Mass Effect: Andromeda is a hot mess and here's why

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Andromeda is a hot mess and here's why. Breaking immersion, especially in the first hour of a game, can have negative effects that ripples through the rest of the game.

[@rhhjr]

Snark is what bad writers use in place of actual humor. Bioware has been suffering from this since DA 2.

[@StratEdgyProductions]

Especially when the snark breaks the fourth wall.

[@linegenrou]

Fox Mulder his only involvement right now is with ToR.

[@CidGuerreiro1234]

The attempts of humour in Dragon Age: Inquisition were so pathetic and cringeworthy in comparison do DA: Origins. DA2 was the beginning of the end, with the "funny" responsed being too snarky and on the nose, not really witty.

[@JeffAndresWilliams]

They've been suffering from a LOT of things since DA2.

[@PhyreI3ird]

There were some moments in Inquisition that I found genuinely funny without snark

[@grahamcavan588]

Mass Effect Andromeda was the most disappointing game since my son.

[@StratEdgyProductions]

I remember when he crashed into a wendy's.

[@man0boobs736]

Mr.Plinkett, is that you?

[@MizarShadow]

Abraca-dildo! And it's disappeared!

[@KamikazeChinaman]

+Brendan Searls What's wrong with her faaaaaaace?

[@oliviawilliams6204]

Still wa smuch more disapointed by Fallout 4

[@cjleafs]

backround music is too loud

[@StratEdgyProductions]

Almost loud enough for a reupload.

[@jasoncook7003]

Lol, I thought it was meta-genius as the music was making it harder to be immersed your words and you had to put a little more effort into focusing on the points being made, thus making your points more salient as a statement of immersion breaking game design - mirrored by the overpowering sound mixing - making the video more interesting as an artistic statement than it would have been without the music... sometimes I overthink people overthinking things.

[@bobspeigel9455]

I thought the music was really well done, telegraphing the emotional intent of the voice over.

[@cjleafs]

eh.. almost

[@hakusansaku8800]

yes it's difficult to follow your speech

[@chrisscorpio5651]

Fallout 4 was a little disappointing. Mass Effect Andromeda, "Hold my beer."

[@joelarchibald7880]

Chris Scorpio - At least we know that Bethesda animations are clunky, where as mass effect is supposed to have smooth realistic animations

[@Chinnnnuz]

😂😂😂👍

[@dasoerner5191]

Yea... this happens when you are letting the B-Team develop the spin-off to a beloved franchise and dumb it further down to appeal to a broader market. Screw you people who actually made this franchise big so that the broader audience noticed it, we don't need you anymore. Seriously, with the capabilities of todays technology and a half-way decent budget you could make an absolute RPG-masterpiece if you would give the player more control, make the world more immersive and responsive, stop this "more locations, more NPCs, more lines spoken" bullcrap and design a good map without instant fast travel and questmarkers. I mean, i do not miss Gothic 1+2, Morrowind or Kotor 1+2 for their nostalgic value. They where the last really good generation of RPGs. After that, technology moved on, but RPG-gameplay, world-design and immersion are degenerating since then in an alarming speed. I mean, witcher 3 and the original ME trilogy for example did their job fine (even if more fitting into the "at least slightly dumbed down"-quality), but when im looking at Me:A now... It basically takes the same road like TES and Fallout, just sad to watch.

[@8BitPinkiePie]

DasOerner KoTOR is still a quality game even to this day, I just need an Xbox so I don't have to deal with the 360s shit backwards compatibility anymore

[@8BitPinkiePie]

DasOerner I can't comment on Gothic or Morrowind until I try them

[@oaa-ff8zj]

RoboGameBoy64 You should.

[@CriKnight]

How about PC?

[@dasoerner5191]

On PC all of them work fine. Because of their age a simple laptop should be enough nowadays. For Morrowind there are some really good graphic mods out there. And Gothic... well... it does not need great graphics in any way, the characters, the atmosphere and the world itself are just awesome enough :D I don't know if its the same for the english synchro, but the german one is simply one of the best i know from games. Normally you don't get to hear the dirty, raw and politically incorrect slang-like language in synchros, but here it fits perfectly.

[@radioactivegum2298]

Some of the character creator choices have lazy eyes, droopy eyelids, and double chins. Did they seriously take the time to give your character physical flaws?

[@StratEdgyProductions]

I mean, I can understand the premise, but there should be an option to make someone that doesn't look like sloth from the goonies. Just sayin.

[@radioactivegum2298]

Strat-Edgy Productions, I just find it a little funny because the hair, beards, and skin tones are all half-assed, but the devs felt like they absolutely needed to work on those blemishes.

[@jw6588]

@@StratEdgyProductions you pick too much low hanging fruit

[@lordshaodeus1021]

Andromeda is a perfect game. You just don't understand the depths and the brilliance of the game. It's actually not a game about humanity finding a new home in the Andromeda galaxy but it's actually a sequel to invasion of the body snatchers. A wonderful deep story about the body snatchers pretending to be human before they devour all that exists

[@lordshaodeus1021]

Wow shit, I haven't played the game yet but it actually looks worse then I thought it was going to be. Ah well, going to enjoy playing this in a few weeks together with a rich kid friend who has a fancy smancy pc. Just need to get more alcohol then previously expected

[@aranockcooke98]

Lord Shaodeus Clearly profond in its ability to make us ask, wtf is that expression, is that even human. And in so doing we ask ourselves if we are truly human, a masterpiece of existentialism best game all years 9000/10

[@5FingerBallad]

This is the best Shit-Post of this game I've seen in months. XD

[@johnroscoe2406]

Yeah it's just like Rick and Morty. It's too complex for the average person to comprehend so they criticize it due to ignorance because the average person is dumb.

[@GeekRaj]

there is a new trend of youtubers shitting on games and getting views, and this is just that. People who havent played this game think its bad and some even go on to pretend they have played it.

[@Dugx94]

The game felt like a bunch of kids trying to play important space explorers then forgetting to act in character.

[@ptwob]

uncanny valley the game

[@gestaltengine6369]

ironically, there is a game called "Uncanny Valley"

[@SaltyRocksPew]

Good video but the background music is too loud

[@StratEdgyProductions]

Yeah, I'm catching a lot of well deserved shit for that oversight :(

[@aranockcooke98]

jesus, just say whats the prognosis. It didnt need to change from wheel to speech

[@StratEdgyProductions]

That's what I don't understand. the wheel has a ton of space. Why not just have verbose text next to the option? Or do what Deus Ex did and show the verbose dialog off to the side. It doesn't make sense. I think this is how they save time typing in the dialog, and changing it when the voice actor misses a line, or improvs something.

[@aranockcooke98]

Strat-Edgy Productions Its one thing when they say a paragraph, It would be difficult to fit that in(though maybe a highlight feature would fix that) but if the what they is as shor as the text whats the point. It would be like your options are I agree and something else. You choose I agree and he says I concur. no change in length so why change it

[@Gnurklesquimp]

I swear I've seen a couple of results that were more concise than the wheel option while they conveyed the exact same info or more. I really wonder how someone would come to the conclusion to add this in, unless they just kind of did it I guess

[@Occidentally]

Unwatchable in many parts because of the background music. I like your content but the music is abnoxious.

[@Elite7555]

7:27 I think a much better example of that is the first dialogue with the new doctor where the option was totally harmless and out of the blue Ryder asks her out for dinner! The whole romance thing is broken because of this, because totally harmless seeing statements end up in cringy school-boy-asks-girl-out dialogue mess.

[@TorTor323]

I hate dialog wheels man, like what benefit do they ever have?

[@fkingmetal1929]

TorTorTalks I thought their benefit was giving u options on what to say, never minded them. Bioware just MASSIVELY screwed up implementing them (aaand pretty much everything else too...)

[@NorthRemembers]

I did like them in ME1-3, because it was kind of their thing with the Paragon, Neutral and Renegade options. But I hate them in Andromeda and every other game. They pretty much ruined Dragon Age.

[@TrenchCoatDingo]

give me a old box with text in it any day over that wheel at least i will know what comes out of my PC mouth

[@CidGuerreiro1234]

I only like them if giving answer A or B has different outcomes. But that hasn't been the case for a while now.

[@PhyreI3ird]

In Two Worlds 1 & 2 it was really wierd reading the dialogue option and then having the character say the exact same thing. It was really a waste of resources having them read out the lines if every bit of information was already just conveyed to the players. Of course this brings up the question for some of why even have a voiced protagonist at all, and *that* imo is actually a really good discussion topic, but kind of off hand from what you (probably rhetorically) asked x3 When they're done correctly it grants things a more cinematic feel while still giving you proper autonomy over what's being said or where the conversation is going by just properly giving the needed information without essentially having to read spoilers minus all the good (or bad, or meh) voice acting that gives the lines impact. And another side benefit that some might not fully agree with is that it makes your characters in those cinematic moments (where you're watching the character do things the gameplay otherwise couldn't let you do) feel more like he/she is properly there and part of the world especially as you already know their voice so you aren't caught off guard by an appropriately timed grunt or 'oof' in the scene (or equally estranged by the distinct lack of verbal noise when they should be making _some_ noise, lol) Buuut sadly it seems they're harder to pull off than you might think, so they don't actually fulfill on their strengths as much as they fail

[@alexanderrahl7034]

"Dialogue wheel" should be the tag for these games instead of RPG.

[@Chanelle208]

Games, specifically RPGs are getting worse, and I keep waiting for one good RPG, which in this day and age should be easier, but they keep simplifying everything for little children to buy.

[@elgatochurro]

Tyranny? Baulders Gate? Fallout 1 and 2? New Vegas?

[@flowerthencrranger3854]

Divinity 2 original sin, Kingdom Come Deliverance.

[@iampagliacci8923]

Shadowrun Dragonfall, Shadowrun Hong Kong, Age of Decadence, _Disco Elysium_

[@playzcrayon8186]

@@elgatochurro and those are amazing but they are old as shit he’s talking about new stuff

[@westingtyler1]

yeah. if your game only allows you to play ONE role, it's not a role-playing game. EVERY game allows you to play ONE role. Games that allow MORE can be role-playing games.

[@wkvalader]

Are there even any more options that just two? The only time I saw a "wheel" in this video had only two options.

[@Thoron_of_Neto]

Sometimes theres 4 and sometimes theres more, I think up to 6? Usually it's logical, or the emotional, businesslike or whatever the fourth choice usually was. The game doesn't change based on which ones you use, it just counts them in your "stats" page

[@demongrenade2748]

The music is really distracting....

[@Maggerama]

You're so damn right, especially about that part when the devs make your character(in an RPG) talk without your input. I always feel like I was robbed of my role-play when this happens, even if it's nothing important. It's so frustrating, because it's so fundamentally wrong and shows just how clueless the devs are when it comes to this particular genre.

[@CidGuerreiro1234]

I love the Mass Effect trilogy to death, yet I have zero desire to play Andromeda.

[@osets2117]

It's so bad, just so bad

[@azzarrax]

Why do you use loud, fast, complex background music? It ruins your videos. This is a particularly bad example, but many of your previous videos aren't much better. Background music works best when it's quiet and mellow. It should be barely noticeable. It shouldn't distract or annoy the audience. If it does, you're better off not using it at all.

[@NevetsTSmith]

idk, I actually enjoy it and find the tone of his voice contrasts enough with that of the music that I can differentiate quite well.

[@hsfgghsfgh]

Alpha Delta especially with the otherwise interesting intro he did. I was really struggling to see what he was doing as the track suddenly changed in the middle of it.

[@Zarastro54]

I thought the track somewhat represented his growing frustration and anxiety over the game. I liked it.

[@nikzanzev2402]

Money well saved by not buying this game... Cyberpunk 2077 cannot come soon enough...

[@koffieslikkersenior]

The Witcher 3 is also a complete failure on the RPG front. I don't get why it's so loved. The story (while quite good) is on rails and the combat is utterly boring. Roll roll attack repeat

[@looinrims]

Oh fuck this too aged like milk

[@Akumakazi]

It really is a damn shame how ME:A panned out, I had high hopes for the game. Bioware just seems like they've lost their grasp on reality a little bit and have forgotten the important things about making games, which is a real shame. It's like these companies forget that every shitty game they publish causes that company to lose credibility, as the consumers, especially the gaming consumer basis, don't forget. Regardless, I liked how you presented the content. I think the only thing I would've liked to see more of would have been comparisons to ME 1-3, but y'know, not a big deal. Sides, from the looks of things ME:A. couldn't roll a number higher than 5 on a d100.

[@darknight910]

13:42 This bothered me too much when I first played Andromeda too. No, that IS rain and it IS falling on our character's faces THROUGH their helmets. Like, fucking hell, how was this NOT CAUGHT!?

[@Glace1221]

"Maybe I'm foolish, maybe I'm blind." - MFA devs

[@bhryaen3743]

Yeah, every time I've started a new game I want to hear the pilot reprimanded. "What were you doing when you crashed our spacecraft into a HUGE conspicuous cloud of dark energy? Did you have the ship's sensors shut off? WTF?! You're relieved of duty!" But the pilot stays around on the Hyperion deck like a fellow hero the entire game. You're also right about (well, most everything, but...) being able to trade helmets with Alex Ryder to keep both alive, but it's stupider than that. The very instant you "land" on Habitat 7 your helmet breaks- same exact issue, albeit somewhat less broken than the last moment on Habitat 7. But there was a solution: your magic orange armband can repair helmet visors... so... why not just take 10sec to repair the visor again? Or Dad can do it. Or just DON'T have the visor break at the beginning so the magic visor fix isn't an option at the later point.

[@Pantalaymo]

so THAT were your biggest immersion-problems? What struck me a lot more than all those little things you pointed out were bigger things like: 1. How FUCKING convenient it is, that a few million lightyears away there LUCKILY has been an alien race, who build giant terraforming-things that adjust the planets to EXACTLY the same needs as humans! Just imagine the Remnant being Dudes that relly on living in 3000°C hot Lava! Andromeda would be quite fucked. 2. Every single interactive Alienrace is fuckin humanoid even down to their friggin sexual-organs (that already bothered me in the other Mass-Effects). It's so BORING! Why not explore more interesting races like the Hanar, Volus or Elkor, which had cool designs but got only scratched in the former games. 3. This open world, which is emptier than my bank-account! Shooting up the same freakin Robots or Aliens I don't care about to get nothing but a single container with some stuff I don't care about... So far the only the thing in Andromeda, which is legitimate fun is the combat-system and the wider variety in Skills and weapons. But for the Story/Atmosphere... except a few chilling visuals I get even less involved in this story, than in Metro 2033

[@Asdayasman]

The orchestra falling down the stairs provided a relevant soundtrack.

[@Skarletkombat]

I completely agree with the lack of conflict between my squadmates. In my third playthrough, where I try to get as close to a renegade playthrough as I can, I got irritated with just how forgiving my squad was. There might be some dialog with them but then they'd go right back to liking me.

[@shockmonkey1842]

Its a big empty world like DAI, mmo engine...

[@NorthRemembers]

It has all the flaws of DAI, but worse and more. It's like they thought, hey this things went wrong last time, better do them again.

[@DevilJeff35]

ShockMonkey mmo engine ? That doesnt make any sense. You just dont make mmo by accident because of the engine. They manually did it.

[@PhyreI3ird]

I'm not saying you're wrong but genuinely asking: How is Dragon Age Inquisition empty? I mean, depending on area you can come across enemy encounters, new quests, collectibles that actually did things, discover secrets, codex entries, plenty of resource nodes (that actually proved quite helpful) or even come across people/things in the middle of their own combat just by wandering the world. I don't at all connect with how some people say "DA:I is empty", so could somebody explain? - Sincerely, Some dude with just an honest question so please don't fly off the god damn rails

[@LaroonDynasty]

Yeah, the breathing thing is like beginner level scuba training. All astronauts get scuba training. Most special ops get scuba training. That a Pathfinder doesn't know how to alternate breathing (let alone isn't equipped with a backup respirator even though they're launching into deep space... FUCKING DEEP SPACE) is ridiculous.

[@E-Man5805]

MONTHS later, I know. But I never had a problem with the helmet thing. Passing it back and forth to trade breathes might end up with both Ryders passing out and dying between helmet switches. Plus, there's no telling if the air has trace microbes that are toxic or cause some kind of reaction in constant exposure that causes them to also pass out and die between helmet exchanges. I didn't mind that. What I DID mind was them not even bothering to acknowledge that ships in Mass Effect have probes for the exact purpose of seeing if a planet if habitable or getting a read out in real time. If they'd said the probe launcher was damaged beyond swift repair or something, that at least covers the most basic plot contrivances. Which are necessary. Every plot has things that make the plot happen...but you can handwave it more than not at all.

[@takebushead8681]

So I had finally decided to play one of the loyalty missions in Andromeda. It was Drack's mission and while going through this mission it suddenly hit me why the first 70% of the game felt so "bleeh". Mass Effect can not work as an open world game or at least in this current form. From the moment you play Drack's or Liam's or any loyalty mission you immediately think "OMG now I'm playing Mass Effect". Then by the third loyalty mission you realize they just basically slapped Mechs as the bosses for all. Never the less its in those linear, set piece moments where you feel like your playing a Mass Effect game. Mass Effect is a space opera that is more akin to a JRPG that a Wester RPG. Exploration is second to purpose, characters and story. The game's path is linear but public hubs and side mission give you the non-linearity to brake up tempo. The conversation wheel makes you the feel like your in more control of the game than you actually are and that's cool. Andromeda, on the other hand, open worlds do have some "woah" moments but they immediately get hollow as you have to do tedious task after tedious task all ending in you destroying the planet's main Keth base and activating the ancient tech. I remember landing on Heleus after slogging through 3 planets and suddenly I was like "WTF! Is this a new planet? Really I have to do all this shit again?" No game should make you think that. I swear only love for the franchise made me go on. The ending was actually good but I keep feeling like they would mess it up with some cheap boss or non boss. Yeah after so many disappointments you began to expect them. Andromeda had so many disappointments that you it actually had good movements and that's sad. Andromeda could have been great but EA was too busy trying to make their Destiny clone Anthem to care.

[@looinrims]

This aged like milk

[@nukinonmalawn1]

The sad thing is that there seems to be a lot of potential but just plain abysmal execution on so many levels that makes all the possibilities of gameplay, story and character redundant in retrospect

[@nukinonmalawn1]

Cntrol100 I don't really think so, since this distinctly reminds of Dragon Age Inquisition. More like all of the core talent leaving as opposed to driven off

[@PolarbearYGT]

nice video but is the loud background music really needed?

[@XpaceTrue]

Judging by this video, it *_sounds like_* this game was not only rushed, it was developed and programmed by the lowest bidder in a third-world country and targeted for a foreign market. And the English amateur voice acting was added after the game was "finished". I'd be forgiven for assuming that, right?

[@Kainlarsen]

This is what happens when you outsource a Triple-A game's creation to diversity-hire interns.

[@deudex]

Hey, I enjoy your game analysis videos a lot, but, as many people mentioned, sometimes background music is too loud. Is it possible for you to fix the audio of this video (I'd say lower the music volume by 50-60%), re-upload new version, make it unlisted - so it won't break the flow on the channel - and then add a link to this unlisted fixed video to the description here? This way you'll get two bird stoned at once. I was trying to watch this video 4-5 times, and every time it's just a torture due to music.

[@jackallan1270]

Read an article recently about why Andromeda was such a fuck up, with the animations and stuff. Basically for the majority of the design process there was no real team leader and heaps of outsourcing. And when they finally did bring someone in to properly run the show, they just whipped everything together in the last 18 months instead of postponing the release to refine the process. All the facial animations were ported from the original software they were using to Maya and that kinda screwed a lot of stuff up apparently.

[@jackallan1270]

www.kotaku.com.au/2017/06/the-story-behindmass-effect-andromedas-troubled-five-year-development/

[@iWillWakeYouUp]

I have not played the game, but regarding your criticism about the "rain" on the helmet: I think that was just the humidity of that planet. The atmosphere is extremely high in water vapor so it probably condenses on the helmet's visor because - as you pointed out - they probably have "air conditioning" inside, cooling the visor and thus enabling condensation.

[@Celerott]

The ship being piloted by Ray Charles...so Spy Hard in space? I would pay good money to play a space game in the spirit and humor of Spy Hard in space.

[@TAndRDInSpace]

Exactly. Took me two years to play through it for the same reasons you mentioned. It's the proverbial "red-headed step-child of Mass Effect.

[@osets2117]

As a red headed step child this comment speaks to me

[@DeyvsonMoutinhoCaliman]

I'm already ugly in real life, I don't need to be ugly in a game.

[@Danilaschannel]

Storytelling isn't about immersion. Storytelling is about sharing different ideas and emotional experiences. Of course immersion is important for those experiences and ideas to be shared effectively but it's not the goal. Immersion is a tool that we use to reach the goal of sharing experiences and ideas.

[@Davesoft]

"until I hit my middle mouse button and dashed" .... whut!? my mind is blown, i have to try this immediately.

[@hakusansaku8800]

The game lacks coherence and polish. At 6:40 the acting and mimics of the characters does not match the situation. To get it right one would need some more iterations. I think the development was like this 2013 A: "Scene is ok, but characters actions don't match up. We have to redo it!" B: "It's good enough, we have a tight scedule and no time for further iterations. do the next scene already. 2015 A: "I've tested the scene and choises are kind of redundant. We have to analyze it and put more work in it!" B: "We do not have that luxury. Make your work and don't think too much" 2016: A: thinking "Something is off with the ...., ah screw it!!! On to the next!" B: "How is it going?" A: "Fine, everything is great" B "Ok, but speed up a bit, we're launching next year"

[@Northreyar7314]

Why do people think that the Fallout 4 and DA:I dialog system is something worth replicating? specially when Bioware had gotten it so right with the previous mass effects and Dragon age games. At this point I'm pretty much sure that, Bioware and Bethesda want to dump the idea of roleplaying so they can tell their own story with their own characters and you just be the guy that chooses the whatever flavor and variety of dealing death you want to choose. They want to further cultivate the idea that roleplaying in games should be: find whatever gameplay loop you like best, then pick the dialog that YOU would pick, which completely misses the idea of roleplaying in the first place

[@eureka0521]

Man i said the moment they were removing the morality system this would happen. people were so convinced it would open up the character even more, and it wouldn't be so "black and white." well when you remove "black and white" all you're left with is "white," and that's exactly what this game did. the character's personality is already preset, which explains the auto-dialogue.

[@sygos]

I'm glad you used a screenshot from brianna wu's game, it's probably the first time someone has used it when not talking about the game since its release.

[@darobi]

To be fair to the scene of your dad's death. You're slipping out of consciousness. There's no guarantee you'll be able to relegate your breathing enough for mask passing to be viable. If everything else in the opening wasn't so clunky and mind-boggling, this would have been giving more of a pass.

[@christiandauz3742]

That is why they tell you to put the mask over your face first in an airplane emergency You will lose consciousness fast when the plane is losing air

[@wyattw9727]

You should note that for god knows why, EA decided to hand this game out to a recently formed Bioware splinter (I think it's Bioware Quebec), who had up to this point NEVER worked on games. They'd made DLC, but they'd never started with something they made from scratch or knew how to do it, and thus Andromeda was handed off to a bunch of inexperienced devs on a completely hopeless misadventure.

[@Thoron_of_Neto]

That... actually explains A LOT... Not everything, but definitely some of the technical problems the game had day 1. Good to know

[@arissp4950]

The only thing that really annoyed the shit out of me was the cringy ass jokes and that Ryder never seems serious about the job and if you think about it the initiative is in a big mess and his attitude towards it is like his mom put him to do some chores .ffs

[@HeckaLives]

not to insult or anything, but the framerate and editing of this video make me actually ill.

[@lightningandodinify]

Subbed! I love the presentation of your videos, keen reasoning, and insight. A welcome change to the standard unjustified ranting, anti SJW gibberish, or other irrelevant political nonsense. Great work and please continue to make these fantastic videos.

[@StratEdgyProductions]

Thank you. I try to present a well reasoned argument, but passion can at times prevent that.

[@looinrims]

I know this is an old comment but I am gonna point out to you that the political nonsense wasn’t irrelevant, as proven by admittance from the creators, I can find you a couple videos if you want, but please don’t say untrue things

[@evertongabriel8859]

Your videos are pretty well made, and your text is great. You deserve more view man!

[@jgw9990]

ME peaked when you could renegade kick someone off a building. The dialogue options made me laugh so much in ME2. So badass. The ones in andromeda are just bland and vague.

[@Vitrolin2408]

Did you write that opening 'speech?' 0:00 - 1:50 If no, where is that from. If yes, It is beautiful.

[@parsimonious6900]

One thing in particular that bothers me is when you finally arrive at some snow planet, your teammates helmets are on default off. The game even had prompts popping up describing the planet as "hazardous environment" and drains battery from your suit, meanwhile cora stays comfy helmetless in her skint tight body suits.

[@P1ranh4]

The dash is also something I had to look up, because I saw it in videos and wondered how I do it. Nothing teaches it to you.

[@inchriswemistrust]

I started listening to your videos about 1 week ago (had the stomach bug, this past weekend I had a sore throat and head cold) and I thoroughly enjoy your videos, so I subbed. And btw, your commentary sounds very similar to BDobbinsFTW's commentary (my favorite channel). I'm just curious if that's coincidence or if it's even a bit intentional haha. It doesn't matter tho you've earned a sub from me. Keep the good commentaries coming and I will happily watch them

[@StratEdgyProductions]

Batman is a bit of a guilty pleasure, because while I can't stand CoD, I love the little yarns he weaves. I'm a writer, so I can appreciate his style of opening with anecdotal evidence to support an argument. Didn't realize until you brought him up, but that's the way I handle writing my videos as well. Hell of a compliment none the less. Love that guys stuff. Wish he was a little more active on youtube though. I binge watch his shit.

[@inchriswemistrust]

Strat-Edgy Productions Yeah it's rough having 3 of his vids in one week and then waiting 3 months for the next one but it's not easy work. And also I agree with you. I'm almost certain I'm never going to buy a cod game (ghosts and destiny have made me very cynical about my gaming purchases) unless it's an older styled game and even then I'd wait to see how it turns out. Nevertheless, I still love his commentary and I find it interesting to keep up with the cod news even tho I'm not a continuous customer.

[@evrypixelcounts]

actually...I find that Mass Effect is more like Babylon 5 ( which was an inspiration for the story), which started of light but got darker over time

[@qualifiedarmchaircritic]

Dude, thank you for pointing out the terrible UI and quest system. The only good or fun quests in this game were some of the loyalty missions. All the rest is just so terribly paced and shallow and full of plotholes that sometimes go against basic rational thought. That is the real tragedy. That the animations are awful and glitchy is really just the tip of the iceberg.

[@michelleong2762]

I am a huge fan of Prokofiev's Dance of the Pagan Monster so I did end up listening to Prokofiev more than you in the end and didn''t really mind. at least for your big mistake with making the bg music too loud you chose some interesting 20th century classical music instead of something boring as hell like everyone else

[@hal900x]

"They're regressing, not progressing". Hrrrm, now why would that be?

[@pacecory1]

You know, I actually found myself enjoying this game for the first twenty hours. The only reason I quit was because the Mass Effect series got cancelled and I didn't want to be left on a cliff hanger. Though I would admit this game has lots of problems, mostly that it's a time waster when compared to the other mass effect games. I enjoyed it as a much more casual, let's mess around and complete side quests, kind of game, rather than wanting to seriously hit up the main story missions. Things like chasing down the dude's mom who was sick with an incurable disease before she could infect others, and then having to choose between killing her and stopping contamination or saving her and risk allowing contamination of this incurable disease were pretty good side quests.

[@Estel2121]

The intro speech on this video was better than the whole Andromeda mess

[@Fiasco3]

What annoys me about Mass-Effect Andromeda is that it could have worked. The Ryder and Ark story ideas were okay and gave a lot of scope. They got the opportunity to write and produce a whole new galaxy of races and stuff. With a decent team working on this and possibly using the best/latest Unreal Engine or upgraded/modified version of it for this game they could have made something great.

[@irl_lizard7880]

I did every quest, made every planet fully habitable, did everything substantial the single player had to offer. I remember almost none of it. I *really* disliked Mass Effect 3 (no, not just because of the ending) but ffs at least it left an impression!!!

[@wolfieinu]

17:29 WHAT APOUT QUESTS? WHAT IF I DIDN'T WANT TO BUY THE POTION?

[@Mr9Guns]

It's the game many of us wanted to love like the original Mass Effect Trilogy but damn did they ever drop the ball on Andromeda.

[@themagnus2919]

Mass Effect Andromeda made the ME3 endings look like fan-service...

[@punkmusicmetal]

20:50 soured my mood for the whole game. When you first land, Ryder fixes his/her helmet with the omni tool. And yet the Pathfinder and his child completely forget about that fact in this scene!

[@BKPrice]

To be fair, the first fix was a hairline crack. We currently have ways to fix cracks on a windshield, but the same product won't fix a smashed windshield, so it's not far fetched that the omni-tool would be able to fix a hairline crack and not a completely broken visor.

[@Fabelaz]

That intro, fuck, I want to know how to express myself that way ... once again? I once read what I wrote when I were a teen and was impressed by how interesting were the words I used. I've dumped down over the years it seems. Maybe I just should read more, however it seems that it won't help as my taste in literature strives away from classic works.

[@StratEdgyProductions]

It grows back like a lizard tail. You just have to give it time. The more you read, the more bored you will become of commercial literature.

[@plume...]

The music in the background is too loud and does not add anything to the video. It's horrible.

[@shayliakara]

I hate that when I get on my ship, I always leave the planet. I wanted to go to my bridge, and look a the planet from inside my ship. Without taking off! This game is not all bad though, and I did enjoy it, mostly. But I agree with your points of "If this is a RP game, let me RP it." When I am forced to say things that I never wanted to say, or not given the option to do something that matters, it has lost the feeling or Role Play. I am just sad that Bioware (EA) cancelled any more ME games, because I love this franchise. Just because ME:A failed, does not mean that ME:A2 would have. People seem to forget that ME by itself was an unfinished story arc, too. I wish we had a chance to see more of the story of Andromeda, which could have been good. Oh well.

[@prismaticbeetle3194]

god forbid a player actually LOSES in a game or makes a shity choice

[@Gungrave123]

That intro was more creepy than ME: A face animations.

[@patrickrauh996]

Addition : And you pay the robber for doing it

[@dalei_lama4360]

I did even kind of enjoy the game, but I just can not push myself through, no matter what i try to overlook, it just always has some disapointment or missed opportunity up its sleeve. And the whole crafting and crypoint systems just feel so unimmersive sometimes.

[@DeadNoob451]

The background music is waaay too loud. Its almost impossible to understand you at 14 Minutes for example.

[@NPC-tu4un]

If you want a good story about people being frozen in cryo chambers and waking up hundreds of years in the future on huge arc ships while looking for new hospitable planets....just read Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovski.

[@cromcruach5035]

Is it just me or does the world with the lightning look as though it's recycled to some extent from the Fade bit in Dragon Age Inquisition?

[@mongobongo3338]

Damn that intro had me really immersed I hope that was a real story... or maybe I don’t I’m not sure.

[@keystonelyte]

I am woefully torn on my experience with ME:A. On one hand, as far as the combat and exploration are concerned, Mass Effect has never been better. I had an absolute blast propelling myself around and launching space magic at my enemies while dressed in a bitchin' hot pink and purple space suit. I loved exploring new planets with their varied climates, flora, and fauna, and soaking in each new world at a snail's pace, stopping to admire the environment and smell the flowers. On the other hand, I never felt like Ryder was *ME.* I was not role-playing. Conversation was dull, characters had no *FUCKING CHARACTER,* and no dialogue or mission choice seemed to have any lasting impact on myself, my team, whoever I was helping at the time, or the universe at large. Choices were largely and obviously binary; "Do this thing or series of things and reap benefits, or go ahead and be a sociopathic dumbass. ChOiCeS." I really wish Bioware didn't abandon this game. It could have been the tits.

[@Shadowhunterbg]

22:35 Holy shit that chin can breach the hull of a Reaper ! O_o

[@goobawhoba]

The music in the background is obnoxiously loud.

[@gabriellablack6183]

I think Alec was being sarcastic when he said "you did a good job of that"

[@PixelMurder]

I installed the Legendary Edition after years in 2022 on a PC(I played the games on my 360 back then), and I played it for more than 300 hours in a short period. I felt alive as a gamer, no matter of the flaws we all know. While doing it, I installed Andromeda just for curiosity. I had a better experience driving the Mako over dead planets. After 8 hours I've spent over weeks, I had to uninstall it, I couldn't stand this piece of crap and I had no interest at all to explore it. Andromeda IS terrible, there is just nothing good I could say about it, Graphics, UI, combat, skill system, animation, art style, alien design, story, characters. Every click was a waste of time because this game is designed to burn time, it could have been made by Ubicrap. I mean, if you look at it as a new player, it looks way better and shinier than an ME 1, and you probably couldn't understand the point: Andromeda is a terrible game. It's a great example of how small the range between a good game or function, and a bad one is. It looks like it had a great production value, but every buck was wasted to a travesty of a game.

[@siarheipilat8152]

watching your video, i got the idea of developing software that would separate narration from obnoxiously loud music, filtering the latter out for good

[@TheDrawdex]

I can barely hear you with the music choice, and it's way too load.

[@zac53659]

Anyone see the movie Perfume? lol Third act broke the immersion so hard.

[@moody1320]

So its not my phone lagging throughout the first 7 minutes, good

[@Moardieb]

The backgroung music is annoying and loud, it distracts from your review.

[@esotericVideos]

The background music in this video is distracting.

[@HappyAspid]

This reminds me enchanted edition of baldur's gates 2. Moment when you meet the vampire who kills, quite slowly one of your temporary companions. You have an option to kill vampire or recruit her after that, but during killing scene - your entire party just stand completely still and motioneless staring at the entire process. And by the way - you are not a weakling from the begining of first BG1. You are powerfull seasoned adventurer who already encountered tonns of stuff before. But alas - for dramatic moment you are forced just to stand still and do absolutely nothing.

[@cmoor8616]

SELECT?[Thumbs up] or CONFIRM?[Thumbs down]

[@blackarmor666]

You are correct in everything but that loud music gives me a headache

[@scubasteve3743]

You made your point at 1:36 through 2:00. Continuing with the music broke my immersion in your video. I used to think that developers turned a blind eye to stupidity in their games because most consumers aren't critics/snobs capable of even discerning bad facial animations or plot holes --or maybe the time table and/or lack of proper time management led to sacrifices in quality. I'm pretty sure now that we just have more and more stupid people making video games.

[@jamesvance1367]

what movie was that with shannyn sossamon and jonny lee miller?