What I Like About Mass Effect Andromeda
I just finished my annual replay of Mass Effect. This was only my 3rd time playing through Mass Effect Andromeda. People have written tens of thousands of words on the problems with this game. While I absolutely have my criticisms of it, I don't feel that sharing them would add anything to the conversation. I'd like to tell you about a few things I really enjoy about the game. This blog will have full be more or less spoiler free.
The Tempest
The Tempest is a beautiful ship. Obviously from the same school of design as the Normandy, but it's a new thing. Sleek and gorgeous. Unarmed. Designed for exploration. It's just really pretty.
Drack and Peebee
Much of the cast is forgettable to me, but not Drack and Peebee.
Drack is a 1,400 year old cranky Krogan. He's delightful. It would honestly be hard to write a Krogan companion that isn't fantastic, as the Krogan are so entertaining and interesting in general. But Drack is great. His banter with other companions never gets old. It's really cool to meet someone who lived and fought in the Krogan Rebellions, an event we've heard about so regularly. My only complaint is that he's not romanceable.
Peebee is adorable. Despite being a young Asari with a propensity for unearthing old things, she couldn't be more different from Liara T'soni. Peebee has the most severe commitment issues, yet she's an incorrigible flirt. She yearns for adventure and discovery. She's hands-on and reckless. It was hard not to romance her this time (I romanced her my first playthrough, Vetra my second, and Cora for this third).
The Nomad
The Nomad is just fun to drive around. It's a great vehicle that is easy to use, but you can really push its limits as you grow your skill with it. It's unarmed, which can be frustrating at times. But arming it like the Mako would make world encounters absolutely trivial, so I understand. It's also nice that you can change the paint job on it every time you start a mission or debark onto a planet.
Differing Biomes
The worlds you play in are each so different from each other. Overgrown jungle, harsh desert, frozen waste. The planets really feel distinct.
World Impact
It's great fun to feel how your actions as Pathfinder affect the viability of the outposts and the Initiative as a whole. Granted, I think they could have taken this much further, but I like what they've done. When it becomes possible to be in direct sunlight on Elaaden without losing health, that's great. Activating the Remnant Tiller to guarantee the Initiative will have fuel for the next ~200 years feels great.
Annihilation
There's a supplementary novel called Mass Effect Andromeda: Annihilation. If you've played Andromeda, you really should read this book. It's very good. Now, it wouldn't stand on its own. I couldn't recommend it to someone unfamiliar with the games. But to any fan of Mass Effect, it's essential reading. It tells the story of the Quarian Ark, which never appeared in the game (I assume it was planned for DLC which never happened). The book was written by someone who really gets Mass Effect. It also doesn't have any human characters (outside of the prologue), so you get to spend time in the heads of aliens. That's a nice change for the series.
A Galaxy of Possibility
The core concept of Andromeda is great. A whole new galaxy to explore. Sidesteps the events of ME3, so you don't have the baggage of those endings. The first game takes place in only one cluster of stars, but there's a whole galaxy out there. So much room for more stories! I don't know if we'll ever get any, but they're fun to think about.
Speaking of which, I've written a spoiler-filled blog of my ideas for a hypothetical sequel. Check it out here if you like!