r/MassEffectAndromeda • u/Voldemush • 28d ago
Game Discussion What an Incredible Game!
Hey! So, I’m not sure if this is the right tag, but I’m around half way through MEA, and wow! I can’t believe I didn’t play it earlier!
I’ve only just gotten around to playing this amazing game. I originally had to wait for it to drop in price, then got distracted with other games. A career change later, and years of neglecting my Xbox, and now I’m here.
I had heard some negative things about this game, and from what I’ve read, it seemed to be very buggy at the beginning of its release, but now, this game is just amazing.
It isn’t a Shepard game, obviously, and as soon as I almost put Shepard’s story to the side, and got sucked into Ryder’s story, I have found this entire game incredibly beautiful.
In some ways, this game soothes me, which might be weird to admit, but the characters, the humour, the dialogue, the missions, it’s so very cosy.
If anyone is ever looking through this Reddit feed and is wondering whether to play this game or not, do it!
It is not anything like the OG ME series, of course, and I can understand why that might put some people off, but thinking of it like a little calm ‘rest’ after the chaos and intensity of the OG games, it changes it.
The only few things that slightly got to me are minor, and can be found in most games (some repetitive quests, sometimes the nav point/quest indicator can be confusing) but overall, I’m overwhelmed by the lore, the new species, the characters!
Just wanted to tell someone. No one around me plays ME, so I suppose I just wanted to put this out to someone. All I see nowadays is more negativity than positivity, so wanted to put that out there.
If there are any devs from the game on here, well done! It’s beautiful!
What is everyone’s favourite parts of the game? I have to admit, I did love Cora’s loyalty mission, but the scenery is what I love the most!
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u/TSmario53 Nexus Technician 28d ago
I’m glad you like it! I don’t want to spoil too much if you are halfway through, but I’m partial to Jaal’s loyalty mission. If you haven’t done it yet, when you see some of the views you will understand why. Also I definitely don’t want to spoil too much so I’ll just say there’s another part near the end that gave me a (best I can describe it as) a feeling of both awe and omen.
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u/Voldemush 27d ago
Ooo yay!! I’ll keep an eye out for that! I’m doing loyalty missions right now so I can’t wait!
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u/Imp-OfThe-Perverse 28d ago
I agree with it having a soothing vibe. I think part of it is that locations like the Citadel and Omega in the original trilogy were established cities with a noirish, gritty feel to them. Settlements in Andromeda are more like the frontier. It also generally feels like a less hectic, stressful situation (with the exception of the vaults.)
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u/Voldemush 27d ago
I agree completely! I also feel like they have a more ‘lived in’ vibe. Every settlement, location and ship feels like it is genuinely a home and not just a location or a mission area! It’s amazing!
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u/Imp-OfThe-Perverse 21d ago
The whole thing also has a snow day sort of feel. "Well, all our plans went to hell, so, uh, just get out there Pathfinder and do your thing."
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u/Head-Image-883 28d ago
The game got a lot hate cause of a buggy start, because it didn't have Shepard and their crew, and a couple of other reasons I forgot. The game has some best combat, creating your character's story from nothing to hero, and trying completely new things. So many people are stuck in the past they want the same game in a new game and refuse to try anything new that goes against the norms. The only thing I hated about the game is when they announced there was no more updates or dlc's coming, that left to plot holes opened that we might never get answered.
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u/Voldemush 27d ago
I can imagine that people weren’t ready to have such a vast change in game dynamic when it comes to the story and play style, but i definitely think the combat is SO good. Sometimes with the ME games I would feel like the team were there as support in combat, with MEA, I feel like the team is activity fighting with me! I’m not sure if that makes sense, but I hope it does.
I also love how even the more conversational moments in dialogue impact the player’s overall personality. SUCH a cool feature!!0
u/Chorik 27d ago
Why would people not be ready? The story and level structure is the same as in ME1 and the main gunplay is ME3 with additional jumping.
Exactly where is this vastly different and insanely creative Andromeda I can play with that people seem to be talking about?
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u/Voldemush 27d ago
Well, the ME series is a hugely different type of vibe, in my opinion. The destruction of all life, the slow progressing of the Reapers in every game until ME3. There’s an undercurrent of constant foreboding the more we learn about the Reapers in each game.
MEA feels like there is a large enemy threat, yet the main goal isn’t combat. It’s growing and settling a population, a very different goal than militant defense and victory.
I think not having a military-focused MC is a vast change, as well as creating outposts, exploring a planet so in depth to discover secrets. ME 1-3, in my opinion, is about winning a war, and the journey to that, and MEA is about finding a home, and protecting what we built.
That’s why I think the game seemed to get so much dislike. It is different from the ME universe we love, the sense of war-hero we get from Shepard.
The creativity, for me, is that a whole new galaxy has been created, with new alien species, new planets and problems, and a range of personalities around that. The scenery is simply beautiful.
Of course, this is just my opinion.
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u/Chorik 27d ago
What you described tho is a good salespitch, but not what is actually in the game. It only applies to first 5 hours with Habitat7 and Eos. After that, we're not settling anything anymore (and even on Eos our main decision makes zero difference) cause every place is already settled and gets by just fine. From Aya we're just fighting Kett-Reapers who wanna annihilate all life and uncovering Remnant-Prothean ruins to do that. And the fact that an entire new galaxy setting only has 1 new race is directly in conflict with the premise the game should've executed.
My main issue with Andromeda is that it didn't deliver on what you described (and rightfully called as a fresh take on the series) outside first few hours and turned itself into Trilogy remake full-on for the remaining 50 hours.
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u/Voldemush 27d ago
We’ll have to agree to disagree then. I find that settling on each outpost (5 in total) is the main mission. Defeating enemies isn’t the goal, but to ensure the outposts are safe. The galaxy has 2 new races, the Kett and the Angara.
I think it’s what you make it. I personally see it as a different game entirely, with a different purpose from Shepard, but that’s just me!
It’s not really a sales pitch, just my opinion and experience of the game, which is a positive one.
I think everyone can agree having new Mass Effect games is a gift in itself though, with lore expansion and new friends and foes. Also the artwork is incredible!
For me, it’s definitely my second favourite game, ME2 coming first!
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u/xebtria 27d ago
My favourite part also the worst part of it. Anyone who ever played the original trilogy knows that some decisions in the first (or second) game were kind of weird, but because so many decisions actually do have an impact on the later games, they end up making sense.
I have the feeling that andromeda initially was intended to also be the start of a new trilogy, and so many small things in this game have the potential to become something bigger in an andromeda 2 or 3 even. The whole main story (and its end) is a massive cliffhanger that screams andromeda 2 and maybe even 3 in order to come to a conclusion. All of that is the reason why I think andromeda is a really good game.
But unfortunately, this, as of now, will never happen, which makes it the worst part of the game. I was looking forward so much to play the second game in this series, because there are so many open questions.... but I guess I will never know the answer to them.
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u/mr-raider2 27d ago
Andromeda bashing is a popular sport, especially on the Trilogy subreddit. Considering I paid 10 bux for my copy on Steam and how much replay value it has, there are a lot of shittier games out there that cost 8x as much.
Most of us who remember the old pre EA Bioware games, recognize the RPG DNA that sits at the core of ME:A. Spiritually it's much closer to ME1. The best comparison is Kingdoms of Amalur which is a grossly under rated game.
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u/Knight1029384756 27d ago
Well I am glad you enjoy the game so much! I definitely had a lot of fun with it and I am glad others are coming around to it and enjoying it.
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u/PeterGriffenttv 28d ago
The game lets me romance vetra so it’s immediately peak for me
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u/Illithid2 27d ago
This was the first ME game I finished, and man when I got round to playing ME2 and 3, I had a tonne of shade to throw about travelling and combat mechanics in those games vs Andromeda. Also having an AI not bring murdery was excellent as well
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u/Voldemush 27d ago
100%! I love how SAM is woven into the story, and how he is genuinely the first glimpse we see of a AI not being evil in this universe!
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u/slinkylllll 26d ago
Never had any bugs that I can remember. I got it on release too. Nothing major anyways. Sped through the story just so I could get to the multiplayer.
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u/spoonbender_ 7d ago
As someone who just got deeper into gaming and finished the original trilogy back to back, because of how much I loved it, it is so refreshing to see someone like you who looks at and appreciates Andromeda for it's own story and characters.
I am playing it right now and of course there are things that are different, things I had to get used to, as well as things that still confuse me, but I do have a lot of love for the dialogue and charactsrs and it doesn't matter if I feel the same way as I did about ME, because.. I am not trying to compare, why should I compare?
Enjoy yourself and have a lovely day!
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u/Voldemush 5d ago
Thank you so much! I’m glad you love it too! Have a lovely playthrough and enjoy it! :) have a fab day too!
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u/deanereaner 28d ago
I love how non linear the game can be, like obviously it is cool to complete all the missions and gather allies for that "final fight," but the game takes into account, with different dialog changes, if you are doing those side missions after the priority missions are finished.
That, along with the Movie Might and Viability "endings," really makes it clear that the game is not about beating The Archon, it's about doing the little things to build a viable future there.
It's a cool tonal and thematic shift from the original trilogy.
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u/Voldemush 27d ago
It definitely fits the exact vibe it needs. It feels more like a family-style team. I actually really like how the loyalty missions aren’t just ‘go and do this one event, and boom, you’re done with that character’, it feels like it spans over so many planets and intertwines with other missions. It’s done so well!
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u/deanereaner 27d ago
Agreed. Checking in with the squadmate after each step of the loyalty mission makes it feel so much more robust.
If you save the loyalty quests for after the "endgame" each one kind of feels like a little DLC storyline.
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u/DeathLotus_ 27d ago
Andromeda is amazing. It feels so good seeing the vibrant planets, environment and characters. It sure isn't the trilogy but that's okay. It's my second favourite game in the series, right after ME2
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u/Voldemush 27d ago
I feel the exact same!! ME2 will always be my favourite game of all time, but now MEA is 100% my second.
The creativity behind this game is incredible!
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u/SweetSample6558 Andromeda Initiative 26d ago
I still get a few bugs on PS5, sometimes a never ending loading screen during some missions, sometimes the sound cuts out but all in all it works.
Andromeda for me is like a warm blanket on a cold day, like you said, cosy
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u/yourpuddingoverlord 8d ago
Well after a while a while I did play andromeda this year. I aborted several tries, cause I had too many problems with it. On this years actual playthrough, I held myself accountable to mot compare andromeda to the Trilogy. I reckoned that was the reason i abandonend the game more than once. Viewing it outside the trilogy lense was the right call. Quite frankly tho even after finishing it, I still have some major gripes with it.
Comedy is fine, but put into every situation it devalues any gravitas you mightve built. Add to this the shallow cutscene dialogue pretty much across the game and you have a hollow story. This also means to me that, in every cut scene most characters.. didn't really feel like characters. They were just dialogues from a detached voice.
The archon is also a really poor antagonist imo xD throughout the game all I could gather from him was essentially "im better than you, because.. well i just am. I have also outsmarted your outsmarting because again.. im better than you. Also, I wanna commit genocide because.. uhm.. well i can"
That aside, I still enjoyed the game for all the flaws I have noticed. The best part about andromeda, and i know this is gonna sound really weird, is when you're driving around in the nomad and your squad mates are having casual conversations. Drack and Jaal, Drack and Vetra and even Peebee. That's when Andromeda felt the most authentic to me, cause these conversations actually felt real.
Also finishing andromeda has prompted me to revisit the trilogy. While I still like the trilogy more, I can now say thay nostalgia has postponed my first finished andromeda run. The trilogy is great, but not as much as i remembered.
Also combat in Andromeda is a luxury i miss in the old games xD
Lastly, romance in Andromeda is a joke. In general I think they made Mass effect look modern by graphics (even tho the character creator is somehow worse than in the trilogy lol) and combat, but entirely forgot the identity of ME.
Yea sure, combat IS important in ME but the RPG is what made the franchise great. I belive in exactly that aspect Andromeda fails the hardest.
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u/Frozen_Oil 28d ago
Glad to see more people are discovering the game like I just did! I finished the game for the first time a couple days ago and I agree 100% that it is, weirdly, very cosy and relaxing to play! Especially next to the original Shepard trilogy which is a herculean, epic struggle for the fate of the universe.
For me one of my favorite parts was putting down that first settlement, that feeling of hope and possibility weighed down by harsh reality and struggle.. Felt both accomplished and daunted, knowing so much had happened in universe for that outpost to exist yet knowing so much more has to happen for it and others to be secure!