Mass Effect 5: Why I DON'T Want to go Back to Andromeda

** ANDROMEDA SPOILERS**
In this video I go over why I DON'T want to return to Andromeda, let me know your thoughts in the comments!
If you're interested in more Mass Effect videos, please check out my other videos
kalaelizabeth
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#masseffect #masseffect4 #masseffect5 #masseffectandromeda #masseffectlegendaryedition #bioware #andromeda

[@kalaelizabeth]

*** HEAVY ANDROMEDA SPOILERS ***

[@samuelchambers4036]

I agree about the andromeda character appearance. I romanced peebee out of convenience. I like jaal but I wasn’t physically attracted to him. I wanted to romance the historian but her lips made my stomach jump. Cora had some pleasant features but she has issues to workout before she should be in a relationship. In the Milky Way liara had this sexy strut and confidence in the 3rd game that added to her companionate personality. Ashley and Miranda had that wow factor. All the characters in the Milky Way grew as people making them more fun

[@darthjoka_cutemgaming]

Spoil it for me momma I'm ready

[@dorottyapapp]

@kalaelizabeth The song you don't recognise from the 2023 N7 day teaser is Undiscovered by John Paesano. It can be heard multiple times in MEA. I specifically remember hearing it in vaults so I associate it with Remnant. kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJWsfIJrgdtlaJYsi=xcIPD6ZV0EEtnQ1f

[@MysticFL1-Beth]

Great video as always! And don't worry about the peeps correcting let them blow some air and move on, I wouldn't want to go back to Andromeda either and yes, I enjoyed playing the game. I still have a gut feeling the tie ins will be after ME3 because the Milky way people are rebuilding and exploring, and the Andromeda is exploring and finding another home to settle in/on see the difference? and I still think all the Normandy crew will be returning I just have a feeling. As far as you losing subs don't worry about that concentrate on who is watching you and how you can improve yourself as in loosen up a little be relaxed more don't lose yourself when your showing talking about your video. Just be you! you have a calming voice, and you should keep that going plus you will bring more people in to watch and whenever You feel comfortable you should start to show your face-on-web cam but that's just my opinion. And yes, I have shown my face while I stream my games specially when I play halo games. You've got this kala I know you can get such a huge following!!

[@darthjoka_cutemgaming]

I haven't Finished Andromeda and I dunno if I'm gonna... maybe

[@ryz0504]

Ryder’s like that 20-ish yr old rebound after breaking off a 10 yr relationship. Theyre fun and all but they will always be compared to the first

[@alexmarra6656]

I really would like to see Sheppard back ❤

[@roachmonk]

I'm actually tired of Cerberus being an antagonist. I think I'm tired of them even being an entity that the main character interacted with. I want something new. Tired of Cerberus.

[@localhearthian2387]

Fun fact, Cerberus meant 'spotted' in ancient greek, so TIMmy named his human supremacist terrorist group... Spot

[@darthjoka_cutemgaming]

Cerberus should be dead now hopefully, although whether the Reapers are dead or being used by organics can almost make us unstoppable, so hopefully the Reapers are not going to help and how are we gonna connect our 123 characters choices? Look I'm just excited even if all we do is fight a crime syndicate I'm happy to be back home.

[@LilBeaniebby]

I could see the organization of cereberus being dead but, the ideology Tim believed in still being around the galaxy, just look at our real world there's still members of extreme ideology groups still around even after the leader/original group died off. Human supremacy wouldn't die once a few extremist die in a war, I could honestly see the humans being more "we are the best the other races should bow" type groups after the Reaper war due to the fact it was a human that stopped the cycle being successful and prolonged it happening 3 times (sovereign,collectors,and the asteroid making a relay go boom).

[@Brinic1]

Other than Miranda I'm no fan of Cerberus. I do think the story had a completion when we found out the Prothean had their own group like Cerberus and TIM died. However, we still have the Geth? So maybe a reforming of Cerberus in some form isn't far-fetched

[@dragonbornexpress5650]

@@LilBeaniebby. Agreed. A person is easy to destroy; An idea, however, is nigh invulnerable.

[@Bigboidawg]

The Rebuilding of the milky way opens up so many new choices that could affect future games.

[@dbsensei7963]

I like the idea of a relative lawless milky-way to explore

[@Bigboidawg]

@@dbsensei7963 I like the idea too but would still like to see respective military’s as well. Think about this though! A Gang of Krogen hover bikers!

[@dbsensei7963]

The only real military that would be left would be the alliance that shepherd created because most of the other superpowers in the Galaxy were destroyed by the reapers.

[@Bigboidawg]

@@dbsensei7963 fair point I just enjoy the Navy side of things.

[@dragonbornexpress5650]

@@Bigboidawg. Fair enough.

[@WOLAK2302]

Honestly there's so much they could do with the next game. I have two massive plots I'd like to see in the next ME game. The first one being the ramifications of the reaper war: the power vacum that's left after the war, fixing back the galaxy along with building back the mass relays and improving relations between various alien races. And the second one the dark energy plot. Like how because of the harvest not happening, the usage of element zero by many alien species destroys the time/space fabric and maybe that's how wormholes are being formed, linking the OT/Andromeda timeline. There's so much they can do, I just hope it's going to be really well written.

[@josephp495]

i still think a surprise quarian ark DLC would garner alot of positivity

[@Alertacobra12]

I am still perplexed as to how they canceled The Quarian Ark DLC, they pretty much abandoned Andromeda after that and now they magically remember it exists and want to derail the new Mass Effect for Andromeda. This is why it feels fishy to me that they magically remember and want to center Mass Effect around Andromeda

[@patrickangelobalasa]

After seeing games like Cyberpunk 2077 bounce back after patches and updates, it really bums me out that Bioware and EA just abandoned ME Andromeda. I wasn't that big of a fan of Andromeda, but I feel like it really was salvageable.

[@Berek71182]

At least the released a book abozut it. Its not just the Quarians who are missing. It also about the Volus, Drell, Elcor and even the Batarian who were flying on the Quarian Arc. These races were also heavely divided, THe Quarian were split between Anti-AI tgraditionalist and Give-Ai-Another-Chance-Futurist. THe Volus were divided between rich people who got everything but traveled to Andromeda for being bored, and the "failed poor" who wanted to start another life away from Volus merchant meritocrazy where only money counts. The Drell were split between Tradionalist who wanted to become idenpendent from the Hanar and revive their old religion, and Drell who preformed to uphold the pact. Sadly the book only hinted thoses social struggle but never fully told about it in detail.

[@jasonvazquez4953]

I just want more Quarian content period. They're, IMO, the most interesting race in the series. I'd love to play the Cerberus attack on the flotilla Tali talks about in ME2. The ARK DLC Seems like it would make for a great horror/survival themed section where the infected people start losing their minds and attacking the uninfected. The goal could be to send a warning beacon to keep away.

[@jaksilver3656]

I agree with you about Ryder: Shepherd felt like they GREW during the trilogy, even during the individual games. Ryder didn't grow. Basically the same kid from the beginning, with a tiny little more self confidence. But confidence is only a portion of growth, and it's pretty much the only thing Ryder gained.

[@Melinmingle]

Its because current bioware team are weaksauce themselves. Have you seen their picture and interviews?

[@twistedelegance_]

Trilogy vs 1 game. Also storywise focus was elsewhere. Why would he have to grow he did not face a situation where the fate of the world was on his shoulders.

[@sarasunshinemt4444]

I felt like Ryder never took anything seriously. Therefore, would should I?

[@SpectreSaunders]

Love the 40+ min video! As someone that liked Andromeda (but I don't ignore its issues), I agree with most things said here... I personally think it'll be set in the Milky Way but a while after Andromeda... I think a large time gap/skip post-ME3 would be good to distance itself from the endings & give the writers space to write in events between the trilogy & 5, in case they want to explain/change aspects of the endings & make it so all 3 ending choices (excluding refusal) are possible.

[@darthjoka_cutemgaming]

Thankfully its not Bethesda and the refusal option wasnt the right one... could you imagine the Reaper war still on going as you wake up to that horse thief over there...

[@Roland1405]

I completely agree. They als could use that to answer questions that are open in both universes and they don't have to make a specific ending cannon, something imho would be a huge problem.

[@LongShen1985]

Import saves from mass effect 3 to mass effect 5 but that would require a lot of work to implement and BIOWARE isn't known for not rushing games they do rush their games and are known for quantity not quality 100% of the time.

[@richardgaldos6901]

My sole biggest problem with Andromeda is how it feels like you dont get role playing choices. Like is Mass Effect 1, every choice you got felt like it made a huge difference, maybe not across the series, but in that particular setting that choice had an impact even if you dont see it. In Andromeda you get choices like the science/military team choice for your outpost which it doesnt matter what you pick because the games lies to you and literally tells you later they are not military, they are engineers. Or New Tachanka where there is literally NO REASON to not side with the Krogans (your choices are make the Krogans happy, form an alliance, get a colony base OR get nothing?) I agree with your point on wishing we got more family interaction. Unlike most people, I actually really like DA2 because of 1 simple reason. I love the family story it tells. I grew a liking to my sister and really felt a desire to protect her (turning my proTemplar Hawke into a hypocrite, which I actually liked storywise.) So ya I would love to get more family dynamics.

[@AndyJP]

Has anyone ever asked bioware as to why they put the "Shepard lives" scene at the end if they never intended to return to Milky Way? Always seemed weird to me.

[@bubblybobabubbles]

It seemed they did intend for Shepard's story to end (and in the Archives, which is ME's version of DA Keep, I don't think I'm seeing a "Shepard's Breath" type tile), so maybe the breath scene was supposed to spur players' hope or creativity so they could write about Shepard living on their own? Or maybe as a reward for having such high war assets and saying hey, look, this character you created and loved lived because they did so well! I'm not sure. They seemed to really be for fanwork after all. This is a really good point though.

[@AndyJP]

@@bubblybobabubbles I feel like they would have also had him survive in the other endings if that were the case. It just feels weird that they gave us these three endings but the destroy one feels like it's supposed to be the correct one. At the very end of the saga, why give us the option to choose wrongly if there were to be no repercussions?

[@bubblybobabubbles]

@@AndyJP Don't know. Maybe it has something to do with how the endings worked? With how the Catalyst explained them (taking its word at face value anyway), it seemed both other options- Control and Synthesis- would kill Shep by taking their soul or essence of being or something, rather than Destroy where it's just "big explosion"- way more survivable than "hop into the beam and the essence of your very being will be dispersed so everyone can be half organic and half synthetic" haha

[@AndyJP]

@@bubblybobabubbles Oh yeah I know, I meant write them in a way so that he survived all of them. If they were gonna have him survive one, why not all?

[@dorottyapapp]

I asked the same question myself. Shepard should've died in destroy too. By the ruthless calculus of war the hero has to make a sacrifice to save everyone, this time the price to pay is her/his own life. Leaving a mark on the galaxy is the reward for it (by choosing a direction: destroy, control, synthesis). With refusing to make the sacrifice the only option that remains is to continue the fight. You can live another day but you doomed the galaxy.

[@yung404error8]

In regards to ryder being too young im on the opposite end of the spectrum. I was in my late teens-early 20s when i played with ryder and they honestly felt very relatable. Now that im approaching my late 20s more of sheps qualities are relatable now so i guess its really about perspective. Honestly andromeda as a whole just didnt benefit from the tonal shift, if they told the same story just darker and more mature, then i feel it wouldve been better

[@Vincent-s7y]

I stopped this at 18 minutes in because I wanted to touch on one of the things that bothered me most about Andromeda. You harped on a few issues, but my biggest one was that there were 0 consequences for your choices. I mean really regardless of what options you take the story plays out the same. Example: I said yes to Peebee in the 0 G chamber to becoming her friend with benefits. This in itself is supposed to lock you out of a romance with her. I continued the game playing through and we got to her loyalty mission where I killed her ex girlfriend that she was actively trying to save. I literally took that choice from her murdered her former lover and on the ship I told her yeah I did it and cry me a river., She literally still asked me to be with her and I ended up with the full Peebee romance! I feel like Peebee should have left the tempest at that point and maybe not been an adversary to Ryder and maybe even unlock a cool new remnant armor or gun due to her getting that artifact but you lose Peebee as a companion. Another is making your first outpost choice a military or scientific one is such an important choice that it's net result is an Angaran diplomat decides with to keep his men armed or not on the Nexus. That being said I really feel you missed the point of the game having Ryder being so young and new. They wanted you to grow with Ryder as opposed to having a pre established war hero like shepard. This would have been the equivalent of starting shepard directly after his parents were killed on mindoir and you just joined the alliance. You wouldn't have the same shep you know and love. They wanted you to see Ryder from the very beginning. I do agree though that Ryder should have grown more confident during the game rather than show no character growth especially after rescuing the Moshae so early on. That should have been a huge confidence boost for team Ryder.

[@kalaelizabeth]

You are absolutely right and this is something I should have mentioned. There really isn't any major choices or consequences felt throughout the game.

[@proteuswest1084]

@@kalaelizabeth I've seen this same criticism of Andromeda above, and then I ask people which choices in ME 1 had specific consequences within the game and which ones were more consequential when expanded upon in future games. Outside of Virmire, a lot of your choices weren't felt or addressed further until later games. Some major decision points didn't consequentially affect things to the extent you thought. If you want to level this specific criticism at Andromeda, then you need to level it at Mass Effect in general.

[@dorottyapapp]

​@@proteuswest1084Exactly!

[@dorottyapapp]

Finally someone sees the difference in the concept of the trilogy and Andromeda. Yes, Ryder has just started the hero's journey, Shepard is already halfway through it by the time we, the players join in. I agree that by the end of Andromeda Ryder should've reached the state that Shepard was in at the beginning of ME1.

[@Vincent-s7y]

@@proteuswest1084 saving the council or destroying the council is one I can think of off the top of my head, saving ashley or kaiden is another.

[@XayenBrevard]

I was 17 when the game came out, Im 24 now. I enjoyed being the young person, but it definitely makes sense for the people who are much older to dislike it for the same reason. Great thought

[@-Sparagmos-]

I’m hoping we’ll get to play more than one time period. We should get to see how the galaxy looks shortly after the reaper war as well as further into the future.

[@craigharris41]

They did that. The Citadel was rebuilt in about 70yrs.

[@willfanofmanyii3751]

@@craigharris41 When was that said?

[@Pedroz0r]

I was thinking about this, multiple time periods would be interesting

[@adeptdamage3669]

Nah stick to the Post War Milky Way.

[@cagednephilim3967]

For me I just feel like the most exciting setting is shortly after the reaper war with the galaxy rebuilding. Andromeda feels so empty in comparison. Also the Citadel concept art has a planet/moon beside it with what appears to be the star formation of Orion's belt.

[@kalaelizabeth]

Ditto! And I didn't notice that, good catch!

[@angeloalvarez5520]

I'd love for that to be the timeline, but we both know it's too good to be true

[@rtgh2010]

I think the same.

[@Mark-zo1hs]

I want Andromeda to be Bioware's experimental playground. The Milky Way is where everything we love resides but a brand new galaxy which we know barely anything about other than 2 alien races is the perfect place for devs to pull of concepts they don't want in the main storyline. For example, if Bioware ever decided to experiment mass effect in other genres like first person, survival, horror, or maybe a VR game, they could have it take place in Andromeda while leaving the main third person rpg for the Milky Way. While I do want Bioware to focus on the Milky Way to bring back the fans and build back stronger, I would be lying if I said I didn't want Andromeda to continue. In real life, the Andromeda galaxy is much bigger and older than the Milky Way. Just imagine the stories you could have - An apex race older than the leviathans, an alien race that got advanced through time travel by sending blueprints of future technology back to the past to develop faster, a synthetic race that hid their cores inside of planets making them impossible to find, a machine civilization whose CPU's got hijacked and were fooled into thinking that they are organic, etc. The possibilities are endless.

[@Vincent-s7y]

I don't think I've ever commented 3 times on one video before, but I also wanted to touch on this one thought. If the next game takes place in the milky way I'd be so pissed if they did a time skip of 600 years. That would kill me for them to make such a huge time jump and not let us experience so much history that we were instrumental in creating. Wanted to add one more thing since I just finished the video. I believe they already set the seeds to bring Shepard back during the original ending of part 3. If you recall in the clip at the end of your video the star gazer is being asked by what we assume is his grand child if the story about the shepard was true and he says yes but it happened so long ago and the child asks him to tell him more about the shepard to which he replies "Ok ONE MORE story." You can take that to mean they will bring shepard back and can do it via cloning rather than time travel or time dilation.

[@amysthe-wise-one8493]

I think I can answer this tidbit as to why they might be making such a huge time-jump: Copyright. There's so much fic out there, including a few that explore the galaxy ~ 400 years or so post-Reaper war. While Bioware/EA own the rights to the characters, they don't own the rights to any transformative works which involve different plots. So, to not have to cause a snafu or a financial hassle, they jump out to where one might not be. In short, it's a huge mess legally that few want to take on (*cough Disney cough*) so I can see why they would jump so far ahead - even if it's disappointing for players & media consumers.

[@cmdr.jabozerstorer3968]

I think we're getting a Milky Way and Andromeda merge which will basically conflate both timelines together into one.

[@SavageFire101]

Yeah I agree, I seriously do not want 600 years to pass in the Next Mass effect game. Because I just don't feel closure from ME3 and I think the next Mass effect game should include at least some closure from the old crew.

[@angeloalvarez5520]

They absolutely will do a 600 year time skip. There will be zero continuity

[@juliabianco4108]

I would love to have shepard back, and a timeline close to ME3·, but except for that , this express my feelings and hopes about next game so much, that i wish you were a project director in BW (or co-project director at least). Ty for another great video.

[@Hulan6]

I've been playing around with the idea of something along the lines of the Paragon/Renegade unique quests from ME1. You gave the example of homogenizing the endings with dialog "pearls-on-a-string" style, but you could do that _and_ have a short sidequest unique to each ending to bring the player _into_ the differences with relatively little development time as long as the quests are "side" enough. Something like: Synthesis - An extremist group is attempting to develop a bio-weapon that would kill everyone exposed above a certain level of synthetic material in an attempt to "purify" the galaxy. The MC is tasked with stopping them but has a choice of preserving the research or destroying it, leading to a meeting with his/her superiors with a superficially meaningful discussion about the choice (but ultimately not greatly impacting the story at large - superiors decide to sit on it etc.) Something short to reward the investment in your choice but not take _too_ much development time from the team.

[@Starlesslemon]

ME4 would be great, but it's impossible for them to make everyone happy by picking a canon ending. MEA2 would be much easier to follow up. I honestly hope it's completely unrelated to any of the pervious games, or MEA2, but with the tone of the trilogy.

[@paragonseven]

Agreed on all of the criticisms of Andromeda, even though I also want to see parts of the Andromeda story continue. Like you said though, the Milky Way just has too much left unanswered, and centering around a post-Reaper war scenario sounds more intriguing than anything Andromeda currently has to offer.

[@Heero_effect]

It’s crazy that you posted this a few hours after I just finished my annual play through of ME 1-3 😂 On the topic I don’t want to go back to andromeda. I have no investment in it. The story just never grabbed me. Personally I want a direct sequel to ME3 and explore the aftermath of the war.

[@dragonofhatefulretribution9041]

As an enormous fan of the original trilogy who also read the novels I have to say that although I enjoyed many aspects of Andromeda I saw the very obvious lack of soul and depth the game had & I also saw a heavy dose of modern corporate political-elite propaganda being force-fed into the game’s main storylines (if you don’t know, then you don’t know)…Personally I would love for them to simply continue the franchise in the Milky Way shortly after the victory over the reapers and merely use various world-building aspects from Andromeda to expand upon the story and depth of the universe which hadn’t been delved into in the first trilogy. The gameplay could even avoid lazy time-travel/time-dilation plot devices and simply dart from past to future in narrative format. I personally felt little connection to Ryder as a person & also strongly agree with you regarding his/her static character-the absolute lack of growth and development as an individual. I also felt a total lack of attachment or endearment to any of the supporting cast and also like yourself only really felt a connection to Jaal, maybe simply only due to the amount of depth they attempted to give him. Too many loose ends were created in the story & it’s all so much of a mess now that leaving it all unexplored feels like a huge waste but at the same time the entire project felt so hollow from the get-go. The environments I found absolutely beautiful & there was a feeling of romance and age and “lived-in”-ness to a lot of it, the music also was amazing, but there was still always this endless feeling that the main people behind the game either weren’t sure of what direction they were taking the story-or that there was something quintessential missing from the game’s core which the previous games were sculpted & moulded around. I mean, put it this way-and this literally just occurred to me-I only remember *anything* about the teammates from Andromeda because they appear in the footage of this video I’m commenting on, because the cast are just so unremarkable. “Peebee”?-who I actually romanced, which is unmemorable-and Jaal are the only ones I would’ve remembered without the need for this video to remind me-whereas probably *all* of the characters from the original trilogy I can easily remember, despite the fact it was more than 10 years ago when I finished the 3rd game if my memory serves me.. And it was only around 3 years ago I played Andromeda. Only the beautiful environments leave any lasting image in my memory in regards to Andromeda, whereas the original trilogy feels like an intricate bundle of long-lasting *meaningful* relationships I will carry with me to the grave-relationships *I, personally* had with *real people…* - That’s the difference between the two timelines for me as an individual. It’s almost like if there was one single person who Mass Effect was the brainchild of, for one reason or another, was no longer able to give any input to the franchise, and then a large team of developers replaced that individual yet none of them really cared about the franchise but they were all told to somehow copy the original formula as best as possible and try to carry it forwards; Andromeda is exactly like what I’d expect them to come out with-with a little bit of Marxist propaganda sprinkled in from a generous billionaire donor in his mid-90s… I just genuinely hope whatever happens they recognise the importance in honouring the original trilogy because I think even the newest + youngest arrivals to the fanbase will be able to sense the soul of the first 3 and share the love we original fans had for it, and want that same magic revived and carried forward into the franchise’s future.

[@dragonofhatefulretribution9041]

PS, great video by the way!🍻

[@sweargaming666]

Lots of excellent observations, as ever. I made a bunch of comments in the Community section of my channel about this game, which I surprisingly found myself liking the best (I played it last year, IIRC) out of the ME titles (though it was very close with ME3), but absolutely the romances are a huge part of the draw for the larger Bioware titles, like this and DA. I mean, they throw out Vetra as a romance optino, which I went with, and then the devs got really really scared when it came down to the actual consummation part of things, which was annoying, but most of the options weren't super great. Like, in the numbered titles of ME and the first two DA games, the romance choices had standouts, but even the others were worth playing again to see how it would go. In both DAI and MEA, I did not replay them again to see that (though to be fair, I didn't have any interest in anyone other than Tali, because she stood so far above the others). I do hope that is something they actually take more time and care with on ME5... and DA4.

[@TheEmptySkys]

You did hit on one of my biggest problems with Andromeda. The characters all felt rather childish. Where I could connect with the Normandy crew, them feeling like friends or co-workers, the Tempest crew left me feeling kinda like a babysitter. The dialogue and banter, while it made me chuckle occasionally, more often than not made me roll my eyes. I simply couldn't connect with the characters. The crew though is just an example of the larger issue of the game not really being as serious as past entries. I'm still in the camp of wanting them to just canonize the Destroy ending. I don't think that them hand waving away the relevance of he final ending choice by saying that "So much time past that the green is gone." or "The Shep-reapers just left because reasons." therefore this is the canon state of the galaxy anyway, is any better than just saying "This is the ending the current state of the galaxy is based off of." The later option sounds better for story cohesion. While i know it isn't likely to happen, a part of me still hopes to see a galactic civil war scenario where, as the protagonist, we can somewhat decide what the future of the Milky Way civilization looks like. Maybe at the end our protagonist board a second Ark set to arrive in Andromeda just in time for the larger Khet invasion that was implied at the end of Andromeda. I do agree that the inclusion of things like time travel is not something I want to see in ME. Time travel is always a really... weird plot device. It can leave hole in a plot really easily. It's something that requires really excellent writing to make it work but I don't think it'd be worth it.

[@sarasunshinemt4444]

Time travel is always a cop-op plot device. I absolutely abhore it!

[@jamesabernethy7896]

I don't want any differences of opinion to come off as criticism of you. You keep fans of the game engaged and excited during lengthy game development cycles and we appreciate that so much. Your opinions are as valid as anyone's, you think things through and present them beautifully. Andromeda had such great potential but, even though i didn't hate it, it was a disappointment for me. Although I played it for the first time after some significant fixes. There were some good elements like the quality of the environments, some of them looked stunning. The combat was very energetic and fun. But the environments were underutilised. repetitive enemies despite the energetic combat, repetitive vaults and bosses. The characters were dull and it wasn't their age that was the issue, it's a massive shame that the voice actors are taking the flack for that, it's just unnecessary. I don't actually see the point of needing to merge the games, it feels like an unnecessary complication. Concentrate on Making the Milky Way Great Again. Andromeda could still have potential but it would need to have more races and a more adult feel, it was a great point. It was like Mass Effect:90210 rather than Mass Effect: The Next Generation. Yes they were younger, but growth comes through experience, not just age. I've said before that I think a new protagonist could take the reigns but I also think that Shepard's presence needs to be felt one way or another.

[@andrevaughn6980]

I agree with everything you said here! The game was ass tbh, I only enjoyed the combat.

[@willfanofmanyii3751]

I always feel like they could try the next Protagonist being Shepard's adopted child, which works as a gateway for new players as they learn about the Mass Effect history through the yes of the child of the galaxy's hero.

[@kalaelizabeth]

Personally I don't think they *need* to merge both games either. I would prefer a direct ME3 sequel connecting only to the Milky Way Galaxy but with that said it is being included in the next game made evident by all the teasers. So I've just been trying to piece together how that'll be done. I like Andromeda but I'd prefer the OT and Andromeda have direct sequels which isn't happening lol.

[@eddybowe2953]

They could add in a Shepard VI, similar to SAM, with Shepard's voice.

[@jamesabernethy7896]

@@eddybowe2953 I mentioned something similar in an older video. Piecing together a Shepard VI /AI from damaged copies intended for the next cycle. A ghost in machine if you will becoming more alive with the each copy found in the process of the game. I’d also love to see mixed cultures with stranded populations. Humans who have taken on Krogan culture or nomadic Asari.

[@heathferris1323]

My thought on Andromeda is that while I've not played it yet, I will at some point. But I think the biggest issue with how they did Andromeda after 3 was it felt like Bioware was literally running away from answering the questions of how mass effect 3 ended. Like they don't have the answer worked out and just wanted to move on from it. But then Andromeda wasn't as big a hit, so now they've got to actually come up with an answer.

[@StevenMorganN75]

Sorry, this is gonna be a long one... I loved Mass Effect Andromeda, it was a fresh start and I enjoyed the youthful, somewhat inexperienced and naïve aspects of Ryder and some of the other crew members. The negative reception was so over the top and in many ways I think much of it came from fans that were disappointed with the endings to Mass Effect 3. They were still smarting from that experience and so never wanted to give the next Mass Effect game a chance. But I also recognise the many issues Andromeda had. I'd like to revisit Andromeda and those characters. However, my love will always be with the original trilogy and Commander Shepard. If there was even the smallest chance I could play as my Femshep again, especially with how much the galaxy would have changed after Mass Effect 3, then 1000% yes, I would love that. But if there is one take away from Mass Effect Andromeda that needs to be repeated in Mass Effect 5 then that would be the gameplay. What's funny is that I started writing a sequel to Mass Effect 3, even putting some gameplay and level ideas together. It would have started with Shepard obviously being discovered amongst the rubble just like in the Destroy Ending and going from there. I even took ideas from Anthem and used that as the basis for having specialist teams to recover Reaper technology and the Javelin exosuits were designed to protect them from possible indoctrination... And that there is just one idea of continuing the Mass Effect games and so as you said there's just so many possibilities for what could happen next. It's gonna be a tough road ahead for BioWare, especially with such a rich and expandable universe and especially more so with all the different threads that were created through player choices. What I definitely don't want is time-travel or a Multiverse (sorry Paragon7). It only takes away all the tension in story telling. "Oh this character died, don't worry we'll bring the alternate version of them back." It's crap and only just about works in DC and Marvel comics. Using technology to cover vast distances in a short time is fine, but having different timelines or alternative this and that is just lazy. Ok, enough from me. Thanks again for such an awesome video Kala, there's a lot to think about as always. Oh, and just one last thing...at 2:46, did you let Kelly die !?! I should go 😉

[@cracmar03]

Well Andromeda never stood a chance. It was less issue of game, it was more issue of Bioware and it's acting over disastrous ME 3 ending. When BioWare in it's own folly tries to tell ME fanbase how the 'artistic vision' is way better then any other logical solution ... they disrespected fanbase, pissed them off and they got wrath on them coming for years. Instead of fixing ME 3 they purposefully left it as mess, and then Andromeda team got shitty task to make spin off game to literally DEAD franchise. Because that's what ME 3 ending did. It killed Mass Effect. It robbed everyone off closure.

[@StevenMorganN75]

@@cracmar03 I don't fully agree it was all on BioWare, which I do agree handled the situation poorly, but it was the so called gaming journalists/websites that continued to stir that pot of shit more than it should have. We all know that BioWare had to address this and that's why we got the Extended Cut. It didn't make things right, but it definitely softened the blow for many fans. To say it was a dead franchise is also a little hyperbolic as not only was there a lot of excitement for Mass Effect Andromeda but it also sold really well for EA.

[@kalaelizabeth]

I totally agree, while I love Andromeda I love the OT way more. And I definitely don't want a multiverse or alternate universe type of situation either. And Yes I let Kelly die but I also sometimes let her live haha

[@RandomWandrer]

I will only buy the new game on release for Shepard. For any other protagonist I will probably grab the game used later.

[@nou8257]

As someone who played Andromeda when it first came out most of the bugs i had where mostly visual glitches and heck one day i'll finally finish my playthrough but for those who know "MY face is tired"

[@JimmyThree-Balls]

I waited outside of a GameStop for this game, and I couldn’t even play the game for the first week due to it crashing constantly.

[@nou8257]

@@JimmyThree-Balls I was day 1 pc i just downloaded it and like i said was lucky to only experience bugs that where amusing

[@JimmyThree-Balls]

@@nou8257 I was day 1 as well, my problems where more inline with what the majority of people had. And the waiting outside of GameStop was a midnight release, I thought you could gather that

[@nou8257]

@@Tone_Of_Dials I've got a couple hundred hours in it

[@scrpld7111]

I wanted to give Andromeda a try and now I have 40 hours played. I somehow like it but constantly think that it's not so good Mass Effect game. I think it might be better if the 3D-models would be better, now Asari looks weird, humans have all same height, kett name too similar to geth and kett is kinda boring looking, feels sometimes it got some strange phasing. BUT I think there is some Mass Effect 1 feeling in that game that they made it more like ME1 but did it just better like the planet exploration. Some of the characters are pretty interesting too. even when I have the newest versions now I have loads of problems in saving/loading game. too many corrupted save files, no quicksave/load and some soft locks in some of the missions because of the bugs.. this almost drove me to want to quit the game. Combat is ok I would compare it to gears of war type but just with jetpacks and space magic. also it felt a bit clanky at start but when you get the hang out of it gets pretty fun. too bad there is still no crouch in the game. EDIT: and oh the galaxy map it terrible.. slow animations thankfully you can skip some of those. I prefered the ME2 and ME3 galaxy map where you click on things. it's boring to watch basicly same animation many times

[@Vincent-s7y]

I posted this theory in Mr. Hulthen's discord last night. I was playing through andromeda again (Yes I love the game regardless of how many people say it's bad.) and I was turning in the last Angarran artifact and one of the questions Ryder asks kind of struck me. He asked her if the Angarra of 600 years ago when the scourge struck could have made it to the milky way and she said i don't know maybe. I'm thinking we see the Angara in the pictures because they did in fact hop on their own arks and head to the milkyway. It would make a 600 year time skip and Liara would be 700 which would make her a Matron on the way to Matriarch and could explain why you see her wearing Matron colors.

[@kalaelizabeth]

It's so funny that you mention this because my Jardaan theory heavily relies on this one conversation!

[@Vincent-s7y]

@@kalaelizabeth I must be getting senile in my advancing age. I'm pretty sure I watched that video of yours if it's the one that the Jardaan are Protheans, but I don't recall mention of this conversation in it!! Well, I'm glad you already addressed it then!

[@StickyBuns1390]

Andromeda had great gameplay and combat, but I tried to play the game twice, and I couldn't get invested in the story.

[@Vladimirlives13]

I just hope whatever we get is developed with respect and not rushed out so some corporate suit feels good about himself going into his next staff meeting. I want a Mass Effect game where there is a road map to where they are trying to go instead of, "Oh, we'll figure it out." There was a certain feeling the old trilogy gave me that made me feel as if I was in good hands, and yes I'm even referring to Mass Effect 3. For all the haters out there over that entry, I had a lot of fun with that game (everything except the Star Child)

[@patrickmckenna8395]

No andromeda. It was an andromeda game with very little mass effect. When the most interesting parts of the game were callbacks to the Milky Way that means it’s time to let andromeda die.

[@takelage55]

What I can imagine is Shepard in the "wise teacher" role for new protagonist, also, many relationships, loyalty missions, plot-building mission can relate for both new protagonist and an old crew. At least there is a room for this.

[@RudalPL]

I loved Mass Effect 1-3 plus all the story based DLC's. It was a game with great story and interesting characters. Characters that I cared about. I loved them or hated them but I can always tell why I loved or hated each character. That only shows that they were written with purpose. Andromeda had great gameplay but both story and characters were just lame, dull and uninteresting. I really hope they will just sideline all this Andromeda nonsense and won't bother with it. We might see it somewhere as a lore entry in a journal or someone will mention it but that's about it.

[@mad_incognito]

All of that does not bother me. It is the quality of the game, the plot and the game play aka combat. Andromeda was not bad if it would be just a game but it lacked the villain, the spicy comments and a good boss fight. The take of a young, unexperienced crew that needs to gel together is not bad at all but it never led to anything. I am pretty sure Shepard will be back - one way or another (long lifespan, AI, time travel, cryo etc) - as BioWare cannot loose it best horse in the race. The problem with the galaxy rebuilding is that it is probably pretty boring so I expect to get back into the fight when things are the best again.

[@lordofentropy]

"...with its 2017 release." Omg has it really been almost 7 years? Wow. I did play at release and blown away that it's been so long. I always thought Andromeda got a lot of the extra hate that tends to happen once a dogpile starts and everyone jumps on it without actual knowledge of the situation; but it definitely had issues and was overall just "okay." Especially, in contrast to how great the first 3 games were, "meh" just isn't a good grade for a game from a series and studio with the pedigree they (once) had.

[@MjolnirFeaw]

I think you nail it with the target age topic. It explains a lot of difference, and a lot of what's to be held against ME:A. I mean besides the technical... weakness of it all. Companions are better written that's commonly said, but you have to hear them, and that mean driving the land cruiser a lot. Each time you teleport to a point on a planet, you skip a conversation betwwen your passengers. It's on full automatic and you don't have a say, and some of them are generic chitchat but some are really good, and some shows exactly the tension you say is missing. Youjust have to bring different teammates around. That doesn't improve on their sexiness though. Speaking of which the romances are probably a little too... platonic for Mass Effect fans, but that comes back to your first point.

[@jasonvazquez4953]

I'm hoping ME5 brings Shepard back and we find out his cybernetic implants from the lazarus project were based off of reaper tech from sovereign which makes him more resilient and gives him a longer lifespan than the average human. You start the game playing as Liara searching for Shepard who's been stranded and struggling for survival since the end of ME3 and Liara has to subdue him as he's a little feral from the isolation. You wake up in the Normandy medbay and that's the start of the game. As for what happens after, I'd really like to know what's going on with the dark energy storyline and see some more of the Yahg as a threat. You did have that one escape from the facility on Sur'kesh.

[@matthewgonzalez7943]

I think it’s possible that might be one of the galaxies that the reapers disappeared to when they left the Milky Way galaxy

[@editorrbr2107]

100% every word of this. ❤

[@VernEscher]

I really like how you also approached the subject from an objective point of view and not only from your perspective. I was expecting to be mad at the video when I started but how you approached it changed my mind. Even if we don't have the same opinion this is a great video for anyone, be it on favor or not, and is proof that people are and should able to separate what they want and like from factual truth or objectivity. Words are not my forte but seriously my props to you, a really great video.

[@williamelliott8452]

I feel that the next game should kinda close some of the mysteries of the original trilogy just for reaper war and Shepard closure. I feel the end of the next game should have like end goal of making a mass relay development leading to the Andromeda galaxy especially since there is a huge mystery of the initiative purpose of building a receiving relay in Andromeda

[@phoenixprotocol7]

I remember my first time playing Mass Effect, it was the 3rd game that i played first because my dads friend who was not big on video games but was trying to play them, he ask me to help him out because he didnt quite understand the game i didnt understand it at the time either because it was new to me and i played a lot of games up till that point, i was 17-18 at the time so i was old enough to play it and when I tried it I was hooked immediately and wanted to get the last 2 games that i actually put effort in school and chores that i was able to save the allowance money to get both ME 1 and ME 2. And I've been playing and been a big fan of the series ever since. Andromeda was ok for me like a 7/10 score, because I was and still relatively young so it was alright for me because you technically have to build your reputation from the ground up rather then adopting one like Shepards, whos already a Grand Master while Rider is just a Novice, the game had one thing going for it and that was gameplay, I wished the story was written better and not be a bug riddled mess on launch. That i believe that the game could've gotten a sequel or DLC (like the Quarian Ark that we didnt get because of said problems) and I believe that the game would've had a longer support from fans, and even devs. Im 26 going to be 27 in August, I've been waiting patiently like you, and the rest of the fan base, im praying for this next game to be successful so that it can be the ground work for possible future games and DLC related to Mass Effect.

[@ridesq]

ME5 videos are really depressing. I’ve been so let down by andromeda despite loving the trilogy. dAI makes the feeling worse.

[@edhemery6307]

Love your theories Kala keep up the good work

[@kalaelizabeth]

thank you!

[@quintyss1290]

If the game runs well and the story is stellar, fans will come.

[@nurglesgrin8257]

Andromada needs to be a separate trilogy it has nothing to do with mass effect and shepard and needs to stay that way.

[@andrewgoudy676]

fuck, I hated Andromeda. The game play itself was the best but the characters were uninteresting which is the opposite of what you'd want in a Mass Effect game. i didn't care what happened to any of them. not a single one.

[@fairy6818]

I love ME:A, I want it to have its own trilogy. But I also think it'd be really cool to have some kind of dual protagonist stories, one you play as Ryder from ME:A, the other you play as 600-years-older Liara. And their stories converge, and the path finder can finally meet the person whose voicelogs they keeps hearing.

[@gustocrm114]

They could spend many game just dealing with the aftermath of the Reaper war. You can't travel without the relays. No relays without the keepers or element zero. Have the different races rebuild their own relays. So many possibilities.

[@riftbox6599]

Story is everything to me i can get over cheesy aliens bad animation and lucky charms color choices. But i can't let bad story slide no mater how much i want the series to continue. I hope Bioware lives up to what i know they can produce. I have just enough faith for one more try. But i will be ready to move on if they fail.

[@dawsynasay4841]

I have tried to get into Andromeda 4 times since its release and haven’t been able to every time. I won’t be trying again, but I’m still curious to see how they tied Andromeda into Mass Effect 5

[@andrevaughn6980]

On god 😂 I’ve settled for using the case as a leg prop for my fish tank…it’s since become one of the most useful unseen item in my house😂!

[@joshg5657]

I've seen a lot of similar sentiment comments. I always recommend going thru the main story line quests and skipping all the filler side stuff. That doesnt take much time and then you have all the lore that many expect will be referenced in ME5.

[@adeptdamage3669]

I don't think it will play a big role.

[@nou8257]

The opening scene they will talk about the dangers of how your face is tired

[@Lawmaster1702]

I agree with most of this, except for 2 things. 1) I struggle with the idea that Andromeda was meant for a younger audience after seeing the major upgrade in sexual content compared to the original trilogy. 2) my biggest issue with Andromeda was the disjointed feel of the story and missions outside of the major story missions. Prime example: Liam’s side quest where you could follow that through and go through a huge encounter with the Three Sabres mercs but have never encountered them or heard of them before and have no idea what is happening or who they are.

[@cmdr.jabozerstorer3968]

Regarding 1. - yes it had nudity but I'd argue the romances weren't as in depth as the Trilogy. Although of course, they could have developed them over Andromeda sequels, which we never got.

[@Lawmaster1702]

@@cmdr.jabozerstorer3968 That’s more what I was referencing was the nudity. It was levels above the original trilogy, yet supposedly the game was for a younger audience. These two things don’t go together.

[@kalaelizabeth]

It was definitely made for a younger audience with mature content. It was still rated M. Sexual content doesn't automatically mean it wasn't made for a more mature audience. It only means it was made for an adult audience 18+ which all the Andromeda crew still were.

[@Lawmaster1702]

@@kalaelizabeth And I certainly understand the two are not mutually exclusive, it’s just that those two things seem strange to put in a sentence together. However, I suppose in the world we have today, it’s not surprising that the use of more explicit imagery is used to target a younger audience.

[@kalaelizabeth]

I totally agree, and it's such a weird thing to hear that Andromeda was intended to be a CW show but then have scenes like *that* lol @@Lawmaster1702

[@RippedTideGames]

I 💯 want a continuation from 3 with Shepard and crew (perfect destroy ending). He’s a video game protagonist, he doesn’t need “death rest”… Killing off the main protagonist was such a dumb trope in the late 00s/early 2010s

[@Fantasygirl2001]

As for me as a forty year old I connected more with Ryder than I did with Shepherd mainly cause you learn more about Ryder through the memories you can and should collect as you play because it explains more about why Ryder may feel or seem unsure and naive like when you play as female Ryder you learn that despite being the oldest sibling she was more used to prothean ruins than the advanced technology of Andromeda. And when playing male Ryder you learn he has never had any adventures until Andromeda become he spent most of his young adult life standing guard over a dormant mass relay. So on top of being the youngest of the two siblings has been thrust into a scenario he has never experienced before and so it only makes sense that he would be more than a little scared and nervous about exploring and helping to settle Andromeda. Also in shepherd's case he or she depending on which gender you play was used to adventure based on what childhood and military backgrounds you chose for him. But I was more invested with the Ryders because it made you got to watch them develop while you play you see Sarah trying to move past her expectations that everything in Andromeda was going to be as easy to succeed as it when when she was searching for prothean artifacts.

[@valor1omega]

No VA should ever have a backlash for their job. They did their best with what they had to work with.

[@hajde8128]

Andromeda being compared to the CW is a comparison I never thought of to describe how unserious the game felt but it's accurate. I also didn't personally like the angara or the kett. The kett especially felt extremely hastily thrown together as a species and antagonist entity, and the angara looked close to what you'd stereotypically imagine an alien species would look like.

[@MisfortunateJustice]

Andromeda was alright. Really only had fun with combining any powers. However, the lack of depth took me out of it, as well. I'd like to see the Milky Way expanded upon post-Reapers because of the sheer chaos that could be explored. This is my favorite sci-fi series. I really want it to come back strong. 🫠

[@kekekemer9057]

I think Andromeda should be a series of their own if they ever want to continue it, but the true Mass Effect should always be centered around the milky way until its 100% done.

[@Alertacobra12]

8:45 I agree with this point so much, I'm currently 23 and I felt the dialogue in Andromeda was childish, even most people my age don't speak like the characters there and if rumors are to be believed the new Mass Effect could have a release date could be anywhere from 2027-2030 which means I would be pushing 30 when the next Mass Effect releases and if it has similar Marvel-esk writing then it would be pretty much doa/poorly received. Hell my cousin who introduced me to Mass Effect hasn't played Andromeda because of clips he saw and if I'm pushing 30s he'll be in his 40s so yeah a bit more of a mature tone would be appreciated and writing a product for the fans of Mass Effect that stuck around this long 29:28 that seems like a mass relay and if it as Cerberus colors and if we believe that the mysterious benefactor of the Andromeda initiative is The Illusive Man then cerburus could be working on connecting the milky way to Andromeda edit: spelling mistakes

[@JasonOoten]

Keep up the good work Kala. It's great to see someone who loves ME as much as I do.😊

[@kalaelizabeth]

Thank you 🫡🫡

[@2001perseus.]

Like Kala Elizabeth I enjoyed Andromeda within it's limits. It's not short of hanging plot lines to return to either. That said I agree on everything Kala Elizabeth said. I want to know what happened to our home galaxy and too long absent friends.

[@naokisan07]

I also liked Andromeda as a spin-off game but the huge ammount of plot holes are a real challenge for writers and the dev. team.

[@dragonbornexpress5650]

To be fair, Mass Effect 3 has an entire truckload of plotholes and retcons, especially with the endings as they actively ignore most of the bad you may have done since the first game.

[@AgxntAqua]

I think if Shepard returns, we’re are basically locked into the perfect destroy ending. Meaning they would need to implement all of your choices somehow. I don’t see that happening. New players are not going to be stoked to read 30 minutes of text walls to make decisions retroactively and return players won’t like to have all of their choices retconned for the sake of canon that allows for continuity. There’s no winning for the devs there. Short of time travel or a multiverse I just don’t see how they bring Shepard back and don’t manage to annoy a lot of people.

[@avnblaa7283]

Every Andromeda video: "I'm a Andromeda fan, but...." xD

[@Shadow__133]

Definitely not a fan. Got both, physical and later digital, but always lost interest before even finishing it.

[@Potter5416]

Riders mom was secretly put in hibernation under an assumed name on the ark to suspend her illness until a cure is found .

[@LongShen1985]

My two favorite things about Andromeda is they csn keep the 3D/4D exploration, forewords, backwards, jump jets jumping up things, climbing on things to get the sniper's advantage, and the nomad with 4 wheel/6 wheel traction all that was fine. And the scanner is our friend thing as monotonous as it was on one hand, was fun to an extent on the other hand.

[@Egi67]

On point, same here. ME:A for me was also disconnected on so many ways from trilogy, a feeling as should be completely different another game. Next game it should be in Milky Way. Too many things pointing in to that direction. Well done Kala as always.

[@hmmph89]

ME:A was disconnected because ME:A was its own thing....

[@Egi67]

​@@hmmph89 Exactly. Andromeda not have a ME legacy at all.

[@VestigialLung]

I recently started Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous. One of the early events involves a city getting sacked, and one of the first DLCs for the game puts you in the shoes of people in the city trying to survive during the sack of the city with ramifications on the main game based on how your play through goes; it was a really neat concept. Looking at the meat left on the bone from the original trilogy, I’m curious about the Batarians basically being immediately deleted at the beginning of ME 3. Something like that for a short side game would be pretty cool. You could flesh out the culture of a group that was basically just a pure antagonist for most of the series and maybe tell a much smaller story of ordinary people trying to survive as a resistance force against the reapers that almost immediately decimated their culture. Not at all related to your video, but since how cool that DLC was in concept has been rattling around the back of my brain, it hit me about halfway through your video.

[@fobbitoperator3620]

I spent a CRAP-TON of time crafting weapons & armor in Andromeda. They really got that aspect right. ME: 5 needs to bring back & expand upon the crafting from Andromeda! Tricia Helfer needs to return as EDI, along with Garrus, Miranda, Aria, Ashley & Liara. As for the N7 character in the recently released trailer, I noticed the narrow torso, & curvy childbearing hips being female. Could she be Ashley Williams? HHhmmmmmm...

[@Capta1nAsh]

Think a possible Milky Way sequel could go with a faction siding plot, similar to Fallout New Vegas. Where you try and broker peace or side with 1 group to re-establish civilisation. You can’t really top galactic genociding giant robots. So having a fallout/rebuild the galaxy plot might be good. Also the villain would be the leader of the opposite factions. As for a protagonist, I’d like to see different races. We can play them in MP and I’d like to see it in SP. Additionally quests could play out differently depending on your race. Like talking people down a salarian as a council race would be easier than with a Krogan. Or turians being skeptical when dealing with humans or krogans. Also racial passives. Like an Asari would get bonuses to Biotics/Charm, Salarians with medical Tech, Turians with Rifles

[@Capta1nAsh]

I think playing the father (or mother) Ryder in MEA, then dying and passing the torch for younger Ryder for MEA2 would’ve been an idea too. Problem with that might be doing 4 character creations 😅

[@WesbirdlyO]

You're unsure if we should have games where the character keeps getting older? Why Not?!? The Ezio Auditore storyline within the AC universe had us following him literally from birth to the grave over the course of multiple games, and it was beautiful. More games should have such fleshed-out character storylines.

[@kalaelizabeth]

That's not what I said. I said not every new protagonist has to be older than the last.

[@WesbirdlyO]

@@kalaelizabeth Ah, my mistake. Idk though; puttering around on a space-scooter, shooting enemies as geriatric Shepard could be fun.

[@kalaelizabeth]

I would pay to see that 😂

[@TwinPeaksIndustries]

@@WesbirdlyO I could see that as some fanmade flash-game 😂

[@quinaquen298]

I think I figured out why the characters in Andromeda look a bit off. It's cause to me is that they all look like they are made out of clay or like silicone. Like the Krogan look smooth and claylike. I would also like to say I would like to return to Andromeda but I wouldn't want the whole game to take place there. I just feel there were certain worlds that were quite unique that I would love to explore more. Specifically Aya and Havarl.

[@StefanBernEilers]

To me, the naming of the game is more about the different places in the story. ME 1-3 was about Sheppard, and then came ME:Andromeda, showing it as a spinoff story. Personally, I see all the games as canon. Though, if they end up calling the game ME5, then I hope they would at least go back, and remaster ME:Andromeda and expand it, and then rename it ME4. As a project name, it makes sense to me, that they call it Mass Effect 5, since it is the 5th game. No matter how it goes, I will be playing the new game, when it comes out. I liked ME:Andromeda, but I could never see it as ME4, Would love if they made a ME:A 2, to follow up on Andromeda, instead of trying to tie the main storyline and the spinoff closer together.

[@mellyxstelly]

You really hit the nail on the andromeda critique

[@MrDueltube]

Great video! Very informative and well put together. As cheesy as it might be I would like to play as Sheppard again, I mean it wouldn't make sense exactly but they could come up with some Sci-Fi explanation as to his presence, a cameo or support role from the Andromeda crew would be interesting but I agree they shouldn't be the focus. Though perhaps a new main character facing an entirely new threat would honestly probably be the best way to go. In any case looking forward to it.

[@ScyLancer]

I think for me was it was too long for multiple play throughs for me. Pretty sure I forgot about what happened on 2 worlds by the time I reached the end of Andromeda.

[@JBJHJM]

that' very much on point. I just can't take Andromeda serious. Who on earth (and entire milky way) would decide to have a 20ish kid without any professionalism take responsibility for exploring an unknown galaxy and care for 100k of settlers?! It doesn't make any sense. If I wanna see idiots in space, I just go and watch Spaceballs again - at least they're funny by intention. I didn't know they were aiming for younger players but this explains a lot. The characters, voice lines etc feel all pretty shallow to me. Damn, I love that Angara artwork. Another thing... the ingame Angaras look so stupid IMO... interesting to see that the concepts were pretty much the opposite. Anyways, Mass Effect always was about serious things, solving problems. Shep and their crew started as professionals and turned into badass experts. I can't think of anything that makes Andromeda feel like Mass Effect to me. Having to play Ryder in ME5 would much likely be a no-go for me.

[@deunank]

I found Peebee and the Andromeda companions overall kind of frivolous and just not that interesting compared to ME characters and there was way too much filler content. I played Andromeda through once and never went back to it. Whereas I cant count how many times Ive replayed ME & MELE

[@2jacko5]

Wooooo 45min video, lets go! I agree with the beginning, love Andromeda and am replaying it atm but I don’t want to go there except maybe as an intro or a very veeeryyyy small portion of the game like 20% at most!

[@LesPaul7677]

Okay, so I hated Andromeda, and I would really hate to go back there. I played it only once, which says a lot, compared to countless playthroughs I did with the original trilogy. That being said, I'm really not interested in anything regarding that galaxy or characters that appeared there. The story was very lame, and characters were meh. On the other hand, I'm in love with everything regarding the original trilogy and would love love love to see Shepard and the crew again. For me, the only ME protagonist is Shepard, and I'm not sure that the Bioware could create anyone better.

[@omgthedonny]

bring back Shepard !!!! Rider was just so basic and safe/boring. Reboot the franchise, so Shepard comes back but now a new threat looms in the distance and reveals itself for the first time (just like MA1) but bring the original galaxy and characters back together so we can actually get closure on so many things. I mean it's a Sci-fi game, you can literally write just about anything and get away with it. like how they kill Shepard off then boom he's just rebuilt again lol. It's all about the characters and dynamics between them and how they interact with each other, we care about their stories and what to see what happens to them because we get invested. well that's why I play anyways, to see what's going to happen next, like a great book you don't want to put down. these game's are about the story and the characters that should be the most important thing over everything else. Literally can do something else like at the start of game you choose if Shepard lives or dies (so then people who want Shepard back get it and people that don't won't.) Kinda like a Resident Evil game, where you have two characters at the start but they play through the game on different paths. Shepard was just NEXT level bad ass, imagine if Rider tried to be N7 lol. long live Shepard !!!!!!!!!

[@GiovanniZaluchi]

Excellent.

[@UNTITLEDCRAY]

I liked the mechanic in andromeda where you can scan structures and objects to get research data. I hope BioWare will bring back a mechanic at least similar to this and I also think we should stay in the Milky Way galaxy. We never explored Palavan itself and after the ending in Mass Effect 3 I also had lots of questions; like how did the galaxy get along and how did all the civilizations recover?

[@UndeadCookieMonster]

I think part of the issue with a series like Mass Effect is that Shepard *is* essential to the series as the entirety of 1-3 is us building a relationship/rapport with the characters, our own character included, and becoming attached to them as people and not just dolls in playtime(aka a video game lol). I dunno, that was part of the issue with Andromeda I guess? It's hard to get the same results in a single game, they just really can't do a new game and get the same love and affection for the characters and the story as they did in a trilogy that was developed over half a decade. It's different with their other series, Dragon Age, where it is more so about recurring characters and the overall world and lore, with the playable character being different in each game. After they made more than one Mass Effect game with Shepard, the second one being *where they brought them back to life from the most dead a person can be*, it was set in stone. I also feel like they never truly learned from the success of Mass Effect as a series. Dragon Age has always had mixed reception past the first game, and you can really see it if you play Origins. I mean, the amount of time and effort put into a game that can easily have a playthrough that goes for over 20~ hours, maybe even much more, three years of development for the time was worth it. It is certainly a very long game but times have changed, and developers need to play the long game even more so nowadays, if they want to repeat successes like Mass Effect, where people love the entire series for what grew and evolved into, not because of a single game. I just feel like there's no patience and there's no way Bioware will play the long game again to get the same results with a new protag as they did with the first 3 games. I mean people really didn't like Andromeda and its characters when it came out, to my understanding people still hate it. Shepard however is going to the grave with some people lol

[@SwooshJush83]

Our faces would just get tired again

[@The_Texorcist]

I hope they don’t go back to Andromeda or integrate it into the new game. Andromeda had a ton of issues and that’s not just graphical, I think the writing was pretty lackluster and I didn’t like the fact that the main character from pretty much the start of the game is high as you can get on the totem pole as possible. I loved Shepherd and his/her story because they were just a soldier. Even after the incident with the beacon, they were still a soldier who had to deal with superiors. I like the fact that their backstory wasn’t one of privilege but of a person who worked their way to where they are. The pathfinder is just the kid of the original pathfinder who by accident is given that power. Just isn’t as compelling. To the story - I just didn’t feel that connected to it beyond wanting to find all of the arcs the main villains were meh. It didn’t feel like a large looming threat, just an annoying bunch of religious idiots. The whole scourge and builder thing didn’t feel as compelling as the Prometheuns or The Leviathans. On top of that unless this new game is going to be set 600 years in the future how will it incorporate anything from Andromeda? Because it wasn’t the trip that Andromeda took 600 years and it started in between the events of Mass Effect two and Mass Effect three? And that’s just when they get to Andromeda… how long would it take them to get a message back to the Milky Way Galaxy? I think that there is more than enough in the Mass Effect timeline and all the plot threads left over to make a complete game or even a series of games without the need of including Andromeda. Andromeda was EA’s hope to continue the mass effect storyline with an all new cast of characters and villains… it didn’t work. The game wasn’t an astounding success or looked back as a masterpiece. Even fans admit that it’s not without its flaws. let’s just leave it in the past and hopefully move on with a brighter future without being reminded of the redheaded stepchild in the family.

[@davidk713]

They should actually make two different Mass Effects like Star Trek. Allow MEA time to act more like Star Trek. Open worlds, exploration, and political issues. Allow the OG ME game to play more like the traditional games. War and conflict. Deal with the ME3 fallout. Close corridors and civilizations.

[@EndlessDreamer448]

I really like this idea. My only worry in that scenario is whether they would try to keep equal quality and care for both series.

[@davidk713]

@@EndlessDreamer448 for sure! EA is just wasting the potential of the series. Mass Effect should be a huge sci-fi franchise with movies and tv series.

[@beaver6d9]

This is pretty reasonable. I am very defensive of Andromeda but I don't necessarily need to go there and play in the new game to get what I want out of it. Mostly just want them to not pretend like it didn't exist. You easily weave elements from MEA in ME5 without actually going there.

[@DatAsuna]

The nuance I always put on it is that I would happily return to the andromeda galaxy, I just have no interest in the heleus cluster. lol Beyond the scourge, andromeda could still be anything, but in the one game we did get, we weren't free to explore an area any bigger than that served by a single relay in the milky way

[@AndyJP]

Even in Inquisition the walking animations were awkward, but most noticeably in cut-scenes. Was it a Frost engine issue or an animator issue?

[@bubblybobabubbles]

I'm not sure if it was a Frostbite issue, but I play female Inquisitors and it seems to me like the animation was geared more toward the male character model with the way the legs were so awkwardly spread. Maybe it looked just as weird on guys, especially elves, but the NPC companions didn't seem to walk too weird and it definitely looked off to see my petite little elf lady walking with her legs a foot and a half apart.

[@cracmar03]

Gods the bugs with models. Male elf who used heavy armor would have their pauldrons chop their head off in cutscenes. BioWare just struggles with Frostbite and EA forces them out of Unreal engine they used for ME Trilogy, probably DA II and Origins etc. And while they force it, Frostbite is very difficult engine to handle. And EA sends off all their experts for Fifa games. It was reported several times for Inquisition alone that BioWare was requesting EA for help with Frostbite .. it was like no, Fifa is in need.

[@cmdr.jabozerstorer3968]

Well Dead Space remake uses Frostbite, for reference.

[@hajde8128]

The frostbite engine was the cause of a lot of instability, devs even admitted years after how they tried to work around it. Like how sprinting on your mount doesn't actually change speed because of limitations in the engine, so they added wind effects to give the illusion of sprinting. If I remember, somewhere said that the engine isn't even really designed for RPG style games, but thrives on shooter games.

[@cmdr.jabozerstorer3968]

@@hajde8128 They only included mounts due to Skyrim's popularity.

[@thomashall7317]

Here's a thought... due to the severity of their injuries shepherd was put into cryogenic stasis to allow their injuries to heal slowly over time. And shepherd wakes up from cryo in the new timeline. Granted, it still has alot of holes in the idea, but it is a possibility.

[@janremongalura5713]

Why can't people just let Shepherd go? At this point it's getting annoying.

[@lavith626]

Probably because we were denied closure regarding the fate of our protagonist and crew that we grew to know over a span of 3 games.@@janremongalura5713

[@MonkySeason]

its so funny that the aliens look like they're sitting on invisible chairs

[@MonkySeason]

also sidenote! so glad that ME is going back to unreal engine

[@rmeddy]

Andromeda had and still has a lot of potential , my main issue with the game is that it's called Andromeda but the entire story occurs in only one cluster, it's not called Mass Effect Heleus, also the lack of counterfactuality, In my humble opinion they should allowed to pick a different pathfinder and play the narrative from their perspective and/or allow to switch to a new pathfinder as you rescue them with unique story mission for each of them. I think I have a really cool idea for the Jardaan, the Kett and the Angara in context with the rest of the galaxy which as is felt a bit uninspired imo If it was up to me, the new "trilogy" would be Mass Effect 4, then Andromeda 2, and then third game which has a story that links both galaxies and where you switch between both protagonists to solve a problem

[@helenafarkas4534]

I agree Andromeda got a bad rap - but Bioware shot it in the foot when they released it with the day one glitches. Because Andromeda was ALWAYS going to be viewed with skepticism by the fans - as the first Mass Effect without Shepard- but the early glitches gave those who were already skeptical about the game validation, and a concrete thing to point to when their real gripe was that Ryder was not Shepard, and could never BE Shepard. this early VALID backlash tainted that crucial early reception so that all anyone who was thinking of giving the game a chance heard about was that it was broken. which it WAS. this built upon itself until Bioware canceled the DLC for lack of enthusiasm in the fanbase, which left the story hanging. which was the SECOND big mistake of Andromeda - keeping vital story back for the DLC. you can play the first Mass Effect all the way through and get the complete story without playing any DLC. it's not until Mass Effect 2 where you start getting essential story DLC. this could range from DLC squadmates like Kasumi, or actively setting up the next game such as Arrival, but by then the series had proven itself. even then, you could still get a complete experience WITHOUT touching DLC. by sectioning of an entire chapter of the game as DLC - and then not making it thanks to lack of sales Bioware shot Andromeda in the foot - AGAIN which contributes to it's bad rap

[@jeromekudrako6743]

Yeah I think the Writers, and Directors for this game just really failed to really have Ryder grow as a person and character, the fact that this character loses their father and their sibling is in a coma then they basically just jump right into being a pathfinder like almost nothing is wrong just ruins what could of been some real growth having the character grieve and grow before our eyes into a stout Leader for his crew. The Customization for characters in this game I do highly agree was very, very lacking. I hope they expand upon it massively in our next adventure as it was just bleh. Romance wise: Its hard for me I do like some of the characters alright but Tali will always hold my heart so it really makes it hard to really enjoy some of these when i just compare them to how the adventure with that romance went. I'm not entirely against a MEA2 With Ryder, partially due to the fact that despite Sheppard is the most beloved MC of the series I do believe his biggest strength was his strong presence over the 3 games that helped him to solidify it, I'm not saying Ryder was good in MEA because again they left alot of growth on the table, but a very strong 2 could really help to fix this and even help grow them (wont be easy Ofc but I wont say its impossible either.)

[@lysith3aPS5]

If the next game is set purely in the MEA timeframe then I simply have no interest in it. Bring back Liara, bring back Wrex, set it in the MW galaxy, couldn't care less, I won't be playing it. Knowing that the game is 4/5 years away, it's hard to muster huge interest in it already. I think revealing a definitive MEA timeframe would just about put the final nail into it for me. If BW want to go down that route, good luck to them. I hope people enjoy what they put out, but I won't be giving it the time of day.

[@dragonbornexpress5650]

Then why are you here?

[@lysith3aPS5]

@@dragonbornexpress5650 Has it been confirmed that it's purely MEA timeframe yet genius?

[@dragonbornexpress5650]

@@lysith3aPS5 Not confirmed either way, actually; That aside, if it's hard for you to muster interest in the game because of how long it will take to come out, I don't see any reason why you would be here if you weren't still interested in some form: At that point, all you're doing is making that disinterest worse for yourself.

[@jkwgaming550]

@@dragonbornexpress5650 Well they said "no huge interest", not "no interest". Re Andromeda, yeah fk that. The next game needs to be a success not another "dead on arrival" game.

[@lysith3aPS5]

@@dragonbornexpress5650 Exactly, and until it IS confirmed to be 100% MEA timeframe then I still have some interest. It's really not that hard to understand.