Let's discuss the Mass Effect Andromeda hate
Man is this blog dusty… I should come here more often. Alright let’s do this!
I’ve been a die-hard Mass Effect fan since its introduction back in 2007. Being a fan of space travel, physics theory and complex stories the series was tailor-made to immerse me like no other games before. The original trilogy scratched an itch during its five year stint but like any addiction it came crawling back pretty fast. Fortunately Andromeda did finally arrive last week albeit during a busy release month that included Horizon Zero Dawn and Zelda Breath of the Wild.
Unlike its current open-world competitors, the latest Bioware epic is catching some pretty heavy flak for a myriad of reasons. Considering how the hype preceding the release; is it all justified?
The short answer; depends on what were your expectations.
That's what I call a walk of shame!
Animation Woes
Once the first official gameplay trailer came out ME:A was attacked from all angles based on its rather concerning animations. Granted, now that the game is released the doubts were well founded as the motion capture doesn’t feel cleaned up and the facial expressions couldn’t dig deeper in the uncanny valley, without even mentioning how low-end the lip-sync tech is. This is rather silly when you consider this was made on a triple-A budget on Frostbite, one of the best engines in the industry.
Most games could get away with this but not an RPG that puts conversation trees at its front. It also doesn’t help that following games such as Witcher 3 and Horizon will automatically trigger comparisons in which ME:A will fail dramatically.
Bad Script
There are also a lot of complaints about the story and dialog in general. It’s been said the characters were designed to cater to the LGBT communities and SFW (social justice warriors) had too much say in the conversations. Many claim this is due to lead writer Chris Schlerf leaving during production but I’m skeptical as that would mean a complete rewrite in under a year (since you know, you’ve got to make the game play along the script – it’s not magical!).
I’m only 10 hours in the campaign but so far I haven’t seen any major faux-pas. True, there are lines about sexual orientation or gender reassignment that feel a bit forced. For example, I asked one crew member on the Nexus about their reason to come to Andromeda and the it sounded akin to “I used to be Joe and now I’m Jane, so I was looking for a new beginning…”, as if the subject could be brought up so casually. I’m sure you could take a quick Mass Relay trip if you wanted a new start in such an expansive universe, no need to colonize a new galaxy. That’s just overkill.
All that said, I love the cheesiness carried by some lines. We’re talking about space opera, here, and let’s be honest; Mass Effect always had its own brand of "campiness". I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The Tempest's crew won't take that bullshit. Especially not Drack.
Fan Service
Maybe that’s just it. I’m a fan of the series and even though it has many flaws, Andromeda is able to keep its predecessors charms intact for the most part. There’s truly nothing like exploring a full new galaxy, discovering alien technologies, colonizing planets and mingling with all kinds of fictional races a la Star Trek.
At its core the game feels similar to its roots, yet evolves in some aspects like combat, crafting and character management. The game doesn’t suffer from Fallout 4 syndrome where everything was dumbed down to focus on shooting mechanics and repetitive “procedural” missions.
Every found datapads, overheard water-cooler conversation and intricate world details add in to the immersion. This isn’t the fight against the Reapers but the situation is still critical, and it feels as such. This is Mass Effect.
Simply put, Mass Effect Andromeda is the closest thing to a diamond in the rough. It won’t be in Game of the Year race but it certainly doesn’t deserve all the hate. Hopefully Bioware will patch issues quickly and bring it up to the level of polish of its epic scale.
