Developed by legendary role-playing game house Bioware, the Mass Effect series is a saga that spans the stars. Mass Effect: Andromeda, the 2017 downloadable iteration in this action-adventure multiplayer RPG is no different.
How to Download Mass Effect: Andromeda
This science-fiction RPG can be downloaded from the Origin store. To start your science fiction adventure, simply click on the button below the review at the end of the text. You should also have a look at the two preceding RPGs: Mass Effect (2007) and Mass Effect 2 (2010).
The Game Review
The fourth game in the mainline Mass Effect series, Andromeda comes five years after 2012’s critically acclaimed Mass Effect 3. Set in the Milky Way galaxy, Mass Effect combines elements from Star Wars and Star Trek for a lore and universe wholly its own.
Known for its blended mix of quick-moving action and strategy RPG elements, Mass Effect: Andromeda combines a heady narrative with deep gameplay mechanics that are surprisingly adaptable to different play styles and levels of commitment.
Beginning with the new Andromeda Initiative, humanity starts to look beyond the Milky Way for homes in our nearest neighboring galaxy. Depending on gender selection, players will assume the role of Scott or Sara Ryder, a colonist completing a 634-year-long journey to find a home for humanity in the Andromeda galaxy.
Of course, things aren’t that simple and players will quickly get swept up in the galaxies-spanning politics and conflicts that make up the Mass Effect tapestry.
Since Mass Effect 3 concluded the story of the original Shephard character, the introduction of a new protagonist might be jarring for longtime fans of the series. For the rest of us, it is barely noticeable.
Perhaps most noticeable in the game is the different tone the story and characters take with the material. While the first three games were space opera epics par excellence, this title almost seems to take a Guardians of the Galaxy-esque approach to its storyline.
The lack of earnestness will be jarring for some players but might be refreshing for others. After all, it is Mass Effect: Andromeda and not, noticeably, IV.
Outside of tone, Andromeda incorporates a lot of hot, trendy game mechanics into it that weren’t necessarily present in previous games. This includes an increased emphasis on exploration and open-world gaming elements.
One way to explain these changes is that Andromeda was developed by a new team in Montreal and not by the old team that created the first three titles. Second to this, the new team decided against using Unreal Engine 3 assets that were used in the previous games and, instead, switched to the Frostbite 3 engine which required them to rebuild everything from the ground up.
As you can imagine, this resulted in a troubled development history.
That said, Mass Effect: Andromeda is a solid game that players who enjoyed the first three should give a chance. For gamers that have never experienced Mass Effect before, Andromeda might be a good starting point because it is less intense and, as a consequence, more inviting than its heady brethren.
