PaigeFTW: A Bureaucratic Galaxy
Mass Effect: Andromeda had a high bar to climb as successor to the beloved BioWare trilogy that brought my best friend Garrus Vakarian to this galaxy.
Obviously, that is an impossible bar to reach because Garrus is just that amazing.
But here we are, trying our damndest to recreate the magic. But something is missing. And it’s not just Garrus.
Andromeda takes place between the first and second titles, and is unconnected to the adventures of Commander Shepard. Large numbers of colonists have opted to be cryogenically frozen for 600 years in hopes of starting a new life in the Heleus Cluster in the Andromeda galaxy. Things are not as ideal upon arrival. The player, Pathfinder Ryder, is in charge of scoping out new planets that are capable of sustaining life.
You’ll find the usual alien races roaming around — lots of turians, salarians, asari and krogans, at least — and a few new faces. Of course, as you trek from planet to planet, seeking hope, you’ll also gather a crew of lovable misfits, cultivate romance and more.
But something is missing.
I don’t mean just “facial expressions,” either. Perhaps I’m simply not far enough in the game, but the life of the original Mass Effect trilogy is simply not here.
It’s difficult to put into words. I enjoy the action of playing the game — wandering around, shooting aliens, chatting with my teammates — but the experience is strangely joyless. I am going through the motions of what I am supposed to do in a Mass Effect game. This is pleasant. But the emotions I would normally associate with the experience are not there. I am acting for the sake of acting.
It’s just … not fun.
Perhaps it gets better. I’m not done with it, of course. But so far, Andromeda is a strange, empty shell of a game. I’m chasing completion percentages instead of adventure. That seems a bad sign. And it just makes me miss Garrus and the old gang, even more.
