Why is Everyone up Mass Effect: Andromeda's Ass?

If you take a quick glance across the internet, you'll notice a curious trend happening in the gaming industry: Everyone is taking shots at Mass Effect: Andromeda. Gamespot gave the game a tragic 6/10 score while The Jimquisition even named their article "A Bit of a Mess Effect: Andromeda", which is pretty clever but also relatively misleading. Hell, you can even go on Youtube and find a dozen videos about how bad the facial animations are. But after spending 20+ hours with the game, at 26% completion rate, I'm completely baffled at the sheer amount of negativity surrounding this game. While the game is certainly not perfect, it's also not the raging garbage fire that much of the internet has been peddling it as.

"It's not the Raging Garbage Fire that much of the Internet has been Peddling it as."

It feels like a bunch of people played the game for 4 hours, felt like they got a good idea of what the game is about, and then wrote their reviews or published their videos. While I'm not accusing any specific publications of that kind of sloppy journalism, when I look at this phenomenon through that lens, it starts to make a bit more sense because, to be frank, the first couple hours are, in Immortan Joe's words, mediocre. The combat is decent if not original, the story kicks off with a squelch rather than a bang, and, yes, the facial animations are wonky (Pro Tip: Make your character's mouth small in the character creation menu). This awkward stretch in the beginning lasts entirely too long as you are inundated with new information and quests and side characters that makes the game seem overwhelming and uninteresting. If I were to grade the game on only it's first four hours, I would probably have given it a six out of ten as well. However, since I like to actually finish a game before I officially critique it, I'm holding off on my review until I do just that.

With that being said, I felt like I needed to even out the internet's negativity scales just a little bit when I saw the shitload of bad press that this release is getting. So, for all of you who are being turned off because of the negativity, let me shine a light on all of the things that Mass Effect: Andromeda does right. 

"Let me Shine a Light on all of the Things that Mass Effect: Andromeda does Right."

First off, recruiting new squadmates and gaining their loyalty hasn't been this interesting or fun since Mass Effect 2. If you've played the past installments, you know how it works: you recruit someone, then you talk to them after each mission, then they give you a loyalty mission to complete, and finally you're given access to their best abilities and their undying gratitude. With Andromeda though, these loyalty mission aren't just one-off missions that fly you to a single destination for a quick mission. Instead, they span across the galaxy and are usually somehow involved in the larger story. And it's not always huge, earth-shattering missions. Sometimes, you just pick up some movies at the Nexus or visit someone at their apartment to see their passion project. Most importantly though, is that your squadmates actually have fully-fleshed out personalities and backstories. They feel like real people that you can care about and root for. Character development has always been one of this franchise's strongest aspects and it has never been better than it is in Andromeda. 

With Andromeda, Bioware makes a triumphant return to its RPG roots with deep and fulfilling systems for both combat and crafting. One of the best moments of the game for me was utilizing the crafting system to its maximum potential. After I had naturally accumulated enough analysis points from simply exploring my environment, I was able to research a new blueprint for a badass Asari shotgun that would nearly double my damage. Switching over to the development screen, I was able to use the minerals that I had randomly mined or discovered to construct this new powerhouse. But during construction, I had the option to 'augment' the weapon which may just apply a passive buff or completely alter how it fires, from lasers to projectiles to regular ammunition. After I had constructed it, I could further enhance it with modifications in my loadout screen. When I finally brought out my shotgun in battle, it was satisfyingly devastating and gave me a real sense of accomplishment and the desire to do the same with all of my other weapons and armor. The system to do all of these things can be a pain to initially understand but, once you grasp it, it's ultra deep and constantly intriguing. 

"A Myriad of Abilities from Flinging Enemies with your Force-like Biotics to Setting them Ablaze with a Wrist-mounted Flamethrower."

The combat itself is frenetically fast-paced, surprisingly dangerous, and completely adaptive to your play style. While adding jumpjets to your character is not the most innovative thing in game design, it works well in the universe of Mass Effect, allowing you to dash around enemies, gaining new and often beneficial perspectives on the battlefield. This heightened ability to manuever gets a lot better as you progress since you'll have access to a variety of range-specific powers. As you gain experience, you unlock access to a myriad of abilities from flinging enemies with your Force-like biotics to setting them ablaze with a wrist-mounted flamethrower. Furthermore, the game encourages trying new play-styles allowing you to switch between twelve abilities and all of the starting classes on the fly. So the more you upgrade and diversify, the better experience you'll have playing Andromeda. 

Does this mean my experience has been flawless so far? Definitely not. I've had my share of bizarre bugs though not any more than your standard Bethesda game. One particularly memorable one was when I was watching a cutscene where my character was supposed to be in it but simply wasn't which led to the hilarious juxtaposition of the other characters talking to empty space. However, that's been the only major, blatant bug that I've had over 20+ hours so far. The facial expressions aren't perfect but they're not nearly as bad as the internet would have you believe. The first couple hours are a slog to get through but the game really opens up from there. The combat gets to be really fun and dynamic but has a lackluster start. The graphics aren't revolutionary but they fit this sort of massive game just fine with a couple of real standout moments like discovering that the planet outside the ship changes to the actual planet you're orbiting. Right now, if I had to give a grade of my experience thus far, it would be an 8.25 out of 10, a score that constantly has been improving with the more I discover. 

"The More you Put into Mass Effect: Andromeda, the More you're Going to Get Out of it."

While I haven't finished the game and I'm not particularly close, I have been enjoying my time with it, with each hour absorbing me more than the last. The more you put into Mass Effect: Andromeda, the more you're going to get out of it. If you're looking for a quick diversion that you can pick up and play for an hour or so, then perhaps this game isn't the choice for you. On the other hand, the game rewards the player that takes their time with it, experiencing all it has to offer and taking the time to utilize all of the available systems. So don't let this tide of negativity turn you away from this game if you're interested in deep RPG mechanics, a massive new galaxy, and rewarding gameplay. Just know that it's going to take some time and effort to get the best experience.