Mass Effect: Andromeda, was it really that bad?

[@JohnnyElRed]

This was the first Mass Effect I played. I honestly enjoyed it, and didn't really understood all the criticism it got, graphic quality aside. Then I jumped into playing the original trilogy. Then I understood every complain made. But even before that, I must admit I felt really disappointed with the variety of scenarios. We got 6 planets to visit and explore freely... and 3 of them are just a desert. A desert with slight variations, but still. A desert.

[@oldmangamer01]

Interesting perspective - thanks for sharing.

[@Summon256]

Wth is the third one! I mean with Eos and Elaaden i get it! Voeld is not the desert, it's an antarctic-like frozen North Pole, Havarl is an exotic alien Pandora-like jungle, Aya is just a city hub world, Kadara is a toxic planet not the desert, so i don't understand what the heck you are talking about! Oh and there is 7th one you can freely explore, which you can technically count as a "planet", it is the Asteroid one with no atmosphere and low gravity a Moon-like world with craters and stuff...technically while barren wasteland also cannot be really classified as the desert...

[@Dankus_Memeus_II]

It was my first mass effect then I played the originals and couldn’t go back to it

[@landar486_TV]

much deserved criticisms. the 'they didn't get to finish what they started' is one of those things that bother me about games of late. designed for dlc/expansions to finalize stories instead of expanding on them so much. granted when that sort of design works, it works well somehow.

[@ProperBird]

I 100% prefer small, self-contained games by far.

[@landar486_TV]

@@ProperBird Agree. those are the ones I keep playing over the years.

[@CherryJuli]

To be fair this game was mostly designed to be in a trilogy not for a ton of DLCs.

[@platinumpengwinmusic5564]

The fact that we don't have a Salarian squadmate is by far the biggest oversight in the game. Mordin was awesome! I would have loved a crazy Salarian genius STG crew member.

[@Monstein]

I really enjoyed the game. Think I did the full story 2 times, one time as each sibling. Still not happy the "oh this will be covered in the DLC" that never happened.

[@CradlePayne]

Thank you!

[@パンダの死体]

Gameplay wise maybe not, but it was aggresively redundant. Instead of pushing the narrative further and building upon the established universe, the decision was made to run around in circles and keep it in a convenient scale what made it just uninteresting.

[@AngelWings-r4v]

I’m sure they’re were going to fix it later or add more story through paid DLC xD

[@volbers]

I kind of enjoyed it back then, to be honest, but the biggest disappointment for me was/still is that despite visiting a completely new galaxy, there isn't enough strangeness. There's a literal universe of opportunity for weird and creative places and beings, and they only had time/budget for - I'm exxagerating here - two deserts and an ice world and two bipedal species to interact with.

[@ProperBird]

I absolutely agree.

[@CherryJuli]

It’s mostly because you’re only in one cluster of the andromeda galaxy. In the other games we were in an entire galaxy. Probably in the later planned games we would’ve seen more of the galaxy and more races. Unfortunately, we will never get to see those games. It really infuriates me that because of rushing this game the franchise was destroyed by EA.

[@Vex462]

I loved the Mako in ME1. Once you got good with it, you could bypass most obstacles, potshot targets, and goomba stomp the Geth Colossi, which was hilarious.

[@d0pep3nguin27]

the mako will forever haunt my nightmares

[@Torlik11]

I feel like Adromeda have the same problem as Dragon Age 3: too much pointless content in an empty universe

[@ProperBird]

I really don't understand that push for open worlds when all of those worlds are empty, for sure.

[@destructionloki]

I bought this game soon after it was released. (Could have been a year after. I don’t remember.) I didn’t see or notice or was bothered by anything visually. Anyway. First Mass Effect game I played. I LOVED THIS GAME. Have replayed about 10 times. I’m actually, replaying it now.

[@gwythyr1281]

I definitely agree with your point that they didn't give enough set up to this series like they did the original ME. I think it's a general trend with a lot of the bigger studios nowadays that there's too much corporate mandates for profit and a stifling of talent and passion. A lot of the old guard have left the studios we once loved. They're shells of what we once loved and admired. Passionate workers are worked to the bone, forced to crunch and rush and make a messy although enjoyable experience. So often I see games that would have benefited from more time and being able to take risks again instead of being forced into the profit margins. Given more trust to make things right. But on the bright side there's still a lot of games that are coming out and there's passion and fire in those! New favorites are all around. We just need to look around and find them!

[@ryanelliott71698]

Funny enough Alec would’ve made a better protagonist. Yeah we would be limited to a make only character, but honestly the setup for a great character was there and would’ve been something different than the usual, “taking control of a dead parents kid” like in fallout 3

[@ProperBird]

They gave him a very interesting backstory that you only find out about if you delve into his sidequest (which is very dull to collect) so at least an intro play section with him would've been a nice addition.

[@ryanelliott71698]

@@ProperBird honestly I would if bioware protagonist writing would be better if they more of a pre determined character like garelt from the Witcher or Lee from the walking dead. Choice is good and all, but that comes at the cost of more variables the developers have to make which can lead to sone bizarre choices of “why didn’t the devs give us this option” results in a “they ran out of time and had to cut choice paths.

[@ironwolf56]

If it makes you feel any better, showing Liara doesn't necessarily mean it's set soon after the trilogy. Asari can live for, I think, nearly 1,000 years and Liara was a young Asari in the first game so she could be Matriarch Liara in the Andromeda timeline.

[@darkbeach72]

Mass Effect's ultimate sin was being cringe. I was patient with the bugs, but the dialogue was terrible and the best story beats were totally abandoned. If we had been given a choice to yeet Liam out of an airlock, it would have done a lot to redeem the game. Similar to nuking the space racist on Virmire, I think it would have given players a chance to feel like they weren't just saddled with losers, but crafted a crew.

[@Marco_Onyxheart]

This game could have been great, but it suffered from bein undercooked. The writing, the bugs, the planets, everything needed an extra year in the oven.

[@kutless45]

You mentioned how there are 180 planets to look at and only 7 you can land on and it made me think of a missed opportunity. Imagine that after meeting the Angara you get an Angara codex that adds flavortext to all those planets. Imagine reading about the history of a pilgrimage planet, or of a planet where the Angara fought a bloody battle with the Kett that ended with them throwing an asteroid at it to stop them from taking the planet, or of planets where great historical Angaran figures come from and learning about said figures. It would help make the cluster feel lived in.

[@giancarloszayas7197]

the problem i have with game is the way it makes you wander around far too much ,without clearly pointing out important objects in an oderly manner

[@CharleyXMIke]

I always enjoyed the combat, I felt that was a plus in my book plus the multiplayer was fun too

[@derheadbanger9039]

I played the game more than a year after release. It was much better than I expected. Especially combat was very fun - and with crafting you could build broken overpowered weapons. ^^

[@thomaswrightson2230]

I fully get the burnout with multimedia universes. When I was writing my sci-fi pentalogy (shameless plug, I know), I made the deliberate choice to have each entry be a story that can work on its own without needing to know ten movies, three TV series and five comic series to know what someone's talking about. EDIT: As for the game itself... The story's such a drag, but I really like the non-human characters.

[@WBWhiting]

Andromeda pretends that you are a leader, and you make one cosmetic leadership decision (science or military base), and spend the rest of the time as a commando taking orders and running errands for the bosses. Andromeda pretends that you are an explorer, but you were defrosted last and you help fix the actual explorer's and pioneer's problems with colonies they established. Andromeds's plot, squadmates, enemies, new alien races are all boring and sub-par, especially when compared to OG trilogy worldbuilding, characters, and plot. I'll remember that colossal spaceship wreck scenery near the rolling desert dunes with the metal 'snake' shifting through in its pattern better than I remember the name of the planet it was on or half my squadmate's names or what bad alien guy's name or deal was. Andromeda's combat mechanics are arguably improved, but the combat scenarios are mostly 'open world outpost' and '6 soldiers deploying from flying APC'. Gee, the last 50 times you sent only 6 guys at me they were killed without issue, better fly in another 6 guys, we need a steady stream of random battles to spice up another empty desert.

[@JaredHoush]

According to steam i played this for around one hundred hours, yet i find myself surprised by practically everything in this video. I suspect if anyone ever asked me about this game and I told them that it would be fairly damning.

[@ProperBird]

Unfortunately the story lines fizzle out somewhat on account of the "planned trilogy" concept. 😬

[@CharlesM2]

I’m a major fan of the original trilogy, and I tried very hard to like Andromeda, but I just can’t get through it. The “ok-ness” is just so overwhelming that any time i’m not engaging in combat or hitting a major plot point, i’m bored out of my mind. I never really had moments like that in the OT, always fully engrossed in everything and speaking to everyone with full attention. I even cared enough to do the terrible citadel fetch quests for war assets in ME3, but the open-world nature and drawn out multi-fetch quests of Andromeda just make me want to play another game instead of wasting my time lol. (Also the Angara are too uninspired for me to care about their inclusion into the ME universe, every time I see them I just think of the Twi’lek from Star Wars 🤷🏻‍♂️)

[@illizcit1]

I share many of your views on Andromeda. Too many peek a boo plots that were never followed up on but were intriguing enough that they really needed more detail. Have you read the novels, particularly Annihilation? The detail there gives a lot more to the story and truly should have been in the game. They need to go to the drawing board with this one and incorporate those stories! Catherynne Valente MUST be a writer on this. Her book was the best of the Andromeda trilogy covering the Quarian ark. Also, I need more Jaal cheeks. lol Thank you for the video. I really like your style!

[@ErtaiCZ]

It was my first year working... I fell sick and had to recover for a week at home. And the first day Andromeda came out. So I bought it and played it. I had fun... and also had very few bugs. I was lucky it seems. I generally enjoyed the game, even back then. Despite the imperfections

[@ColonelCorson]

I got Andromeda for free from a friend and I still feel like I was ripped off.

[@TheeCambion]

Honestly i like it more than dragon age inquisition.

[@ColonelCorson]

@@TheeCambion That's fair, I actually really enjoyed Dragon Age: Inquisition, but I can understand why it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea.

[@UTxTheArchangel]

The unfortunate thing about Andromeda is some of its best lore requires the player knowing outside of game lore. Example, Cora. Its heavily pointed that Cora is the Illusive Man's daughter, but a typical player wouldn't notice bc part of knowing even the illusive man's real name is reading mass effect comics. Its also pointed that one of the mystery benefactors is Cerberus, and Illusive Man's daughter being sent on the mission would give Cerberus big reason to fund the mission to andromeda. Tiran Kandros, the head of the militia is the cousin of Nyreen. Which is cool, but a player would only care or noticed if they played the Omega DLC and talked to Tiran enough.

[@dominiccenteno1233]

I really liked this game a lot. I totally understand why people don't like it but it had a lot of what I like in a video game. The builds are so good and is an eye candy especially the later parts of the story.

[@jekw23]

Yep, I had a blast with it. Doesn’t hit the highs of the original trilogy but I never expected it too.

[@oliviawilliams6204]

I keep having to said that. andromeda wasn’t planned as a Trilogy, the promotional material made that clear. It could have been the start of the Andromeda storyline on a greater extent, but not as a trilogy

[@Ramblinman26]

What did the promotional material say or do that implied it wasn't going to be a trilogy?

[@oliviawilliams6204]

@@Ramblinman26 they said outright in interviews it wasn’t the start of a trilogy

[@thornescapes7707]

If it was mostly made in 18 months, maybe the plan wasn't only because of sequels. Maybe they only had time for the core story and the rest got binned along the way.

[@ProperBird]

Just like the original Mass Effect series, this one was definitely also planned as a trilogy. The problem is as you said, they binned a lot of work late in the process and the stockholders didn't want to wait any longer. :(

[@CherryJuli]

That’s exactly the problem. If they had more time I think it would’ve been an amazing game. Everything is there it just needed a bit more story and a bit more character building (and fixing the bugs early if course). I would’ve loved an Andromeda trilogy. It’s sad that the fans actually killed it.

[@thomasplummer8103]

@@CherryJuli To be fair, it want the fan's fault the game release ias a buggy mess, that massive amounts of story were just not in the game, or that Bioware had set high expectations going into it by delivering consistently quality games. I honestly think it would be more accurate to say, too bad EA and their mandates killed it. because in the end, most of the issues that kept it from being a success came from EA, from putting a smaller, less experienced studio on it, to forcing the use of an unfamiliar engine that was particularly ill equipped to what they were trying to do, to time and DLC requirements, the game was star-crossed from the start. Not to say that the actual development team or the fans had no blame, but ultimately a lot of the things that doomed it were from EA and upper management.

[@AndrewD8Red]

Andromeda was *SOOOO GOOOOD* Fantastic ARPG. It just had the disadvantage of being the worst game in the series. Wait- just had a weird feeling of déjà vu...

[@moonknightish]

it's objectively an horrible RPG. Redundant dialogue tree, linear quest design, basically no C&C system. It's more an action/adventure than an RPG

[@AndrewD8Red]

@@moonknightish Nope! Wrong 😊

[@moonknightish]

@@AndrewD8Red You are argument is not...very compelling

[@AndrewD8Red]

@@moonknightish I wasn't trying to argue. The assertion of "objectivity" in regards to art is always incorrect.

[@AndrewD8Red]

@@moonknightish Or would you also argue that Diablo isn't an RPG using the same metric...?

[@davida.j.berner776]

Imagine building a successor to Mass Effect in an entirely new galaxy, and being so creatively bankrupt that you can only populate it with one new race. (Or two, I suppose, if you count the kett.) Compare that to ME1 which almost immediately introduces you to a turian, and then within minutes of arriving at the Citadel, introduces krogan, salarians, volus, elcor, asari and hanar, each one with its own distinct history, culture, prejudices and attitudes. Whatever improvements there may have been in the combat mechanics, Andromeda was a complete failure of imagination. Sadly, I expect nothing better from ME5, whether Shepard is brought back or not. 🙁

[@laviniasnow4494]

Never played anything in the “Mass Effect” universe, but I like listening to you 'cause you're a great storyteller. Fun fact: The captions kept calling “the kett”, the cat. 😆 P.S.: Based on your exposition the game doesn't seem bad so, who knows? Maybe one day this story will get a chance to reach its end. 🙂

[@ProperBird]

I'm still working on the proper subtitles, KZbin auto subtitles just don't ever cut it. ^^;

[@laviniasnow4494]

@@ProperBird No problem. I just found it funny. 😅

[@insomnia3454]

I played the game after the patches and everything and i actually really liked it. Sure i would like better villains and some fixes here and there but it was a great start for a new mass effect era. Still sad we didn't get that DLC 😢

[@jgamer2228]

As somebody that pre-ordered it and played it at launch, yes. Everything you’ve heard is true and even though it’s better now its past shouldn’t be forgotten or discounted

[@niklasw.1297]

28:03 is that the Traverse Town Theme in the background?

[@ProperBird]

Yep!

[@maesterdrew8606]

Great video 👌🏼 it would be awesome to see this type of analysis for Baldur’s Gate 3

[@Everythingwillsurelybealright]

Loved this! It’s really interesting looking back at this era of BioWare game design - and by interesting I think I mean disappointing. There were so many Big Game Trends they threw into this and Inquisition that really took away from the overall scope of what series was actually built on. Then again, cut to me in 2023 still holding out hope that the next ones are given the space to actually be their own thing! Eventually! Whenever they happen!

[@xeternalxdreamsx]

I found it to be a decent (and some areas -good) even at release. As someone who played the 3 originals, I had compared a lot of things. I liked the gameplay, exploration, and graphics better in the newest release. I've grown to like the original trilogy's character so much that I was 'meh' towards the new cast in comparison. On their own, they were fine. There was no exploration in the original games besides hubs and things along the railroads (besides ME1's mako rides) so it was refreshing but felt empty. I almost feel like bigger and branching railroads might've been abit more forgiving especially if the branching railroads had different resolutions to missions that would be reflected in the gameworld in some capacity and perhaps future missions.

[@mrflufflebunny4529]

The deus ex games have a dialogue wheel but are also pretty clear about what jensen is gonna say

[@giancarloszayas7197]

u forgot allies moving around with stiff bodies that had no animations and your character spawning inside objects

[@Robertson_SO]

I agree with you on being an OK game, and I enjoyed most of it. I played at the same time as you, but I chose to max out guns first and then use the fists, just because you were being the One Punch Ryder and I wanted to see if there were any differences in gameplay. In the end only the animation bugs were different, but it was fun nonetheless. Story wise, forgetting Liam's, I liked how the companions stories evolved, even the really short ones like the tea break with Suvi.

[@ProperBird]

Tea with Suvi was a highglight. 😊

[@trengilly01]

I think a big problem is that Bioware didn't have the guts to do a full reboot. Humans Only: They should have only sent humans to Andromeda . . . for two reasons. 1) We had already finished the unique stories related to each of the Milky Way races. We knew who the Asari, Turians, and Salarians were, The Krogan Genophage had been resolved one way or another. Their racial differences and cultural issues no longer meant anything in Andromeda . . . We were all just aliens from the Milky Way. 2) For technical reasons they could only have a limited number of character models. Asari, Turians, Salarians, and Krogan . . . . meant there would be 4 less new alien species for us to meet an interact with. Heck the reason the Quarians weren't there was likely just due to technical limitations. So in stead we get only three new aliens, two of which are hostile and we can't even interact with. And in the end we just have the Angorans. Note they still could have brought a Milky Way alien race or two as a companion if they wanted since those are custom models. Exploration: The other major problem I had with the game is that it was supposed to be about exploration and discovering a new galaxy. Except when we get there everything is already discovered (except the Remnant, and even Pebee is working on that.). There are only 5 explorable planets (not counting the intro). Two are fully populated by the Angoran. And the other three are already populated with colonists. So much for exploration and finding a new world. We meet the Angorans thinking its a first contact situation, only to discover they met the earlier humans and know all about us. Most of the local quests are discovering what the colonists that arrived before us were up to and sorting out issues and messes that they left behind. What Should Have Been: Our single human colony ship should have arrived to a truly new galaxy. Then we as the pathfinder need to explore a larger number of worlds (Mass Effect had 38 planets you could land on). Some could be small and mostly empty. But in the course of exploration we would meet 7 new Alien species. A couple could be friendly, a couple hostile and some friends or foes based on what we do. The first aliens we meet could be friendly or hostile depending on how we handle the first contact. The various races would have some existing conflicts . . . perhaps we have to choose which side to support . . . after learning about them and their situation. There could be an existing war we need to intervene with . . . perhaps two of the races are fighting . . . and we unlock the Remnant and effectively recruit them so we can use their support to end the war. There were so many fresh options they could have gone with . . . if they just had the courage to fully reboot.

[@laju6398]

Now that's a game i'd like to play

[@YoshtTheAwesome]

Writer 1: "All right! I finally finished this dialog." Writer 2: _Reads over the dialog_ "I think some of these dialog wheel responses don't match up very well to the character's responses." Writer 1: _Shoves Writer 2 aside. Forcefully._

[@icesave1]

"Anakins worst nightmare". 😂

[@icesave1]

Also sounds like no man's sky on release. Wide as an ocean, deep as a puddle

[@ProperBird]

Literally this honestly.

[@TheLunarboy4]

If we can only get 1 of the planned Andromeda DLC's, i want the Quarian Arc. Dont mind me hoping for the possibility of another Geth companion (or even a quarian with some geth in their suit).

[@hanzo8120]

Yeah it was bad and I played it on Day 1 without the coming patches to fix things like the faces and so, but gameplay was ok and neat, ok some bugs here and there. I mean Jumpsuits are cool and jumping from cover to cover was new and fresh for me, but the Story and the Villain was so fricking underwhelming that I only wished that some Andromeda Reapers would appear and wiping those Bio Reapers called the "Kett" out. The Kett where so fricking lame... Oh and next time, if there is a "next" time, pls give us the option to mount some weapons on that Nomad ND1 or give us the M-44 Hammerhead or a pimp up version of the Mako Tank.

[@Knight1029]

What a great video. It isn't the typical, "Andromeda bad," nonsense everywhere. It actually explores the issues of the game and why they are issues. Like the dialogue isn't bad. Listening to it is just what you expect it to be. The real issue is the animations and expression. Andromeda has so much going for it. From its story to its companions and the amount of potential it has. Given the chance Andromeda would have been a successful series. It is so sad to think that Andromeda won't get the chance. Thanks for making the video. As an Andromeda fan it was great to see a video that isn't just pure hatred.

[@Tee61]

I had to force myself to complete this game when it first came out, I’m sure I’m not the only one.

[@TLouie2]

I don't appreciate PB stealing my pickup lines for her dialog wheel montage either.

[@ProperBird]

Sorry they were too good to pass up.

[@michaelharrold441]

I really liked Andromeda when I revisited it. ME1 then Andromeda are the faves for me

[@zay_tiggygaming]

Love mass effect 1. Disappointed that they cut the exploration out like that. Maybe that's why I liked Andromeda, exploration although it was very limited

[@johanandersson8252]

Grand Papillon makes an entrance.

[@ProperBird]

Glorious Grand Papillon.

[@Pr0digyZRX]

7:51 obtain the mcmuffin... check

[@ProperBird]

Excellent and delicious.

[@TruuJones]

When Mass Effect came out, I always wanted to play it but it was XBOX exclusive at the time, and I don't usually play RPGs. By the time I got around to finally playing it late last year, I played Andromeda first. Other than a few minor bugs (I guess they fixed some of them.) , I didn't really notice any problems with it. I had no point of reference though, I don't usually play those types of games. I did find it annoying I had to travel back and forth to planets (especially f***ing Havarl). I realized the mission structure was really bad. On a related note, I hated that no matter how many times I traveled around planets, the same enemies would re-populate there again. It took me a while to figure out I can ignore most these encounters and there was nothing in it for me. (Another reason I hate Havarl, you can't go anywhere in that god forsaken place.) It took FOREVER for me to understand the crafting, blueprint, and inventory mechanics. As a completionist, I didn't appreciate that after completing one of the main quests, I was locked out of one of the side quests....forever. It was something I had to do at the Kett base on Voeld I think. I dont remember there being any prompt or anything highlighting that mission/objective in the room, I was in the room, none of my squad mates said anything, nothing. I guess that's true of all Mass Effects, and the point is to play multiple times and explore, but I explicitly started out with Andromeda b/c it was one game, and I ME1-3 sounded daunting. So, I got the game 95-99%ish completed instead. Lastly, when I took one second to think about it, the story didn't make a lick of sense. Other than that, I had a lot of fun! Tough going from the gunplay and movement of Andromeda to ME1 but I actually am happy I played that one first, I'm much more knowledgeable going into my first playthrough of ME1-3 than I would've been otherwise.

[@peterattilakriszt3150]

About the world you can roam: this is just one cluster of the whole Andromeda galaxy. A cluster just like in the original trilogy where you flew between star systems using fuel (from the second part). If Andromeda would get more parts maybe we could explore the rest of the galaxy.

[@wolfen210959]

I agree with most of your opinions, except for the vaults, they were wicked, it's just a shame that the first one you explore is so huge, and has amazing views, but the rest did not match the scale, or the beauty of that one. The combat was an absolute blast, and the ability to build your character any way that you wished, was fantastic. The new mako was a pleasure to drive, unlike ME1, and the squad mate interactions, while driving around, made me laugh out loud on several occasions, Drack and Cora in particular. Reyes was the most fleshed out npc, by a country mile, and I genuinely regretted betraying him, that one time, never to be repeated. lol Liam was akin to Jacob from ME2, but immature and annoying too. I did not pre-order, or purchase on release day, but waited until it went on sale, and it was well worth the money I paid for it, half price, far more than many of the full price "better" games that I have bought. I only experienced one bug, unable to get 100% completion, despite scouring every planet for every single side quest, but it's a minor gripe really. Like you, I was gutted when EA abandoned it, it had so much potential, it just needed the kind of writing and polish that could only have come about if it had been given the time and support it needed. What is astonishing to me, is that Andromeda accounted for 40% of EA sales revenue in the year it released, but they just gave up on it, criminally so, in my opinion. I rank Andromed highly, just behind ME2 which had the best story and an absolute killer suicide mission, and ahead of ME3 which had a strong start and some good dlc's, but fell apart towards the end. As for the Ice planet, I had the most fun on that planet, it's chock full of missions and side quests, Jaal and Peebee really shine with their interactions there.

[@crazycat6lad918]

You rate a dromedary better than ME1??

[@ExtraHecticana]

I honestly had a good time with it. I'm tempted to go for the platinum after seeing this and feeling a little nostalgic for it lol

[@lordofgingers]

I've played Andromeda a few times to completion. I got to 99% on PS4 because one task was broken. I got to 100% twice on XB1, but Breaking a Fever doesn't trigger. And I did PC once to completion 100% including breaking a fever (the pot quest). My original playthrough was not 100% but I did the main quest and squad missions on that one. So having played it 5 times, I can say I agree with the assessment that the game was okay. A 7/10. I suspect I would feel similarly about ME1 if we never got ME2 and ME3 because those two games really make you appreciate the world ME1 built up and established. Just as MEA was doing here. Now it's looking like Bioware plans to build a bridge between MEA and ME3 because they found a way to account for the end of 3 I guess (vs. the fact that they could not account for that back in 2017). I've read al the books too and Annihilation does a decent enough job that you basically know what happened to the quarian ark. Now we're just waiting on it to show up. Ark 6 is far more interesting. That being said, I have thoughts on the various loose ends. I also think the Ryders' mom will return, though I do not know her role. 1)The Benefactor, from where I sit, could be either the Shadow Broker (the yahg one), artificial intelligence, or what it actually sounds like, a very rich and powerful human female that we have yet to meet. Their motivations are more interesting...but it could be as simple as avoid the Reapers and silence Garson so that the rest don't learn the truth about the Initiative. 2)The Kett. I am inclined to believe that Archon is what a pure kett looks like. That is, he was born a kett. He was not turned into a kett. I believe that all species that are initially converted are referred to as Chosen. So if they perfected the krogan exaltation, that krogan would atually be considered a Chosen by the Kett. From there, they can either be Anointed or deemed worthy of having the DNA of ancestral kett added to them. If this is done, their body is completely reshaped (similar to the adjutant virus) and they become a Destined. Should said Destined prove themselves, they reach the final level of exaltation: Ascendant. And the highest title they can hold is Primus. So while the physical appearance of the Chosen can change many times over, the appearnce of a pure Kett, like the Archon, would remain as is, but they are altered at the genetic level like asari newborns. I anticipate learning more about them and their empire and their vassals in the same vein we learned more about the Covenant in Halo 2. What we have observed is that the further down the caste system you go, the less free will the Kett seems to have. 3)I believe the Jardaan originally had a very similar appearance to the Angara. However, I believe their fate was similar to the virtual aliens back in the Milky Way. They had to upload their consciousness and create templates to serve as new bodies for them. The remnant tech plus the angara template made the Jardaan what they were...I think the opposition were rival Jardaan that disagreed and I think Jheln is the AI on Voeld. 4)Ark 6 probably includes a lot of species that were not on the first 5. I believe they will find a way to establish travel between the two galaxies (possibly beyond in the future). the black hole might be part of this. I expect the Nexus and the colonies to be far more established in future installments. It's unfortunate it got no DLC. However, there is still MP that I play from time to time. Same with ME3. It keeps me entertained while I wait for answers on these things.

[@dryspongeyt7353]

Short answer: Not really a bad game Long answer: In comparison to the original trilogy it fell short due to being a standalone title. The trilogy is exactly that, a trilogy. When you think Mass Effect you think of the trilogy, not the individual games of 1-3. The trilogy had the benefit of having three games to hook you in and make you care about the characters, but if you only play Mass Effect 1 and stopped there then characters like Garrus, Wrex, and Tali all fall short of their later potential since it’s the first game of three. Andromeda suffers that exact issue of being a standalone title. There’s no further games to expand upon what was presented, and no DLC ever dropped for the story. The Quarian ark? Completely unresolved. Due to how hard the game bombed.

[@oneofnone7947]

Gamplay was okay but that story was so abysmal and felt very hollow after the last 3 just why not to mention the missing races no quorean or geth was bizarre

[@ProperBird]

They mention the missing quarian ark all the way at the end (it's been found and they want no contact) as a hook for what would've likely been an upcoming DLC. Another victim of the trilogy plans. They resolved their story in a novel afterwards which is a shame.

[@oneofnone7947]

​@@ProperBirdit is this should have bin the plot of andromeda the threat of geth seeking on border an arch so you have to save them only to discover un suited quoreans and fully aware geth says that the ket are just another for of collectors that shouldn't be acting like this ofcourse the true would be a fragment of harbinger is controlling them and though that the biggest twist is revealed sam is actually a re-engineered sovereign so the choices would affect if both the character and Sam become sovereign again and hold on to the past like harbinger or move on with rider to become some more then human and AI like the geth and quorains

[@MidlifeCrisisJoe]

The fundamental reason Andromeda didn't work is the same reason the new MCU movies don't work. It's an afterthought mandated by producers after the fundamental psychic contract between creatives and audiences is completed. People were good with the MCU up until Thanos' defeat because that's what all those films had been building towards. Bit by bit, audiences were swept along in an epic narrative that grew with each chapter in complexity even as each chapter told its own story. It culminated in a grand finale that relieved all the tension that underwrote each previous chapter, and whether or not you liked the conclusion, that resolved tension could not be built up again or transferred onto anything that would come later because it was resolved. The Mass Effect trilogy was the same. The first two chapters each told their own story, but each also built up the series villains, The Reapers more and more. The third game delivered on the promise of the first two, and while many didn't like the ending (precisely because the endings at first did nothing to acknowledge prior game decisions as had been promised from the outset), it still ultimately resolved the tension built up over the three full games. The story, as understood by the audience was told. There was no more reason to keep telling it. The smart thing to do, from a creative standpoint, in both cases would have been to let things lie for a while. Let people yearn for more after giving the property some time to breath. But instead it was mandated to exist because producers wanted more money, so it came into existence, but people were just . . .done. There's very little that can be done in cases like these, because unless the creatives can sell audiences on a truly great follow up that makes the prior entries seem like they fit into an even *grander* narrative, unless they can come up with an Odyssey to follow the Trojan War essentially, it just feels like what it is: a cash grab.

[@skopde]

Yeah, agreed. It could have been so much more if it wasn't smothered in the crib.

[@TimHortonHAW]

Nice video. Mass Effect trilogy is a series I go back and play ever two or three years and I've gone through Legendary Edition three times since it's release. Andromeda was just okay. Being just okay after the original trilogy turned it into a bad game for a lot of people. The major problem with Andromeda is the Frostbite Engine. Many devs have had a lot of bad things to say about working with it. If you go back and play Dragon age: Inquisition it was plagued by the same bugs. I think Mass Effect 5 is using Unreal 5 (don't really like Unreal 5 but it's better then Frostbite) so we'll see how that turns out.

[@Threvlin]

Played the first two Mass Effects back in the day and only recently finished 3 and Andromeda and I had far more fun with these last two than I thought I would after all the internet ripping. Oh boy were there still problems to this day, but imagine the kind of Mass Effect we could get if devs didn't get crunched into oblivion.

[@joshuahensley9395]

Honestly just being mid, average is worse then being bad. Everything about this video made me think that this game doesn't deserve the mass effect name being attached to it at all.

[@ProperBird]

I actually agree that the game would've been better off not being a Mass Effect game. Letting it stand on its own would remove all the comparisons. I enjoy a lot of "just ok" games though.

[@noface6945]

I like your Paragon hair =D

[@nuttyjawa]

I have such high nostalgia for Mass Effect 1, it blew my mind when it released as I hunched over a small screen playing it! But other than that slight disagreement another great Proper Bird video 😂😁

[@ProperBird]

It was great when it launched but Mass Effect 2 was the one that really stuck with me.

[@ansem9999]

I found Andromeda to be an okay game that could've been great if it had been trimmed in some areas and expanded in others, but nowhere near as maligned as the internet put it. It's a pity it got caught in BioWare's freefall.

[@dainishauka7205]

I really hated (among oh so many details, but whatevers) that in the very end, when you are given to choose who will be the head of union (off all races in the sector- not just those from out galaxy?)- this choice still have the [serious/emotional/joke] icon and choosing krogan counts as a [joke]. and at that the locals are like- eeeh- whatever.

[@ProperBird]

Kesh would be an excellent ambassador :(

[@dainishauka7205]

@@ProperBird Krogan where deffo the best choice! and to see the face of the salarian ambassador was a free bonus to me... U know- if it would be possible to kill off "tired face" addison (and other characters we found too annoying) would have made the game better-by venting our stress... all in all- i would say that andromeda was (and is) deemed bad not because it is a trash game, but because almost everything is half baked- every conversation, every mechanic, every tired face- any player could feel- "if only this here was just a bit this", "slightly different there," "better thought here" etc. and in the end these seemingly small annoyances snowballed into one big lump of annoyance :( and how come sudoku is the only puzzle in the galaxy far far away? look how hogwarts made gazilion with almost same mechanic but they felt different! on a side note- why does an inherently fps frostbite game did not have fps game-play option is beyond me..

[@estsov4095]

I was waiting for this video! Andromeda deserved to be expanded on, it deserved to be fixed, like Cyberpunk and No man's sky. Yes, it will never be as good as the main Mass Effect trilogy, but Andromeda is generally okay.

[@Suspicious_fish.]

this helped me focus on the work I had to do today, ty for making this gr8 content. i ignored Andromeda when it came out, but I'm glad to know the gud and the bad of it after all this time 😂

[@roguerifter9724]

I liked it and I got it the first weekend. Most of the gameplay bugs were things I encountered in every Mass Effect games and I don't care about cutscene and character facial issues. And while the story and characters weren't as good as the earlier games I think they could have gotten better in future games. And this has my favorite gameplay in the franchise so far. There were a lot of gameplay changes between Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 that I disliked and while Mass Effect 3 fixed some of these it wasn't until Andromeda that they were all fixed. I played as an Engineer and loved using the jetpack to throw my turret behind enemy positions then either blasting them in the back as they focused on the turret or cutting them down as they charged to get away from the turret. I suspect I will never forgive the jerks who canceled the story DLCs

[@SirTheory]

This is a pretty fair take on ME:A. I definitely enjoyed my time with the game, but I think I gave it some passes on the story front (particularly re: the lack of resolution/answers) because I knew coming into the game that any planned sequels were not happening. And for me the experienced hinged much more on characters, exploration, and combat than following the story. Heck, as far as I'm concerned the story was "Kett are bad" and "Milky Way colonizers must survive." Everything else was just flavor. I think I fell pretty quickly into turning the game into a Pathfinder RP, where the standard pathfindery stuff was what I most enjoyed and connected with. Trailblazing planets, healing planets, building relationships with the various people... all that stuff. That, for me, was the satisfaction of playing. And that stuff is all kind of in that "optional" category, right? It's not directly plot related, so very side questy and whatnot. Though I guess I didn't view it as optional, lol.

[@KansaiCool]

For the odd Luo speaker here, I chuckled too hearing the words "Jal" and "Angara" on a 1st playthrough.

[@mld-Drake]

i honestly think that for the most part, the thing that messed Andromeda up was the Mass Effect name. If the game would have been a new franchise, it might have worked a lot better, but because it was a Mass Effect game, it had absolutely no chance living up to the previous games.

[@ProperBird]

I absolutely agree, it immediately sparks comparison to the previous trilogy.

[@FlorianD30]

The Kett are the ultimate joke of a villain. They were defeated by a few people on an unarmed colony ship and an unarmed scout ship. The Hyperion is big enough, they should have strapped some dreadnaughts to the side when they departed the Milky Way. Then we could have played extra galactic invader and wiped the Kett out in a week.

[@mikehernandez5900]

Overall I enjoyed the game, both story and gameplay, especially the combat. I caveat that with the fact I played the game after a lot of the reported bugs had been fixed, like a year or so later. What I didn't like about the game, from what I remember, were the relationships. Or rather I thought it was a lot weaker than what the originally trilogy were. I like your critique about the plot, but I give it somewhat of a pass, since I think the writers figured there would be 1 or more games later to flesh it out. Pure conjecture, but maybe ME1 had a more satisfying end, and tighter story because no sequel had been anticipated at that point. Thanks for the video!

[@DarkDao]

Is mic clipping or it's some bg music?

[@ProperBird]

The mic is clipping a little unfortunately, I have a new place and I'm still working things out. 😬

[@cyphi474]

Combat and visuals/audio were fine. Thats one positive thing you can say about this game. Rest, not so great. "My Mom tragically died when i was kid, my Dad died yesterday, but dont worry, i have plenty of 'jokes' in my sleeve to be amused"

[@Dahellraider]

As for the Dinos mastering space travel. Just think in starship troopers how the bugs just hurl their spores into space lol

[@SilortheBlade]

I played this a year or so ago. Your video pretty much sums up how I thought of it. Not a great game, but still fun. And I am a completionist so I did everything. More time to fix things would likely have allowed for more games in the series. But that would be thinking long term and corporations don't do that anymore.

[@rubrfox]

I wonder if it would have done better if it was not associated with the Mass Effect series. I don't think any of the loose story ends were supposed to be resolved by DLC. If there were DLC planned to resolve this, I don't think EA would have not have marketed it. Like how the DLC that was produced was heavily marketed. Instead I suspect Bioware planned on making another trilogy. However, it did so poorly, I think the trilogy was canceled. Overall, I really enjoyed this game. The jump pack combat was something I really liked, was glad to see it again in Starfield. Though I was not happy to see plot points being lifted and sanitized of the alien element for Starfield. Though I suppose Starfield is the game Bioware wanted to produce since the majority of their development time was spent on procedural generation...

[@happyslapsgiving5421]

I just did a full run replay of all ME games and I can confirm that Andromeda wasn't really "that bad". It was *MUCH WORSE.*

[@jaxonfreeman1756]

There are plenty of movies that aren't great but I like them anyways. That is how I feel about Andromeda. It's a different game than the original trilogy and it's hard to let go of the originals when they were so incredibly endearing. Some of the best games ever made. Despite that, the game kept me interested and invested enough to play it to it's conclusion which is more than I can say for many games. I can't help feeling like Starfield could have learned a lot from this game. It can be very cheap on steam and for me it was worth every penny of the $7 bucks I paid for it.

[@Eramiskel]

All I gotta say about this game is that Vetra Nyx is best girl and her goofball of a sister Sid is adorable.

[@stehilton35]

The combat in this game is amazing. Currently going for the platinum trophy. Those facial animations though 😂😂

[@karthikkumar6861]

I hated it at launch cos I had a weak pc and could barely run it but the biggest issue was that the game itself wasn't great. Played it 3 years later and enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Maybe cos I am a mass effect fanboy I would still buy another sequel if they make it.

[@CreamTheEverythingFixer]

I remember getting DA: I and ME: A together and its was surprising how seemingly bioware didn't learn from the feedack inquisition got to its pretty poor open world design and lack of quest variety. Both compounded with a story too afraid to show off the main villain enough, while making most choices redundent in the story overall. At least ME: A actually created a fun combat system, even if it spolied the player with too much too soon.

[@Q400Flight]

My biggest issue with andromeda is the game had clashing themes. It wanted to be a serious story about surviving the impossible odds that they were greeted with despite being not qualified and lack of resources and racing the Kett to find Miridian while simultaneously going for a Joss Whedon style dialogue during combat. There were many times The stakes would rise and someone would spit out some cringy one liner and I’m taken completely out of the moment. I stopped taking it seriously because the characters weren’t taking it seriously so why should I? The original trilogy also did similar during the citadel dlc but the setting is different. Shepard and team had no reason to treat the rag tag mercenaries as a serious threat because they were reaper/cerberus/geth fighting veterans. They knew they could handle them know problem and allowed them to play with their food a little. In most other combat scenarios Shepard and team were no nonsense.

[@Dahellraider]

The mass effect 5 trailer lines in the background do hint to the possibility of Andromeda being a part of it. Only time will tell.

[@ProperBird]

I really hope it gets some sort of second chance eventually.

[@XThanatos2X]

The fact that the Krogan party members are almost always the best characters is almost a Mass Effect feature. Wrex, Grunt and Drack are the best party members of their respective games. Garrus is ok too. The Asari and humans are almost always boring.

[@ryanlorenzo5003]

In retrospective less "not that bad", more "not good enough", and the way it's gone it's also not good enough for a sequel in its universe.

[@TheKeyser94]

Now that Starfield have come out, Andromeda seems light years more advanced that game, at least the planets are vast with many locations to explore because they were hand crafted, the aliens races still are lack luster but far better than Starfield, and Andromeda at least not try to pretend that is a space sim.

[@Kammereer]

Isn't the Benefactor pretty thoroughly established to be the Illusive Man? Head of Cerberus guy?

[@ProperBird]

Afraid not, that's just speculation.

[@laju6398]

The story of the benefactor is just really bad writing. From a narrative perspective it could only be the council, the old shadow broker or the illusive man but none of them fit at all with what we've got.

[@brotalnia]

The game is awesome. Finally played it and I loved it.

[@MarcuzXD]

Regarding your opinions on space travel and exploration in this game, I'd be VERY curious to hear your thoughts on Starfield!

[@ProperBird]

Honestly it hasn't pulled my interest but I'm generally open to try any game at least for a while.

[@CherryJuli]

Drack was also my favorite. ♥️

[@Negatigger]

I missed you Proper Bird.

[@codywhite6337]

Loved the video

[@ProperBird]

Thank you! ^^

[@oldmangamer01]

Yes, ME:A was that bad. It's not just about the graphics and the space (boring side quests). The companions are boring, the NPC's are boring and the villains are boring (only 1 main baddie). And the worst of all - Ryder is boring.

[@1701EarlGrey]

43:15 - Well, majority of people would disagree with you; because game didn't sell well. Never played it myself and I got bored even watching let's plays of this title, so I didn't experienced ending. Yes, I do agree with you that in a way combat look more dynamic and less monotonous that in previous entries but at the same time it lack any tactical aspect and any feeling that you are field commander ordering your squad - you have no control over your team. Yes, new terrain vehicle is much better than Mako but at the same time whole open world and "exploration" aspect of the game is most monotonous part - especially in case of story driven game such as this. As for story - it also is so-so to me; on the one hand it supposedly give you opportunity to discover completely new galaxy, to be a explorer, but at the same time is so narratively and thematically so far removed from Mass Effect that it could as well be completely new franchise. I cannot say that I like whole soft-reboot approach BioWare had chosen - they wanted to have a cake and eat it to; they didn't wanted to completely reboot the series but they didn't want to continue from controversial ending to ME3 either. Result is so-so; for some people mystery presented by "Andromeda" will work, for me and many others the fact that we completely abandoned plight of humanity in Milky Way - thing we fought for in original trilogy - is frankly disheartening. As is the fact that whole exploration aspect is greatly oversold; for example when when you made "first contact" with Angara you learn... that they already speak English! 😂