There are few games that present space exploration in an interesting way while offering an intriguing story and interesting characters. In 2003, Star Wars fans received Knights of the Old Republic from BioWare, which is fondly remembered to this day. When it turned out that this Canadian developer is working on a new game that will take us on a journey between the stars - it didn't take long to persuade me to play the first Mass Effect.
But the trilogy focusing on Commander Shepard and the Reapers came to an end in 2012, when we learned the story of the war with the machines threatening the Milky Way. The action of the latest installment of the series takes place hundreds of years after those events, so it is not their direct continuation - which gave the Canadians a free hand in creating the story. And while not everything in the game shines, such as character animations or the artificial intelligence of companions, Mass Effect: Andromeda has a few aces up its sleeve - and the intertwining intriguing plot threads are fortunately one of them.
The year is 2176. Jien Garson begins a project called the Andromeda Initiative, bringing together most species of the Milky Way capable of space travel. The goal is to travel to the Andromeda galaxy, more than 2 million light years away, to find a new home there. In 2185, four arks, each with 20,000 colonists, and a space station known as the Nexus set off into the unknown. The journey lasts exactly 634 years, and our adventure begins in 2819 in the Heleus Cluster, where seven "golden worlds" suitable for settlement are waiting for hopeful travelers. However, not everything goes according to plan. This is Andromeda's backstory. Each Ark carries representatives of one of the races that can boast of being represented on the Citadel Council - so we have humans, asari, turians and salarians here. What's more, all ships have their own Pathfinder, a specialist who will serve (along with the team) as the main scout and representative in the event of contact with an alien civilization. The pioneer of the human ark, named Hyperion, is Alec Ryder, a former soldier of the N7 special forces (which also included Shepard) and a member of the first human expedition through the mass relay in the Milky Way. His team includes, among others, two of his children - Sara and Scott.
It is one of the siblings that we play in the new Mass Effect. This is quite a neat solution that does not eliminate the other twin from the game but only moves him (or her) to the background. The biggest mistake the creators could have made would have been to give Sara or Scott a completely marginal role. However, this did not happen, because the protagonist's sister (in my case) is still an important character in the plot ... although I would not mind if this role was more significant.
Sara/Scott is not a seasoned and famous war hero, unlike Shepard. The role of the guide falls on his shoulders suddenly, in an atmosphere of great expectations and hopes, with a simultaneous lack of faith on the part of the command in Ryder Jr.'s abilities. For this very reason, I learned very quickly not to blindly trust any flattery - sometimes it was only the result of the political game being played on the Nexus. And as I got to know the stories unrelated to the main story line, I quickly discovered that the world of the new Mass Effect also has its own House of Cards ... Several different threads intertwine in the story presented in Andromeda. Starting with finding a new home for the colonists staying in cryostasis, through establishing an alliance with the angara race inhabiting the Heleus Cluster, ending with finding the remaining arks. In all this we also have the kett, i.e. the "main bad guys" with the Archon as their leader, and the above-mentioned political and criminal threads.
BioWare has focused on a multitude of stories, each of which is more or less engaging. I liked the part about exploring the unknown and following the clues leading to a significant intrigue, the details of which I won't mention - figuring it out on your own is really satisfying. In addition, all the time we learn the secrets of the Ryder family and the reasons for the involvement of Alec, the father of the twins, in the Initiative ... and these can surprise.
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BioWare has focused on a multitude of stories, each of which is more or less engaging. I liked the part about exploring the unknown and following the clues leading to a significant intrigue, the details of which I won't mention - figuring it out on your own is really satisfying. In addition, all the time we learn the secrets of the Ryder family and the reasons for the involvement of Alec, the father of the twins, in the Initiative ... and these can surprise us.
In addition to the plot, which was the brightest point of the previous parts of Mass Effect for me, a very important and well-covered aspect is also the relationship with the crew of the Tempest ship, our means of space travel. The Companions may not be the most innovative team in the galaxy - the turian Vetra is a bit of a mix of Garrus and Tali, Cora is a military version of Miranda, and Drack is just a krogan. Against the background of this whole group, the angarian, i.e. Jaal, stands out the most - relations with him are full of humor based on getting to know each other and different customs. For the first time in the Mass Effect series, I also met a character who simply annoyed me, but maybe you will like Liam.
It must be admitted that the limitation of the team dealing with the ship was good for the game. There are a total of 11 people on board Tempest with the protagonist (including six companions), each of whom has their own tasks. Very often we come across members of our team in various parts of the ship, conversing with others or going about their own business.
There are many more possible interactions than in previous installments of the cycle, the terminal with messages returns, and the whole thing is complemented by an information board where the crew leaves messages - something like a simplified Reddit or discussion forum. Add to this a great undertaking, which is a film screening prepared for our merry company. I assure you that it will be one of those tasks whose finale is remembered for a long time.
However, there is a small spoonful of tar in all this - setting the action in another galaxy offered a lot of opportunities for new races, which unfortunately were not used. In Andromeda, we only get to know kett, angara and Remnant... remember how it was in the first Mass Effect? Asari, batarians, elcor, geth, hanar, krogan, quarians, salarians, turians, and volus all in one game that was faster than Andromeda.
The Andromeda Initiative is an endeavor that has brought many races of the Milky Way to work together. Its goal was to send scientists, explorers, and colonists on a journey to the Andromeda galaxy - with a one-way ticket. The main task was to establish a permanent presence in the new place and, if possible, to create an easier and more reliable route of travel between galaxies.
The first thing that catches your eye is the beautiful views. The planets explored by the crew of the Tempest spaceship are based on well-known patterns (desert, snow, or jungle), but this does not change the fact that they look really amazing visually. As for the soundtrack, it's nice to listen to, but in my opinion, it's not as catchy as the music from the original. The advantage of Mass Effect Andromeda is also the fact that the gameplay has been perfectly tailored to the theme of space exploration, thanks to which individual elements and mechanics do not seem forced in any way, as it happens in many modern games. While traversing successive planets, our hero establishes and protects new colonies, solves the problems of settlers, and collects resources.
Among the novelties in the mechanics of the game, the jetpack and the scanner deserve special attention. The first clearly increases the dynamics of the skirmishes, and the second helps in finding clues and gaining knowledge about the surrounding world. Although the scanner is clearly inspired by the Witcher Sense, calling it a copy would be far too simplistic. Kudos to the creators for the character development system. It is best described by the adjective "flexible", because it allows you to freely combine the special abilities of the soldier, biotic, and engineer. My hero was as proficient with a sniper rifle and an assault rifle as he was with biotic powers.
The biggest problem of Mass Effect Andromeda is the lack of originality, both in the sphere of model design and plot solutions. It is irritating to see that life in a galaxy far, far away is not much different in form from Earth, and so are the products of alien civilizations. This lack of imagination from poverty can be blamed on the accepted convention, but the disgust still remains. Critics also accuse Andromeda of having only two races added to the pantheon of aliens. At first glance, it does seem like a flaw, but not when there are different factions among both colonists and aliens who have their own motives. This solution seems to me much more interesting than three or four additional, but monolithic, and therefore simply boring races.
As for the plot and side plots, BioWare again served us a story from the series find "x" of something / someone and access the ending. I really don't understand the sudden indignation caused by the secondary character of the main plot. Guys, have you had any contact with other BioWare games at all? The Canadian studio hasn't created an original plot since at least Knights of the Old Republic. The exception is the second part of the Dragon Age series, which unfortunately fared poorly in other fields. Don't get me wrong, the story and side missions are well done, but without much flair. If BioWare has already copied some solutions from The Witcher, I don't understand why it chose the unfortunate scanner, and not invested in a designer/writer. Against the background of the rest, some additional tasks shine, especially those that are performed for individual crew members. Unfortunately, they also clearly show how the plot was botched.
The new Mass Effect also struggles with technical errors, such as mediocre facial animations, which will forever remain the object of malicious jokes, and at the same time Andromeda's showcase, occasional frame rates, or occasional texture loading. In terms of mechanics, I am annoyed primarily by the automatic crouching during combat, due to the fact that the hero likes to get up at the least opportune moment, as well as the lack of weapons in Nomad. The multiplayer mode, which is based on defeating waves of enemies together with other players and completing minor quests, is certainly a nice addition, but I see a few places where the extra funds would be much better used.
Giving Andromeda a final note is not easy. On the one hand, it's still good old Mass Effect. On the other hand, clichés, some technical errors, and not always the right solutions. The new Mass Effect is undoubtedly the product of a great craftsman, but unfortunately, it lacks a lot to be a work of art. If you need a benchmark, in my personal ranking Andromeda is above the third part of the series, but still below the second and first. Anyway, I encourage you to give the latest installment of the series a chance, because it is not as bad as some critics paint it, quite the opposite. Just don't expect fireworks like The Witcher.
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