Video game review: Andromeda succeeds in getting Mass Effect into an exciting new galaxy

Let’s get this out of the way: I’m a big fan of the original Mass Effect trilogy. And I admit that I’m inclined to like this new game, Mass Effect Andromeda, developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts (PS4, Windows, Xbox One).

Something else I need to get off my chest is that I’m a long way from completing Andromeda. I’ve spent a couple of days with it, maybe 12 hours in all, and there’s a lot of game left for me to play.

But I’ve played enough to know that I want to keep playing.

The inspiration for Andromeda comes from the events of the first Mass Effect trilogy, when life in the Milky Way galaxy was threatened. The Andromeda Initiative sends populations of species to colonize the Andromeda galaxy.

600 years after departure, the human ark arrives and comes out of cryosleep. That’s when you step in.

You can choose to play as either Sara or Scott Ryder, who become Pathfinders, leading exploration in the new systems and helping the various races get a foothold.

From collecting resources to making decisions about the approach that colonization will take—research-based versus military, for example—each player’s game will be distinct and unique to them.

This is true with all BioWare games, as is the abiilty to choose your dialogue in conversations. You decide which characters to recruit, which to romance, even.

This is not a game without problems. Combat is clunky. Animations are clumsy. The interface for managing all the things you need to manage is confusing.

But.

Andromeda is not a shooter. It’s a role-playing game. And it’s a BioWare role-playing game. And if you’ve played games from BioWare, you know where the development effort was spent: character and narrative.

And the cast is rich and compelling, the story intriguing and awesome.

I’m recommending Mass Effect Andromeda for people who are fans of BioWare games or who are willing to put up with a few warts. This is storytelling at its finest. And the hope is that Andromeda is only the first game in a new trilogy, and the developers at BioWare get a chance to iron out some of those kinks in the next installment.