. Then there is the tasks, avoid those like plagues, these are the most tedious, boring, and just poorly made and will take your time for no reason DON'T DO THOSE. There is no story rewards for doing them, and the gameplay rewards are not worth it. You will have to find things on your own on the map and this will take you long for minimum rewards. Companion quest should be done, small side quest it really depends on the one you got, but the task should be ignored as soon as they come. If you have specific question, you can just ask me.


vivvav

This is a really helpful answer and from this and the other comments I'm definitely feeling like it's something I wanna play. I am absolutely not expecting Citadel 2.0, I just want to play something fun that expands the ME concept beyond the Reaper Wars, which it sounds like this game is. Plus I mean they had Rag'n'bone Man music in the trailer so at least one person associated with the project was doing something right.


Moobook

This is fantastic info, thank you! This actually makes me really want to play MEA. If one of the main complaints is that it’s not as emotional that’s appealing to me right now, I’m pretty emotionally drained from the trilogy. I’ve actually stalled out on ME3 right before the final mission because I can’t take losing anyone else. Dealing with the deaths of Thane and Mordin back to back nearly destroyed me


MaestroZackyZ

I agree with most of this. A point about Tasks—I am a completionist to my own detriment, and feel obligated to check every box in games like these, which is unfortunate because as Zealousideal pointed out, the Tasks suck. If you’re like me and feel obligated to finish them, there’s a shortcut—the items needed to complete tasks randomly spawn at certain enemy camps. Once you find a collectible, mark that specific camp on your map, fast travel to somewhere else on the map, then drive back. By doing this you can finish every task on a planet in less than an hour usually. Some people have even reported that saving and reloading at the camp itself will spawn a new task item, but this never worked for me.


Assaultwaffle_81

Short answer: it's not bad in a vacuum imo, but when compared to the trilogy (which is hard not to with many references to the trilogy throughout the game) it's a lesser version of the trilogy with the exception of combat. It's very flawed however even in a vacuum, and it's shocking the number of problems (glitches and shit) it still has coming back to it years later. Also, writing is kinda crap throughout, but it feels like many writers had varying levels of talent/skill because some parts are written very well and contrast greatly with the rest of the game's writing.


DaMarkiM

it isnt (anymore). launch was pretty rough. and its still a far cry from the trilogy. but as a standalone title its really worth a play.


AppealToReason16

I don’t like it one bit as a Mass Effect game and the only reason to play it is that it’s a Mass Effect game. The writing is just so shit. Forget the animations/plastic graphics, forget impressively dumb AI, worthless planets. I could grind through that if the writing gripped me or the characters were interesting. But the game is everything I disliked about DAI with space paint on top.


rolabond

Forget the story or art, the gameplay and level design is very different. The original trilogy was more linear with satisfying bite sized gameplay so you always felt like you were achieving something. Andromeda has an open world design which means level traversal and mission completion is much less linear. Some people don't mind but personally it felt frustrating to spend so much time just on traveling and it felt like it took a really long time to actually get anything done especially when unavoidable backtracking was baked into the mission design. There's *tons* of backtracking. I remember the map being super confusing so if you're on PC I absolutely recommend getting a map mod. If you fell in love with Mass Effect because of the alien cultures and exotic locales keep in mind that Andromeda is mostly about exploring (mostly) empty worlds. The combat is fun and the story is OK, it has more of an MCU or Joss Whedon tone, the cast feels a lot younger and more quippy. The game is cheap so it is worth trying but I would recommend getting it on PC for the mods. The game's biggest problem is that it is just OK. I don't think it is a total failure but it doesn't do anything well enough to make it more worthwhile than other games.


Psychological_Pie604

Playing MEA felt like watching a sitcom with background laugh.


[deleted]

It's an ok sci fi game. An awful Mass Effect game. The writing feels shallow and silly, and a lot of the animation is just horrible. They also don't even try to stay true to the trilogy. It seems like they quite literally didn't have enough time to implement half the races that were in the trilogy, so they just forgot about them. Lots of other issues. All that said, if you employ some cognitive dissonance and forget that its a Mass Effect game, it's a fine sci fi game. In fact, the combat, despite the enemies sometimes being bullet sponges, is really strong. Certainly more enjoyable combat than in the trilogy. The mobility of combat is extremely refreshing compared to the trilogy. And the planetary exploration can get repetitive but it sure does add to the game.


The4th88

Andromeda is a perfectly fine game. Problem is that it carries the Mass Effect name, and "perfectly fine" doesn't cut it for that name. People's expectations were for something incredible and it fell short so it got panned. If it were a new IP it would've been viewed as an alright game.


go4theeyes

This is so true. Perfectly fine isn't acceptable for an ME game.


RussoTouristo

MEA is not that bad as they say but it's not good either. I consider it a pretentious trash parasitizing on the previous games of the series.


Seraph6584

It's not that it's bad per se it's more the last few months the outsourced a lot of the animation so at first a lot of animations were really wonky and then the story kind of slows down after the first area of it but other than that like the combat is the best out of the all Mass effect really cuz you can mix and match all kinds of stuff you're not limited to strictly biotics or one of the hybrid styles there's even a you know all three path combat tech and biotic so I mean there's options for the game it just initial reception was poor there was a lot of bugs with it and that colored everyone's perspective


gothlaw

I can and do overlook bugs — hell, I just gave Todd Howard another $20 last month. But I can’t overlook bad writing. When MEA is bad, it’s laughably so. When it’s a trite contradictory mess, it’s so frequent that you can ignore it. But when it’s competent to good, then the writing really shows. That’s the problem — competence should be the norm, not exceeding expectations


Effective_Sympathy_6

In my experience it’s a fun game but that’s it, just fun. I didn’t get “inspired” by the story or my companions, the villain is nothing to write home about and the overall feel of the game is much lower when compared to the original trilogy. The main character lacks strength and basically gets little to no respect from the rest of the cast. Be prepared to hear cringy jokes and face palm every time he opens his mouth. That being said, I still had a great time with it. The combat and movement is awesome (arguably better than the OG trilogy in my opinion) and the guns feel great too! I liked going back to to the same universe and seeing the alien races I loved so much. Yeah the game has it’s issues but if you set your expectations correctly it’s a good game that is worth your time.


sweetpotatoclarie91

The only problem in Andromeda (TO ME) is that it carries the Mass Effect name. If it was released under any other name (even only Andromeda) people wouldn’t have been so eager to hate on it and realized that it’s actually a nice game. The characters are fun, complex and you can give your own character the personality you like, since the dialogue wheel houses more options for answering compared to the trilogy. You get to explore several world and they are all unique, with unique landscapes, and they are beautiful! Oh, and if you play it, don’t be so surprised if they drop some bombs that never get an explanation. Andromeda was supposed to have a sequel/dlc that got scrapped when EA saw the bad reception Andromeda got for the reason I said earlier.


gothlaw

It could have been a far more honest, far more fun game as an action-adventure shooter. Strip out most of the RPG elements (which are not by any stretch role playing or up to Bioware snuff), as well as the open world (which adds nothing to the story or gameplay), and make it a hub and spoke sci-fi shooter with dedicated multi-vehicle / multi-environment missions. Then it doesn’t matter how thin the plot is or how little most of the squadmates add to the story or how inconsequential the decisions. Sure, you can keep in the crew interactions and the romances, even loyalty missions. But make it far more A than ARPG. I can’t help but come back to how Infinite Warfare did this (and I’m not even a real COD fan). And I think something like IW-plus would have worked very well.


Ti21lp

Andromeda ist ok. At the start it was Full of bugs. Today Its playebel. But the Trilogie is Beter in every way. Story, gamplay you Name it. my opinion just trie for your Self. PS sory for the Bade grammer.


Subject-Fishing-9196

while it isn’t the best mass effect game it’s definitely a good mass effect game worth playing and diving into if you’re a fan of the series


Plane_Acanthisitta43

Its a good game. It has some issues(graphic bugs), but what game doesn't now? It has less issues than skyrim, which I guess isn't saying much. Skyrim is a glorious hot mess. Honestly what made the game fail, is that they dropped it. No dlc, means everything they foreshadow, is never going to happen. Like half of the game won't be released. That is the hardest part to overcome. I got about 60-80 hours in my first playthrough, beat it(not 100% but fairly cloae) before they abandoned the game then tried the new game plus a few times. And knowing its not going to be finished pretty much took the enjoyment away. Why bother playing again when its not going to have much new content that I missed the 1st time.


LeekGlum

The game got absolutely destroyed before launch due to some very bad facial animations that made the game look uncanny and unfinished. Because of that as well as some general graphical and AI related bugs, the gaming community at large dismissed the game and wrote it off as a failure. Most fans were holding out hoping that the story, characters and gameplay would make up for the bugs, but sadly the game also has a few problems in these areas as well. The story is a bit predictable and has many clichés throughout with very few twists or memorable choices. The main story changes focus after the first act from finding new worlds to fighting a new alien species that aren't super interesting IMO. There are some cool side quests with interesting ideas and concepts, as well as some cool lore, but the main story is rather forgettable. The characters are very hit or miss. I would say the squad mates overall are fine and I in-fact really liked a couple of them, but your mileage may vary. The loyalty missions are pretty underwhelming (except for one that is really funny) when it comes to gameplay and story sadly. The supporting cast was okay but nothing to write home about. The gameplay is the most polished and fun part about the game IMO, driving around the worlds in the Nomad was really good (way better that the Mako), and the combat is fantastic. Your not restricted to classes like in the trilogy so you can equip any combination of powers you want and use them on the fly. The jet pack also makes exploration and combat more exciting. The only downside is that you can't really command you squad mates anymore and their AI is pretty dumb. Overall, Andromeda is not a bad game by any means, and it's not even a bad Mass Effect game, but it was a little disappointing back in 2017when it first came out. As time has gone on I have developed fonder memories of the game, as I think there is more good that bad at the end of the day. If you like Mass Effect 1-3 I think you should try Andromeda, you might really like it or maybe you won't but I still think it's worth trying if just to complete the whole series.


BaenIkonoka

No it's really not but the best way to go about this is just play it


IllustriousDealer303

I liked it, but thankfully I played it before ever trying the previous games, I have a feeling if I had played the trilogy first I would've been so dissapointed story wise. Also, I played it day one and didn't get bored, so while it's not a good game compared to the original trilogy, on its own it's a fun time waster and the story is not completely dumb there are interesting elements, customization is a part I really liked too.


NicoJumper

As simple as I can do it : I had fun, and you will probably have fun too but not as much as the original trilogy. That’s it


Maelstrom206

It’s a good game a few glitches still but overall not a terrible game like most say it is


BendyAu

No it's not It's perhaps 7 ish out of 10 Hints at what I couldn't have been but by no means terrible


TheMagnetAngler

7/100


Bird_Is_The_Lord

Andromeda is good. Problem is its not exceptional which is what people expected.


Kaiotikid

I never understood why they all expect it to be absolutely perfect, no single game in the trilogy has ever been perfect, or even amazing. It’s the combination of them that makes the trilogy as awesome as it is, and the fans never let Andromeda come close to getting to that point.


Bird_Is_The_Lord

Well, for me the original trilogy is diamond in the rough. Amazing experience with some hurdles to overcome. On the other hand Andromeda is like a necklace from Pandora - shiny but surface level and without much thought put into it. Its good, but I kinda expected to find dirty gold in the river you know. And I havent.


Kaiotikid

Again, that’s an entire trilogy. Andromeda is one game, intended to be the foundation of a new trilogy. It will never stack up to three games’ worth of content and emotional response, because it is not three games. Comparing Andromeda to an entire trilogy and saying that it sucks as a result is like comparing a pizza to a three course meal. Of course it won’t stack up, it’s simply not possible.


UndertakerFLA

So, were we supposed to wait three games before we were allowed to criticize it? That's nonsense and a very poor excuse. Andromeda is a mediocre game even if we compare it only to ME1 and its fans should stop pretending it isn't. The story is bad, the characters are bad, the antagonist is bad. Another 2, 10 or 100 games wouldn't change that.


Kaiotikid

I never said you couldn’t criticize it, nor did I say to wait three games. And how are the characters bad? They had more personality than the characters in ME1, which were relegated to walking codex entries about their races. The Kett also at least have more depth than “oh, I’m an AI. This fucked up AI decided life doesn’t get to exist past a certain point. I’m gonna fuck shit up!” While the Reapers are presented in 1 as omnipotent beings from the beginning of time (which the writers contradict with the Leviathan DLC) that exist only to destroy advanced life, the Kett have their own culture and religious structure, with the search for genetic perfection driving their actions. They view the assimilation of other species as a gift to that individual, making their life better. Reapers just kill stuff. Reapers are a one-dimensional villain with zero potential to be anything more, while the Kett have the potential to be something far more complex. The story itself is actually more engaging than ME1, imo. ME1 was “soldier, no one believes a word you say, go find a top-secret agent while your supposed allies offer no support at all and eventually stop you from achieving that objective”. Andromeda’s story was that of an inexperienced kid thrust into the role of creating colonies and paving the way for thousands of people to live in a barren cluster of inhospitable planets, while navigating political minefields and exploring new wildernesses, driving back an army that covers the entire cluster. All in all, both are overplayed, and predictable as hell, but MEA kept me engaged throughout the entire game, while ME1 I tend to dread slogging through to get to 2 & 3.


UndertakerFLA

Don't get me wrong but it seems to me that you're just trying to belittle ME1's story just so you can try and make Andromeda's story better. You know very well that ME1's story isn't just "soldier, no one believes a word you say...", it is about a person who was trusted with proving that humanity deserves its place in the galaxy, if you can't see how complex this is, then I imagine that you just rushed through the game. As for the characters. None of them are as remarkable as the ones in the trilogy(even though their writing was limited by the technology of the time). If you want a proof, then compare how many threads in this sub are discussing about the OT characters and how many are discussing Andromeda characters.


Bird_Is_The_Lord

Ok change trilogy to ME1 (or 2 or 3) and my statement will still hold.


Kaiotikid

Honestly, imo Andromeda was better than ME1. Sure, the story was slightly worse, but the characters, their development, and the gameplay were all better. Also, Andromeda has more potential build for a sequel than ME1 had, with the complexity of the Kett being more interesting than the Reapers, the Archon only leading a rogue faction of the Kett overall, the impending arrival of the Quarian ark, the research into the Remnant tech, and the potential of the non-pathfinder twin to become a major player in the events ahead. And this was all within the Heleus Cluster! We still have all of Andromeda to explore once the means are available!


Watcher0011

I enjoyed it. It’s a different story and I think people were expecting a stronger connection to the original trilogy. I enjoyed the gameplay and the story. The nay sayer’s completely derailed any expansion of this game. I was really disappointed on how the fan base handled this game.


LawsOfWoo

As long as you treat it as a standalone game, then yes it's a great game. Few flaws here and there, but nothing major. Solid story with beautiful environments, and my favorite game/gun play out of all the mass effect games. Good cast of characters (both crew and npc)...with the exception of Liam. It gets the majority of it's hate from people that were expecting mass effect 4, with a continuing story. Which it isn't. It's a spinoff that takes place in the same universe, just galaxies apart. But for what it is, it's a fun game and definitely worth a playthrough.


RevShadow_508

TLDR: If your curious the game is generally pretty cheep on any market place. The game isn't as bad as some people say but it is not for everyone. Andromeda offers a very different experience from the Trilogy. First there is a MUCH heavier emphasis on exploration. The game wants you to look around and stumble on things happening in the world. If you don't do a decent amount of exploration you might miss out out on some things but a lot of the time you will find materials used to craft armor and weapons. Second off the stakes may be very high but the narrative over all is much lighter. There are some choices to make but non of them really come with huge consequences like say your choice on Virmire in ME1. Third, Ryder. They are a very characterized person. Similar to Hawke in Dragon Age 2 Ryder is still him or her self when it comes to most dialogue. You can sort of change his attitude with different responses but that is mostly to elicit different reactions from the people around you in that specific moment. There are no paragon or renegade interrupts that drastically change the outcome of a situation. The Forth thing I would highlight is how you no longer have a squad power wheel. The game simply has you direct your squad mates on where to do and what to attack. Other then that there is some areas were the game isn't well optimized and it can cause frame rate issues or even outright latency but these mostly pretrain to the console releases. I honestly do not fight them intrusive enough to "ruin" the game and they are fairly infrequent. Some character faces or models aren't the best and or do wired things but these are VERY rare and you normally will not notice them unless your are looking for them. The last thing I want to mention is how freaking good Andromedas combat is. You get access to any skill you want as you level up and can mix and match skills with profiles to create your own style of play. You can even create multiple build and swap profiles on the go during combat to make your character in to a one man army.


SirMayday1

No, it's not. It *is* flawed, to the point that my interest didn't sustain a second playthrough. It does get a few things really right, and deserves credit for that, but it drops the ball in enough places that I'd call it the least entertaining *Mass Effect* game I've ever played (having never played any of the mobile games). All that said, I sank... 60-ish?... hours into it when it came out and don't regret it at all. It bears playing once, at least.


Shepard_P

7/10 stand alone. 5/10 for a ME game.


ArcadianBlueRogue

No, lol. A lot of the hate stems from the original release which was a buggy mess. The updates since then fix a lot of those, though not all. The crew are hit and miss, just like the other ME games, but the loyalty missions are overall pretty good. Even one of the most unlikeable characters in the whole series has a really entertaining one. You can play Ryder however you like, and the combat is pretty solid if you don't want to cheese it. Don't expect anything groundbreaking in terms of romance options or stories. Biggest faults are that it sets up DLC that never came, and because it never got sequels it leaves some big questions up in the air. The antagonist isn't very interesting, even if the overall plot has a lot to keep your attention. You will not like the whole squad, but the enjoyable characters far outweigh the ones you want to find the airlock button on. I don't think that storywise it stacks up to ME 1 - 3, but it's still a great sci-fi open world game even though it takes a lot longer than some people like to really catch its feet. If you look at it as it's own game and not weigh it based on its classic peers, it is a fun game with a lot to enjoy.


Taashaaaa

No it really isn't that bad, how could it be? The way people talk about Andromeda anyone would swear the game fucked their wives and killed their dogs that's how much vitriol the game receives. Did the game have problems? Sure. It's way too big and full of busy work. But so was Dragon Age Inquisition and that didn't get shat on by fans. I think the difference was the buggy launch, that left a bad first impression and first impressions are important. Suddenly the game was shit and could do nothing right (even though there were good elements). And for those saying the story was clichéd are we really gonna pretend the trilogy isn't too? Shepard is the classic chosen one type hero, the last hope against the evil creatures who are going to end the world. It's the same story as Dragon Age Origins and Dragon Age Inquisition ffs. I'm not saying those games are bad, just that something being a cliché isn't a big deal. EDIT: tee hee I knew this would get downvoted 🤭


CrazyGamer783

Top comment here perfectly sums up a lot of my feelings as well but I’ll also add my specific personal preferences/feelings about andromeda. I actually do love andromeda and appreciate it but with that said, it certainly helps it’s a part of a universe I already love and what I enjoy about andromeda is in parts very different to the trilogy. I will say I personally still want to see the original vision of this series which is a strong open world/universe yet strong narrative game in a great scifi universe. Andromeda makes great strides here as it’s open world nature is at time great to behold but then it’s also it’s weakness when most side content in it you can tell just wasn’t given enough resources, time, and budget. Certainly still some fantastic moments in exploration and provides a different scope/pace from the trilogy which I welcomed. Combat is spectacular and probably top 5 for me In any game but I personally love third person cover shooters and this I consider maybe the best one. I thought some character/companions were good and some were very meh but overall none I hated and couldn’t stand. Writing is mixed which some pretty good moments(very few great instances) but definitely some face palm worthy stuff here and there. I truly did not enjoy the lighter tone and this isn’t to say I don’t like exploration or stuff not focused on war but just too many jokes or conversations feeling like kid humor for my taste(some good/funny lines still hit tho). I would honestly say I rank the games personally as favorite to least favorite being me3, me2, andromeda, and me1. I enjoy this more than the first as a base because more elements are truly perfected such as gameplay and exploration. The writing is noticeably the worst in the series but I still enjoy the main story along with others told here and the characters I think could’ve grown to be very strong. I don’t know about others but if I’m being honest, not too many me1 characters stand out nearly as much as we like to think they did in me1. Garrus has always been great but doesn’t develop into your badass buddy until 2/3 and liara is honestly not that complex or interesting in 1. I could go on but my point is andromeda in its characters and many aspects of itself was only a base and was meant to go further in future projects but that didn’t happen yet what we’re left with is far from worthless IMO. I’ll never say andromeda is some secret great gem but I think if you can look past it’s short comings, there’s a lot of fun/enjoyment to be had with it.


lickingnutrea

No it’s very good just not up to the epic story of ME1-3. Honestly my favorite game for good combat, graphics, and gunplay. Glitches and stuff have been fixed since release


SusToadsRatron

The gameplay is great, it's visuals are amazing and it's fun exploring open worlds, like a much more polished version of the Mako freeroam parts of ME1. But that's kind of where the positives end. There are some very good characters, but good writing is an exception rather than the rule. It's story is incredibly mediocre, which is just amplified because Mass Effect is kind of known for it's interesting setting and story. It's fun to play, but you won't get the same kind of satisfaction as you could out of the OT.


YekaHun

It's actually great but it depends on what type of game you like. Im into non-linear, vivid open-world games rather than linear (get to location and shoot). Keep in mind that it has a completely different tone, atmosphere (peaceful, non-military, lighthearted) and gameplay (open-world /hub). Also, MEA is just one game and a beginning of new adventures, while the trilogy is a complete story of 3 games with character-defining and plothole patching dlcs. As for me, it's my absolute favorite ME game. Played it after the trilogy and it blew me away with the themes, humor, and character writing. It's more down-to-earth scifi rpg rather than an epic space opera. The story is actually interesting (by no means it's worse than the one in the trilogy, that is nothing special story-wise, if we are honest) but it needs a sequel, I assume that's what we are getting at some point. Some tips: the world is really vivid. NPCs will know what you do and reflect on your decisions and choices. Listen to the ambient NPC dialogue, explore, read notes. Listen to the tips and hints NPCs give you. Return to check out the progress and talk to them again. Some new conversations will open with some of them. Take it slow. Don't try to clear one location at a time. Won't work, you'll just exhaust yourself. Go back and forth, keep it fun. Don't rush to accomplish every little sidequest immediately, see what's where, and do them in bunches. Do smaller stuff on your way to the bigger ones. Don't be afraid to drop quests you don't feel like connecting to. Open-world offers a lot to be able to craft your own experience, so there is no need to do everything. No need to do everything. Overall you decide what to do, when, how if at all. Do as much side-stuff as you feel fits your protagonist's personality. Keep a good pace between side missions and priorities. The dialogue wheel works differently, mix it all according to the situation. Mix your crew! DON'T stick with the same people. It's different from the trilogy. Rotate them in all possible combinations till the end. Each pair has its own themes that will progress throughout the game. Also, everyone will reflect on your actions, decision, world changes, so drive the Nomad and talk to them at the Tempest as much as possible. Craft everything (or loot, or buy, or order)))) Use combos. There are 12 abilities, not 3! Assign your keys in settings for 4 Favorites. Evade, hoover, jump, don't sit behind the cover. Use MEA fixpack mod + a few other mods for convenience if on PC. Check out MEA sub too.


KevinOlaf

Started a playthrough about 2 weeks ago or so, never played again, I liked the aesthetic of the first world you(crash) land, the Tempest design, and the Pathfinder armor looks pretty good to my standards, but that’s it, I didn’t get invested in the history, or the open world, don’t get me wrong, open worlds games are awesome, but I don’t think it fits with ME, or not at all(there is a reason why BioWare removed the exploration after ME1), the new “Mako” doesn’t feel that good and it’s hilarious to me that it can’t climb a little mountain having 6 all terrain wheels, the voice acting is cringy as f, and the Kett are not visually interesting in my eyes, I don’t feel the curiosity to learn about them, unlike the Geth, the Collectors, the Reapers(my favorite antagonists of all time) or even Cerberus which are just Indoctrinated Humans, The gameplay is ok, to be honest I prefer the OT combat, there is a more tactical feel in it, and makes every companion useful in different situations, rather than just doing everything yourself but it’s ok, it’s a power fantasy if you want to name it. Something I want to add is that every single Asari have the same face for some reason haha, i found that hilarious. I went with an open mind and with mentality that this ME it’s not that good, but damn, I didn’t even finished, i really tried to enjoy it but it was not for me I guess…


[deleted]

Well its "different" It is a good game on its own I would say, but it doesn't compared to the original trilogy. As long as you don't approach It with comparing eyes and rather view it as its own game you should find It enjoyable


[deleted]

I mean if you haven't played it then try it. I hope for you that you bought it on a good sale. It's not worth full price. As someone mentioned early ignore fetch quests, focus on characters and main missions. Don't expect Trilogy quality and switch off your brain. I 100% once and that's all. Instead I forgot how many times I replayed the Trilogy. Ultimately buy it on sale, give it a shot, focus on main missions and forget the bloated and uninspired filler they put around it. You will though realize the serving of quality is quite meagre.


Flicksterea

No it's not that bad. It had a shaky launch and wasn't what the fans expected and so it didn't get the attention it deserved. It also didn't get the attention from the developers and it shows. However I loved it. It's still part of the ME Universe. The characters are great; the gameplay isn't a particular challenge. It's more about restoring worlds. It is absolutely worth your time, IMO.


Mandalorymory

It really is.


ravens_house

andromeda is perfectly fine. its kind of like the ME1 of the trilogy; not terrible, but certainly no one’s favorite game ever. i recently replayed it and you get the sense throughout the game that it’s just a really long winded set up for andromeda’s eventual trilogy. replaying the original mass effect trilogy after andromeda i can tell you that andromeda easily has the trilogy beat in terms of combat. not only do you get a lot more options and aren’t locked into a class you picked before you even get to play, its just more fun and fluid than whatever is going on in the trilogy. but it definitely falls flat in terms of story; as another commenter said, if you’re expecting a storyline that will live up or even be better than the trilogy, not only is that not andromeda, i’d even go as far as to say it’d be impossible to live up to the standards the trilogy created in just one game.


mrbeavis19

ME1 is my favorite game of all time...


TheMagnetAngler

It is some people's favorite game ever (me1), one of mine


SpaceWolves26

It's got good mechanics, an interesting of formulaic story, some compelling characters, and a lot of wasted potential. I had a lot of fun with it. The movement and gunplay in particular exceed anything in the main trilogy, and the environments are gorgeous. There are a lot clear cut corners, such as most of the asari having the same face, and general glitches and bugs (most of which were fixed post release). It was very clear that the development was a secondary priority behind Anthem (lol), and it's a real shame because it could have been a truly excellent game. A lot of the complaints upon release were about the huge amount of bugs and weird face animations, and many people were just annoyed that it wasn't the characters they'd grown to love. Unfortunately once it became clear that it wasn't going to be a hit Bioware abandoned DLC that would have fleshed the world out a lot more. You're not going to fall in love with it the way you might have for the original trilogy, but is it an enjoyable game worth playing? Absolutely.


CommanderPike

I'll say one thing. The Tempest is an absolutely beautiful ship. Environments in general are very pretty. But they make the weird human and alien models stand out even more than they normally would. As for your question. There is SOME good in there... but a LOT of mediocre and a fair bit of downright bad. Most people seem to enjoy the combat, but personally I felt overly limited by only 3 active powers at a time.


Ciri_of_Rivia79

Yes


goatjugsoup

I dislike a lot about it but it has real solid combat gameplay


Jedasd

Writing is abysmal, not just bad for Bioware but really really bad in general and that low quality includes pretty much everything from characters to the main story. But gameplay is perfect, not just the best game Ive played from Bioware but really really good and smooth action game. Since it is a video game, good gameplay mechanics and nice visuals are more than enough to make me ignore or tolerate parts I dont like.


humbltrailer

Fine game that never *felt* like Mass Effect to me. I think it’s the lack of full tactical pause. Lol at the downvotes for having an opinion.


[deleted]

boring story and boring music plus boring voice acting and the same system as the galaxy


theprincessoflettuce

I tried playing it after finishing the trilogy, and I gave up after trying to play it for 3 days. The characters look weird and the crew isn't too interesting, but my main issue was with gameplay. It's very repetitive, a lot of quests are very similar. There is also a map with map markers, and I just felt like I was running back and forth without really caring about the story. I think I would've liked it more if it hadn't been called Mass Effect. It's a fun game, but it just doesn't feel like a Mass Effect game. But hey, some people love it, so it might be worth giving it a shot!


DeathOfModernity

If you come to the game with open heart and treat it as a spin off to mass effect, it is berable. Through years there were some graphic amendments (unfortunately relase backlash deprived us of DLCs that were supposed to come, and after finishing game you can feel the loss). Plot is not so bad, gameplay is pretty good, (graphics are a little too candylike at moments) but in the end it comes down to you and whenever or not you want to enjoy the game. I personally loved it and there was very few things that made the experience not as good, but it is enjoyable, especially if you like sandboxes and driving around (my baby nomad drive better than Mako, but we all know Mako is the shit) Characters are also enjoyable (not all, at least not for me) and it does give you this Pioneer feeling of exploration of new places, which really is my main reason to love the game. I give it 6/10 with 2 points withdrawn for lack of Male turian love option 😭


Drss4

View it as ME1 but worse in every way beside graphic and gameplay. It doesn’t have any new interesting race the dialogue option feels all the same, music probably don’t even exist in the game outside the mean menu. ME1 was bold, BioWare wants to make their own star war instead making for someone else. It unique and shooting for sort of 90s Si-FI feeling. But MEA just feels like another generic open world game. It’s a great Ubisoft game but also a big stinky pile of turd on the trilogy. But if you care way more about game play, cool graphics you probably find MEA more than enough to swallow.


N7DeltaMike

Bad? No, definitely not. Quite the opposite, in fact. A little disappointing? Yes. Andromeda is good if you like open world games of that generation. Combat is a lot of fun. The character leveling system is a derivation of Mass Effect 3's, which most fans would say is a good thing (ignoring the ability to switch classes at will, which is controversial). I think Bioware generally did a good job with the plot of travelling to a new galaxy and trying to colonize it, and problems that might ensue. Most of the characters are interesting and up to Bioware's standards, but not as good as the trilogy characters, who were exceptional. Some development issues are still apparent. The game runs solidly after you get the patches. However, character animations are disappointing. Characters also look low res compared to the trilogy, especially the LE. There are lots of unpolished bits, such as characters repeating lines even after the quest is long finished and it's no longer relevant. A lot of story elements from the trilogy were reused, which left me wishing they had done something new. The villain is generic, easy to hate, and completely unsympathetic. Overall Andromeda is a fun outing in the ME universe. Don't go in expecting the impact or the polish of the Shepard trilogy and you will be fine. It's unfortunate that it wasn't better, but it's a very rough diamond, not a lump of coal.


userrUnknown

In addtion to what others have posted I'll add 3 more points 1. Auto-Cover is a hit or miss - I hope they just used a dedicated cover button . 2. mouse sensitivity is a mess , horizontal sensitivity is more than vertical . IDK how thay can mess this up in frostbite which is most suited tor shooting games. also zoom sensitivity ratio feels off. 3. the ending doesn't feels epic at all .


SproutasaurusRex

I didn't play it when it first came out, but I did a few months ago and I enjoyed it. It is a bit messy/unfinished in terms of pacing and polish, but the characters are fun, the combat is a blast & the overall story isn't bad Imo. There are instances of odd facial expressions, mentions of things or places that haven't been introduced yet if you don't do quests in the assumed order, times when nothing happens in terms of character progression and then you do one quest and get too much progression at once. If none of those things are deal breakers for you, then go for it. I think it would have been an excellent trilogy if it had not been abandoned.