#i play and do mako missions to wind down and drive around from big missions

[thelastmatch]

me and the mako and all the almost 90 degree inclines you can think of, did you hear that weird monster yell in the distance too? or the sound of the (geth?) ships overhead

[gwynbleiddyn]

Mass Effect Andromeda: Early Access Review

So, I finished my 10 hours and.... wow. This is going to be one hell of a game.

I’m super hyped about it, even more so after Early Access, and I’ve gotten a few anon requests for a review so, here we go. Big scary SPOILER WARNING going here because, boy, the secrets are spilling out by the dozen in Andromeda. Seriously, don’t read if you don’t want to know what goes down. BIG spoilers.

Very rambly and long-winded wordy thing (with bonus screencaps, yay) below the cut.

Alright, Andromeda. I’ll grant you one thing; Alec Ryder? A fucking incredible character. We haven’t seen the last of him.

That very important point aside, I’ll get on w/ the actual review.

First things first, loading the game up was an immediate hit of nostalgia, despite the vastly different menu and the music, both of those things held a specific kind of feeling to them that pretty much just screamed ‘this is mass effect!!’ in my face, and was a totally welcome introduction to a new game. First points on the board.

Waking up as Scott, I realise now that the trailers and shortened gifs honestly don’t do the animations any justice at all. They’re nuanced, subtle and so unbelievably human when you watch Ryder speak. It was a struggle to even grasp what the characters were saying, once I finished staring @ their faces and actually reading the dialogue. Such subtle intricacies to Scott’s smirks, head tilts, the way he glances, hell, even the damn idle anims had me gawping. There weren’t any animations that stood out to me as boring/dead/overanimated/stupid-looking, though I can see why some people are finding issue with the ‘dead-eye’ kind of look going on. I’m seeing it in a couple of places, but honestly? Not nearly to the extent that nay-sayers are throwing out there. It’s the kind of thing I can see getting sorted with an early patch, and it’s only noticeable if you’re really trying to find a problem.

The light-hearted tone across the Hyperion had me smiling the entire way through the intro, Scott’s silliness and quips had me snorting in the really ugly “i’m laughing so hard and i’ve metamorphosed into a seal” kind of way given the juxtaposition of Ryder Sr. gunning for planetfall from the word ‘go’. I immediately got the sense that this was not a regular setup, there were things left unsaid between this father and his children and it’d been that way for years. There’s a particularly hard-hitting moment in the wake of Habitat 7′s events, where Scott asks SAM (the AI developed by Dad Ryder. consequently, the AI Dad Ryder probably spent more time on than he spent with either of his children. let that sink in.) if his Dad actually cared about him. This wasn’t some cliche ‘daddy issues’ trope being played on, this was a real insight into Ryder’s character and background, both of which are uncertain and untested from the moment you meet them.

Pretty soon after the intro, where you meet Liam and Cora, Captain Donn and the elusive Alec, you’re thrown into the deep end of a shitstorm gone south in Habitat 7. New Earth, if you were lucky. At this point, though, you are shit outta luck. Crash landing, split up teams and scrambled comms pretty much sets up the framework for the classic “not all of us are leaving this place alive” feeling that comes with any good old fashioned pioneer spacefaring mission. There’s major problems surfacing, and that quickly becomes apparent amongst the dwindling hopes of humanity’s new home.

This high-intensity intro segues nicely into the ‘tutorial’ section, where you start to get to grips with the new vertical movement available to Ryder through their jump-jets, and the basics of commanding your squad and general gun mechanics. Nothing new there aside from jump-jets which are easy, but it takes some getting used to in regards to your new power format. You’re limited to 3, with variations on each power depending on whether you hold the power trigger or not. The game explains it better, I’m just shit at combat. Anyway, it’s a fresh take on an old, reliable system we got used to in the OT, giving Ryder a much more dynamic and fluid response to combat. Which is a good thing, because combat in ME:A has been ramped up to hell. Enemies are aggressive, flank you and use cover to their own advantage, forcing you to make use of your own cover and agility from the start. You’ll probably die a lot on Habitat 7. Don’t worry.

The story runs smoothly, and you’re immediately faced with side-missions to complete. The best part? They’re side missions you actually want to do. No stupid fetch quest, no ‘talk to angry woman about dead husband’ when you’ve only been there 5 minutes, no typical Bioware out-of-place-and-tedious sidelines that make no sense to the main story. No, these sidemissions involve actually figuring out where the hell your crew are, what the hell kind of planet you landed on, and how the hell you’re going to get out. All very essential to survival, I hear. Oh, and honestly? EXPLORE. That is literally your job; explore every inch of the map before you start chasing down a ‘main’ questline if you want to tackle this game effectively. Trust me. Dad Ryder actually expresses some surprise and.... is that.... affection? If you choose to take the scenic route and do some scans with your omni-tool and SAM. Worth it.

Andromeda rewards you for curiosity. Embrace it. It enhances the narrative and dialogue, and you get companion banter along the way. There’s nothing that should put you off taking the path less traveled.

Back on track: Habitat 7′s rookie-run mission concludes with what really should have been a predictable ‘twist’, but, for some reason, I completely forgot to see it coming over the horizon at light speed. I was so wrapped up in the wonder of exploring and figuring out the Kett that I just... well. Never has a game managed to make me cry in the first 90 minutes of playing. Congrats, Bioware. You did it. You broke my stone cold heart.

Alec dies to save you. Passes on his mantle to you. Very typical stuff, pretty much textbook, but this shit fucking hit me like a freight train because I totally forgot to expect the predictable. Well played. A good writer uses cliches and breaks them into itty bitty pieces, and Andromeda plays on this trope well.

And if that wasn’t enough, Scott dies too. For 22 seconds. Thanks, SAM. When he wakes, he’s immediately greeted by Liam (still in his armour... has that boy sat with you this entire time? Probably.) and Cora, your original squadmates. Cora delivers the blow, and the scene that encapsulates it all is driven by fantastically animated expressions on the three of them. Legit, I felt awful for Scott in that moment, to wake up and then discover he’s now in charge of finding a home for every human onboard Hyperion.

Anyone wants to fight me on ‘bad animation’, I’m pointing them to that scene, right there.

It’s at this point that the mystery of Andromeda really beings to unfold, and it strings you along wonderfully. It doesn’t throw a cause in your lap and hope that you kind of believe in it, it’s a careful, clever string of introductions and ambient conversation that draws you in. The Nexus feels like one of those places just outside of reality, y’know, 24hour stores, airports, empty car parks? That Vibe™ is there, and when you find out why, the questions start to ask themselves. What the hell is happening? It’s not just Ryder who wants to find out, but you as well. That is absolutely critical. This is good storytelling, how it should be done.

The Nexus is a main hub in the story, and there’s a lot going on -- too much to really condense into this review, but well worth the detour around the divisions to speak with whoever’s available. Every person offers you a little more perspective on the mystery surrounding the place. Take advantage of it, be nosey.

The most important thing the Nexus delivers to you, as Pathfinder, is the Tempest. And, God, if you thought Normandy’s reveal was breathtaking... lemme tell you, the Tempest’s unveiling was a thing of absolute beauty. Like, open-mouthed, wide-eyed, “holy shit is that my ship” kind of beauty. Scott’s face kind of says it all. (excuse his minor plasticky appearance here; i’ve been playing on medium/low settings to jump straight in the game, but i can confirm the game runs beautifully even on high res, and with a rig like mine, that’s a pleasant surprise)

The Tempest, like the Normandy, is an engineering marvel, and essentially your new home as Pathfinder while you find a home for everyone else. Not a shabby deal at all. I’ll leave the Tempest details for you to find out, but I could just sit there and stare out the observation decks all day tbh. Absolutely fucking beautiful.

And then there’s the crew. Now, if you’re anything like me, you probably had some trepidation about meeting them, fearing that nothing would ever come close to your Normandy family, but trust me, that is not a problem. Every crew member introduces themselves and their role in a seamless cutscene through the Tempest with Vetra, your bona-fide requisitions officer, armory stocker, and team mom. She looks after you from the start, and it’s fantastic. Love your Vetra, guys. She’s a gem.

After your minor respite in the Tempest, you’re reminded that, once again, you are now the Pathfinder and it’s time to turn eyes to Eos, a desert planet rampant with failed colonization efforts and the Kett. It’s now your official job to wade through the shitstorm of freaky alien tech, scavengers, and strange acquaintances while getting to grips with your new ATV, the Nomad. (a disclaimer: i, shep, cannot drive any in-game vehicle to save my ass. the mako was a disaster covered in lava whenever i had to take the wheel. the nomad is facing the same fate. i may be over-exaggerating the exact practicality of it.)

Eos sees you run into Peebee and Drack, both future companions, but currently complete unknowns to Ryder. Your main job is to stabilize the climate by using fancy alien tech, and that involves all the manual labour of turning on generators, finding power sources and running past a haberdash tutorial on forward outposts and planet viability. It feels real, like you’re actually getting your hands dirty (or, well, sandy) and digging a home out of nothing for your 20,000 stranded souls on Hyperion. Andromeda nails the desperation in your far-flung plans, Ryder’s grasping at straws and you can feel it. Eos is the first glimmer of hope you get as Pathfinder, and unfortunately it also carries the current plot-gate for Early Access. I could ramble on about Eos here, but this thing is long enough as it is.

In a very brief summary:

Andromeda feels like Mass Effect, inside and out. Story, characters, design; every aspect is a callback to the OT (in more ways than one...) but with a new outlook, going forward. Andromeda is truly a tale of pioneer exploration, all the way from Bioware’s own narrative to sending you as the player to a new galaxy with an untested Ryder, an unfamiliar crew, and the mission of a lifetime on your hands.