Mass
Effect:
Andromeda is a glorious clusterf**k of a game. After nearly
60 hours of play, I came away . . .
satisfied (I think?) by
the overall experience, but also glad it was finally over. There were
days when I couldn’t stop playing Andromeda . . . and days I just
didn’t want to start. I can’t remember the last time – if ever
– I came away from a game with such a positive impression despite
wanting to
stop playing the game because I was so sick of its
bullshit.
It’s
not so much the larger issues that bothered me, but the little things
that stacked up. Small design choices that drag the entire experience
down. The core of the game in terms of gameplay and narrative is
solid and enjoyable. Good even, at times. But Andromeda is
such a conflicted mess, I’m not sure where the hell I should start.
I
never intended to play Andromeda, but after seeing a free trial
period available, I decided to give it a go. I still have a lot of
love for the Mass Effect universe despite . . . the game I shall not
speak of . . . and I must admit, returning to this world was quite a
nice experience. And the first few hours of the trial were enjoyable
and engaging enough to convince me to buy the full title.
Andromeda,
at least from a narrative perspective, was a smart move. It’s the
same universe, but a new sandbox. You play as Ryder, a human
‘Pathfinder’ assigned to the ARK Hyperion – a colony ship on a
600 year voyage to the distant Andromeda galaxy. As you’d expect,
your arrival in Andromeda doesn’t quite go to plan and you quickly
find yourself struggling to survive and gain a foothold on this
dangerous new frontier.
It’s
a tidy way of keeping the things we love – the races, technology
and history of Mass Effect – but without the baggage of the
original Mass Effect trilogy. It’s a clean slate, a chance to tell
a new story in a new galaxy with new races and . . . oh.
Okay,
so let’s talk about the first real flaw of Andromeda. The new races
it introduces – the Angara (good guys) and the Kett (bad guys)
aren’t terribly interesting. Not as interesting as the races you
already know and love. Andromeda also recycles some plot elements
Mass Effect fans will be very familiar with – an ancient, now
extinct civilisation and a nefarious plan by the Kett to assimilate
the genetic distinctiveness of other races in their quest for genetic
perfection.
But
the Kett and their leader – the Archon – aren’t exactly Reaper
level bad guys. Not that they needed to be. I just wish the
whole ‘ancient tech’ stuff wasn’t such a big – if any –
part of the narrative. It’s so – been there, done that
– in Mass Effect, and it’s a shame Andromeda relies so heavily
upon it.
That
said, the core story and how it plays out is certainly worth your
time and provides a fairly engaging and enjoyable ride. The final
confrontation feels a little abrupt, but there’s a neat and
satisfying little epilogue that ensures you come away from the game
feeling pleased.
As
you’d expect, Andromeda has you assemble a motley crew to tackle
the Kett and put an end to their evil schemes. It’s a . . . decent
cast. There was no one I really hated. But there wasn’t anyone I
truly loved, either. Drack, the Krogan, was fun, but krogans usually
are. It’s hard not to compare the Andromeda cast to the original
Mass Effect crew, and though they may not quite hit those dizzy
heights, they do offer a few fun scenes and banter.
You
have core story quests in addition to key companion and colony world
quests. You also have numerous ‘task’ quests. Just as I did with
Prey, I’m going to make the unusual complaint and say that
Andromeda has too much content.
The
problem with the extensive selection of side content in Andromeda is
that the bulk of it – like Prey – is low quality filler. It’s
not necessarily bad content. But it’s not content that’s
worth your time. It has no value. I completed a lot of it but
I can’t say I was honestly enjoying it. I was just mindlessly
grinding through it for the sake of it.
I’d
say 70% of the ‘tasks’ could be cut because they’re completely
forgettable and a waste of your time. But also like Prey, there is
some really good stuff buried in there. It’s such a shame you have
to wade through so much pointless filler to find it.
A
big part of the game is establishing new outposts (you’re there to
colonise Andromeda, after all) but the game really squanders the
potential of this concept. I thought you’d get to explore different
worlds and choose where to put down your outposts but instead, you’re
restricted to a handful of specific worlds and locations.
Okay,
so I can see why they did this and it makes perfect sense from a
narrative perspective, but you also lose that sense of mystery and
adventure. You’re supposed to be a pioneer, but everywhere you go
is pretty much already settled and explored. You just have to knock a
few quests off at each location to put down an outpost, but even this
isn’t handled as well as it could be. I thought outposts would grow
and evolve over time, but they remain static. There’s never a real
sense that you’re building a new civilisation in Andromeda and
that’s the biggest missed opportunity.
Gameplay
is a basic third person cover shooter with the addition of a
horrendous ‘platforming’ system involving a rather weak jump jet.
On the battlefield you can use it to boost dash to cover or leap over
foes – and in that sense it’s pretty fun and adds a welcome
kinetic dynamic to battles – but it’s also unfortunately used for
some f**king terrible and irritating platforming sections.
You’ll
be navigating narrow ledges and rising alien pillars and I can’t
stress how much I hated any section that required me to use
the jump jet in this way. It’s a nightmare to control and you’ll
frequently miss ledges or jump too far, either falling to your death
or dropping straight to the bottom, forcing you to start climbing all
over again.
There’s
so many annoying little things in Andromeda that really pissed me off
that I actually made a list whilst playing. I’ll probably gloss
over a lot of these so this doesn’t run on for forty pages. Ready?
Here we go!
The
UI is a complete f**king mess. I thought at first it was just because
it was designed primarily for a control pad, but it seems to be
equally awful regardless. It’s a convoluted system of multiple
menus within menus and multiple (and different) key/button presses to
do the most simple things. It’s terrible and should be taken out
back and shot in the head.
The
facial animations, though better now than at release are still bloody
awful. They’re stiff and awkward and frequently hilarious. They’re
not as bad as the character animations though, which are always
hilarious. The highlight was probably the ‘fight’ between two
Krogan. I’ve seen better animation in SFM porn.
DOORS!
Doors aren’t generally an issue because they only take half a
second or so to open. Except on one particular world where they each
take 4-5 for no obvious reason . . . other than to make you stand by
and tediously watch a little circle go around.
In
fact, that whole world design can get f**ked, because in order to
enter the main open world, you first need to go through two other
sections and a load screen using a fast travel terminal –
which also includes an option to return to your ship. And yes, it’s
very easy to accidentally hit the wrong option forcing you to leave
the planet . . .
.
. . because returning to your ship makes you automatically leave the
planet/station you’re on. Why? Why can’t I just go back and speak
to someone on my ship or whatever, without leaving the location and
having to watch the same f**king cutscene of my ship taking off and
landing multiple times?
Why
do so many quests send you on pointless ‘scanning’ exercises
across multiple systems or locations? Why do I have to tediously
visit five different relay points in order to find the ‘real’
objective in so many damn quests? It just forces you to continually
backtrack through places you’ve already been and for what? I swear,
over half of my 60 hour playthrough was spent backtracking for
quests.
What’s
the point of system scanning and ‘exploration’? Why does it take
so long? Why does it have to slowly zoom to every planet and – even
if you skip it – still has to zoom in and then out before
you can do a scan? WHY??? WHO THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA???
Why is the range of your hand scanner so small? Why can’t you run
when using it? Why do so many missions involve ‘locked’ doors
that you just need to backtrack to the last room you visited to touch
a console to open it. WHY?? WHAT IS THE POINT???
Why
do you give us so many skill points and combat abilities if we can
only have three active at a time – extremely limiting our
combat options? Because you can’t fit more than three options on a
control pad? F**k, just put in a radial menu or something . . . oh
wait, they did, but only for weapons, not powers. WHY???
Why
is the Nomad (your planetary exploration vehicle) so slow? Why
are the maps so big and empty forcing you to tediously drive for
minutes at a time to get to quest locations that seem to be
intentionally placed as far from a fast travel point as possible. Why
is there so much annoying terrain that makes it a pain to drive and
navigate?
Why
can’t I walk around when there is radio or companion chatter
without it abruptly cutting out because I walked too far? It means I
have to stand perfectly still every time someone is talking or I’ll
miss out on what they’re saying. WHY???
There
are so many little problems with this game that, on their own,
wouldn’t have bothered me too much. But combine them all, and they
stack up to create one of the most frustrating and infuriating games
I’ve ever played. Seriously – F**K THIS GAME. Do you think I’m
done? Stay with me, there’s more!
Why
do so many key side quests go nowhere? Why was the Turian ARK
quest so shit? Was it unfinished? Why introduce important plot
elements like the ancient AI, the Collective, the Kett ‘ally’ or
the mysterious ‘benefactor’, if NONE of them are resolved? Were
they intended for DLC? Or a sequel? I guess they were, seeing as how
the game teases the Quarian ARK at the very end. But it doesn’t
look like that’s going to happen any time soon.
I
should probably repeat – as hard as it might be to believe – that
I still came away feeling positive about Andromeda despite the game
apparently being designed to be as irritating as possible. I hated
parts of this game. There were times I wanted to stop playing it
because I was so sick of having to grind through all this annoying
little shit to get to the good stuff. It’s like a bloody endurance
test.
The
question is – is Andromeda worth it, in the end? Despite
everything, despite all my complaints, I have to say yes . . .
barely. In the end, the good shines through. But I’m never
f**king playing it again.
5/10
