I was really looking forward to Mass Effect: Andromeda, but because of the poor reviews I didn’t play it when it first came out. Instead I got it on sale last month. GiantBomb recently named it worst game of 2017.
I’m currently playing Andromeda, I don’t think it’s that bad. It’s disappointing for sure, but the worst game? I am still enjoying my experience with it. Here a few thoughts I have on it.
- I’m not encountering a lot of the awful bugs that plagued it at launch. I didn’t start playing it until after the final patch and I’m conditioned to save as often as possible while playing BioWare games. I’ve only had to reload an old save because the game was unresponsive game once or twice. Since I’m on the final patch, I’m not noticing anything odd during conversations. Though, they aren’t as engaging as in previous Mass Effect games.
- I really like the setup of the new storyline. There’s a lot of potential there, which looks like it is unfilled in the game and will remain unfilled since there will be no sequel.
- The two new alien races I’ve encountered so far are…not very interesting. There’s nothing about them, their backstories, and their overall storyline that wasn’t done better in the original trilogy. And their designs are uninspired.
- The characters on your new ship are OK. There’s only a few that are memorable characters. Each game in the original trilogy introduced some of my favorite video game characters. No one from Andromeda is going to stick with me the way Garrus, Tali, Grunt, Wrex, Mordin, and Thane have.
- I really enjoy the open world nature of the game. As you explore the new planets, you stumble on new sidequests. It feels more organic than the way sidequests were given to you in the original trilogy.
- That being said, the sidequests are such a mixed bag. Some are just fetch quests, while others add meaningful background to the the main story and provide interesting new locations to explore. It’s pretty had to know which sidequests will be worth it, and which won’t be, since many are parsed out in steps.
- Finally, the main storyline and quests have potential but aren’t always much fun. I’m looking forward to continuing the story, but if I have to scan for and solve another glyph puzzle I may lose my mind. The main objectives often times feel like chores to do.
So, this is easily the worst game in the Mass Effect series. It scratches some of the same itches the original trilogy did, but not nearly as well. And it fails on so many other fronts. Mass Effect 2 was my favorite game of the last generation. An awesome story, great characters, and the different sidequests and DLC felt like different style games. The first Mass Effect set the story and characters up almost perfectly, and 3 was a flawed but nice conclusion to the story. Andromeda pales in comparison in every way to every previous game. Still, I’ll probably finish it.