I love the original Mass Effect trilogy. That’s not exactly a huge leap but it is what makes Mass Effect: Andromeda so disappointing. I was ready for this game in a way I hadn’t been for a game since Gears of War 3. I’m talking genuine excitement to the point where the last few days leading up to the release felt longer than the ones before them.
And of course, the game came out and it was buggy, and it just didn’t feel right. At least not to me. I mean, over the course of my multiple attempts to lock in on this game, I’ve probably gotten about 3 hours into it before I just stop caring. Something else always takes my attention.
I REALLY WANT TO LIKE MASS EFFECT: ANDROMEDA
My main issue with this game is that it’s just not interesting. The story just didn’t land with me to start out. And I can admit that part of that was wanting this game to establish some level of connection with the original Mass Effect trilogy from the standpoint of the long term effects of Commander Shepard’s actions beyond “we have cool new space toys”.
The other part was simply that the characters just didn’t feel interesting. Maybe it’s because they don’t come off like characters that are establishing themselves. You’re given the title of Pathfinder but it’s not like being a Spectre, where it felt like everyone was against you despite being the one saving the world. There was something to establish Shepard as. Something to prove.
I did enjoy the combat, it felt like a quicker version of what we got in the OG trilogy and with the advancement in console tech since Mass Effect 3, it was a welcome change. If anything would keep me in it through a playthrough, I’m thinking that would be it. But even that couldn’t save me. I needed the story to match up to what I was getting gameplay wise and Andromeda just wasn’t filling that gap.
SO WHY TAKE ANOTHER SHOT?
I’m saying all this to say that I’m gonna play this game again. At launch it was a bit of a buggy mess and it was hard to even get through the opening because it was that noticeable. But that’s stuff that can and has been fixed.
I bought the game for 5 bucks on a PSN sale a while back. And it has sat in my library forever, picking up digital dust as I actively avoided what I’ve always known, that I’m going to play this game again. It almost feels like a minor blind spot at this point. It’s not like it’s out of the realm of possibility that it could be good now with some time passing and my general outlook on gaming having changed.
I want to enjoy this game, especially with Mass Effect 4 coming down the road. I could just play the Legendary Edition and relive the glory days, but there’s another game that also launched kind of a mess and came back around. Cyberpunk 2077. It’s a legitimately great game that was held back by its issues. My hope is that Mass Effect: Andromeda falls under that category as well.
The post Mass Effect: Andromeda- I’m Going To Try This Again appeared first on VICE.
The post Mass Effect: Andromeda- I’m Going To Try This Again appeared first on VICE.
