Mass Effect Andromeda - Is it that bad?

Short answer?

No. No, it's really not.

Thing is, the time elapsed between Mass Effect 3 and Andromeda did not do Andromeda any favours. And with Andromeda taking place in a different part of the universe, with only some surface story and lore (but plenty of gameplay) similarities to the franchise, Andromeda somehow failed to both lure back fans and entice newcomers.

This was in part to its relatively slow start and story elements just not being alluring enough at first glance, as well as ditching the sense of urgency the first game's Geth army and Saren's betrayal had. The sequels built on that and expanded it with the looming threat of the Reapers, always giving you the feeling things were constantly escalating towards a crescendo.

This is not what Andromeda goes for.

The story goes, sometime between the events of Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, the civilisations of the Milky Way sent several Arks towards the Andromeda galaxy, in search of new golden worlds to colonise, just because they were there. Given that there was no access via Mass Relays, these Arks went there the old-fashioned way, with all (volunteer) crew cryogenically frozen. The plan was, the Nexus Ark would arrive first with a skeleton crew, get things started, and then one by one the rest of the Arks would follow, dock into the Nexus and create one giant space station, much like Lego pieces creating a new Citadel.

These Arks were lead by the Pathfinders, a single elite representative of each race working in tandem with an AI (as the ban on AI is only in effect within the Milky Way). The whole initiative is made possible by the development of the SAM AIs by the human Pathfinder, Alec Ryder.

However, when the human Ark Hyperion arrives in the Heleus cluster in the Andromeda galaxy after some 600 odd years of travel (and the events of Mass Effect 3 long past, unbeknownst to everyone featured here), it finds something very different to what the projections and long-distance observations prepared them for. The supposed golden world is a death trap, enveloped in a disruptive energy cloud called the Scourge, as are other parts of the galaxy. 

A bried exploratory mission to that world ends with a skirmish with a hostile alien civilisation called the Kett, the discovery of highly advanced ancient ruins by the Remnant, the sacrifice of Alec Ryder and the transference of Pathfinder status and SAM control to either his son or daughter, Scott or Sarah Ryder (depending on your choice of main character).

What's more, when the Hyperion gets to the Nexus, it's revealed that none of the other Arks have made it yet, and the colonisation effort is in dire straits, with little resources, no viable worlds, and no progress made whatsoever. So it falls to you to jump-start the effort and bring it all back on track, while at the same time initiating diplomatic relations with the native Angara, uniting the Milky Way races with their age-old tenuous relations (Krogans having justifiable beef with the rest, anyone?), battling the Kett, healing the scars of a colonist civil war and exploring the Remnant Vaults, which somehow is all tied to the Meridian, a Remnant city that is the key to everything. To do all this you amass a ragtag group of fellows of various races, idiosyncracies, beliefs and sexualities aboard the Tempest, a one of a kind wonder ship.

So far, so Mass Effect.

The gameplay more or less follows the known path as well, between creating a character based on soldier, tech or biotic abilities, gunplay, exploration and dialogue. The combat also follows the same familiar beats (with the addition of jump jets for your character).
Your journey will take you to many different worlds which you have to bring, one way or another, into the fold. Be that by forging alliances, securing allegiances, making tough choices and mostly by managing to activate the Vaults and terraform them to sustain Milky Way life forms.

The only real differences to how previous franchise entries played? Because of your ostensible symbiosis with SAM, you can "respec" your character at any point, and mix and match your skill points to suit your playstyle. Each different combination fits one (or more) profile. The more closely it does, and the more skill points you invest to that, the more perks you will unlock to fit and boost the playstyle you are building.

And the other difference is the research and strike teams. The more you interact

with the world, the more research points you will acumulate for three different branches: Milky Way, Remnant, and Heleus Cluster. These will allow you to research progressively better blueprints for gear you can later craft, provided
you have the R & D resources.

Strike teams, on the other hand, are teams of randomly generated "champions" you can send on missions to bring back research and resources.

Other than that, the game is a Mass Effect through and through. On paper, its parallels with the first game are staggering.

The Tempest is, more or less, the Normandy. The Nomad is, more or less, a weaponless Mako. The Nexus is, more or less, the Citadel. The Kett are, more or less, the Geth. And the Remnant are, more or less, the Protheans. Even the multiplayer of Mass Effect 3 is back (and as excellent as before)

And that, Asari and Kroganmen, is exactly the issue here.

The game is at the same time too similar to previous games without the character, story and emotional ties to it, and at the same time too different. It's more of the same, but served in a way the ones who liked it before won't easily get past the first few bites, and the ones getting the first taste don't have the palate for it.

For newbies, it's hard to get into the playstyle and appreciate its quirks and charm.

For veterans, it's hard to care for these people who don't know the horror of the Reapers, who didn't go through what we did. For those who escaped the fate of all other life on the Milky Way on a technicality.

In general, it's hard to care for Andromeda.

And it's a shame, because underneath the uninviting start and bittersweet resentment it comes with, it's a damn good game.