Mass Effect: Andromeda

 PlayStation 4
User Score
5.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 4128 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,607 out of 4128
  2. Mixed: 660 out of 4128
  3. Negative: 1,861 out of 4128
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  1. lippmannk1
    Mar 25, 2017
    0
    This game is horrible.

    55 hours in, and I still can't find a reason to care. The game is just so poorly written and buggy on so many different levels that it breaks the 4th wall so hard that I yell in frustration and turn the game off. What a travesty. Bioware Montreal, what the hell were you thinking? 0/10 for completely dashed hopes of a wonderful mass effect experience TWICE.    This game is horrible.

    55 hours in, and I still can't find a reason to care. The game is just so poorly written and buggy on so many different levels that it breaks the 4th wall so hard that I yell in frustration and turn the game off.

    What a travesty. Bioware Montreal, what the hell were you thinking?

    0/10 for completely dashed hopes of a wonderful mass effect experience TWICE. First with the horrid endings of Mass Effect 3 that ruined the entire original trilogy, and now THIS. I hope your company goes bankrupt.    … Expand
  2. VitaminK
    Mar 26, 2017
    8
    People with too high expectations from the previous series and complaints about bugs that will be ironed out. The game is solid, combat is fun, characters aren't as great as previous series but too many people are comparing the 2 separate series characters which are entirely different. This is a new series in Mass Effect, time to look at it with new eyes.
  3. txus_sr
    Mar 23, 2017
    8
    The game is ok. Of course it is not as epic and well-written as the first trilogy, but this is something that we already knew. It is impossible with the pseudo open-world schemes that ruin all the actual games. Some minor bugs, especially in the facial animations, but anything close to the campaign running in the internet. The game is more than playable in this regard. The game starts aThe game is ok. Of course it is not as epic and well-written as the first trilogy, but this is something that we already knew. It is impossible with the pseudo open-world schemes that ruin all the actual games. Some minor bugs, especially in the facial animations, but anything close to the campaign running in the internet. The game is more than playable in this regard. The game starts a new promising trilogy in my opinion, with a lot of new systems that will be refined in the next games. As a new fresh start, the game is GOOD… Expand
  4. tastywhatever
    Mar 24, 2017
    0
    I'll tell you why people aren't as taken with this game. Aside from the **** animations and voice acting, It's too laid back and relaxed. Mass Effect 1 straight away had a quick tempo to it. Walking round the ship with a reason and a purpose as something important has just happened and you needed to find out what. This game just lacks the urgency. It's more Netflix and chill than Suit upI'll tell you why people aren't as taken with this game. Aside from the **** animations and voice acting, It's too laid back and relaxed. Mass Effect 1 straight away had a quick tempo to it. Walking round the ship with a reason and a purpose as something important has just happened and you needed to find out what. This game just lacks the urgency. It's more Netflix and chill than Suit up and Kill… Expand
  5. Allax
    Mar 23, 2017
    0
    It could have been an average stand alone shooter-rpg game with a name like "Adventures of mentally challenged people in Adromeda", but since it pretends to be Mass Effect it should be judged as one. And as a Mass Effect game this is a total failure. It is as if dialogues and storytelling were done by a 12 years old girl. And those animations and models.... And the main "bad guy" who isIt could have been an average stand alone shooter-rpg game with a name like "Adventures of mentally challenged people in Adromeda", but since it pretends to be Mass Effect it should be judged as one. And as a Mass Effect game this is a total failure. It is as if dialogues and storytelling were done by a 12 years old girl. And those animations and models.... And the main "bad guy" who is evil for no reason at all, like some sort of 1 dimensional antagonist from a comic book. Authors seems to not understand how much this breaks immersion.… Expand
  6. AMilkshake
    Mar 24, 2017
    9
    A sci-fi Skyrim-
    A lot of bashing here for the beta state of the game, and I agree that it is definitely lacking polish.
    The core game-play, character skill tree, and shear size of the world make this game fun. The story isn't bad, but it definitely targets a sci-fi audience. A lot of jokes and dialogue are more technically thought out and implementation of the characters and side quests    A sci-fi Skyrim-
    A lot of bashing here for the beta state of the game, and I agree that it is definitely lacking polish.
    The core game-play, character skill tree, and shear size of the world make this game fun. The story isn't bad, but it definitely targets a sci-fi audience. A lot of jokes and dialogue are more technically thought out and implementation of the characters and side quests is more realistic than most RPGs. To find a worthwhile side quest you have to read through terminal logs and emails to see what the minor characters are actually thinking, and then follow their bread crumbs to start the quest.

    The game is only grindy if you let it be. Pick what weapons you want to build and what kind of loadout you want, so that you don't waste any resources. The whole premise of the game is based around being short on resources and having to acquire everything you need to gain upgrades (kind of like a survival game).

    I wish that it had the level of writing and facial animation as witcher 3, but I understand they may not have had the money or technical expertise on their team to do this so they played to the strengths of their dev team. The voice acting was a strong point imo, but occasionally the writing fails the characters.

    9/10 would be 10/10 if it weren't for the lack of polish, and 11/10 if it had witcher 3 writing and animation.    … Expand
  7. ValerieAlexis
    Mar 27, 2017
    10
    Mass Effect: Andromeda is an absolute 10/10 because they decided to give a very large budget to people woefully inept at creating games, they gave these new game creators a shot at fame! How nice is that from EA?
    If you look past the immense glitches and the bizarre 1990s-esque cartoon facial animations, you can see that at its core it was a beautiful game meant for those who loved Mass    Mass Effect: Andromeda is an absolute 10/10 because they decided to give a very large budget to people woefully inept at creating games, they gave these new game creators a shot at fame! How nice is that from EA?
    If you look past the immense glitches and the bizarre 1990s-esque cartoon facial animations, you can see that at its core it was a beautiful game meant for those who loved Mass Effect so much that they would buy any old **** they put out- I mean any beautiful, gorgeous game they spent years making.
    10/10 EA, I am so proud of you, stay positive.    … Expand
  8. Dhohne
    Mar 23, 2017
    9
    My God, the reviews I am reading on here are incredibly flawed. This game should not be receiving the negativity it is getting whatsoever. One of the main complaints are character creation; is it limited? Yes,..but so were all other Mass Effect games before this one. All prior titles were extremely slim for your personal avatar creation... the amount of "Special Snowflakeness", for a lackMy God, the reviews I am reading on here are incredibly flawed. This game should not be receiving the negativity it is getting whatsoever. One of the main complaints are character creation; is it limited? Yes,..but so were all other Mass Effect games before this one. All prior titles were extremely slim for your personal avatar creation... the amount of "Special Snowflakeness", for a lack of a better term, nowadays makes me shudder... "I can't make my character look like the WAY I WANT".. so what? Technically you are 'Ryder" and before, you were "Shepard" with an added first name of yours. In all seriousness, they should have just ditched the character creator and made people play the protagonist - unchanged.

    Mind you, I am playing on a i7 w/ GTX 1080 system on PC, and I have not experienced any texture, object, or NPC popping in. Are the facial animations a little weird sometimes? Sure. But again, were they great, perfect and wonderful in the MEs before? NOPE! In fact, old ME had some extremely odd facial animations, without much emotion to it, so I don't know were people take the sentiment from that the newer facial animations, and lip-sync look worse than the previous titles.

    Is the story a little flat? Sure, but it is by no means terrible as people seem to make it. Obviously it is a re-hash of everything that has been there before, and done before. Don't expect to be blown away here. But, the story is still very entertaining, especially if you take your time with it. It seems that people nowadays don't want to take things slow, and just rush-rush-rush through their games. Side-quests, logs, books, audio-journals etc... you should take your time to read, and listen. They all contribute to build this new world that is remarkably different from other ME games before.

    I really enjoy the new setting & approach to combat-gameplay. If you played Dragon Age-Inquisition you can draw a lot of parallels here. Base building, scouting, resource gathering etc, sending strike-teams on missions, scan, survey and more. The worlds, environments and character models (main characters) created for this game are beautiful. Let's not forget that you have a completely different job here, .. no longer are you a N7 spectre special operative, but a pathfinder. You are an explorer. And on that note the game does everything right in my opinion.

    Take the game for what it is. Try not to compare it to the older titles too much, because it IS majorly different and enjoy it for that!

    Oh, and one last thing. It cracks me up how many people are complaining about the writing of the game, when they have no idea what actually goes into the scripting and story-composition to begin with. Similar to people who complain about a Movie's cinematography..., and know absolutely nothing about it... (Just a personally ticks me off)    … Expand
  9. homelesswaffle
    Mar 23, 2017
    9
    I don't know what all the whining is about. This is a great game in the Mass Effect universe. So what the faces arent super realistic. Who cares? I'm going to let you guys in on a little secret. Shhhhh come closer. ITS A VIDEO GAME!!!!! If you want realistic looking things watch a movie or better yet go outside. Isnt there something else you could spend your time complaining about otherI don't know what all the whining is about. This is a great game in the Mass Effect universe. So what the faces arent super realistic. Who cares? I'm going to let you guys in on a little secret. Shhhhh come closer. ITS A VIDEO GAME!!!!! If you want realistic looking things watch a movie or better yet go outside. Isnt there something else you could spend your time complaining about other than that? I love the story, the characters and the worlds you land on. My only gripe with it is you cant skip the take off and landing sequences. I'm already on my second playthrough. In my opinion Bioware did an amazing job and I dont regret preordering it for one second.… Expand
  10. Tean
    Mar 27, 2017
    8
    Эту игру по вселенной Mass Effect, нужно было назвать Andromeda: Mass Effect. Нет ощущения того что смотришь кино как в прошлых частях, зато можно устроить душевные покатушки на кочевнике по неизвестным планетам, рекомендую всем любителям приключений.Эту игру по вселенной Mass Effect, нужно было назвать Andromeda: Mass Effect. Нет ощущения того что смотришь кино как в прошлых частях, зато можно устроить душевные покатушки на кочевнике по неизвестным планетам, рекомендую всем любителям приключений.
  11. MadChiller85
    Mar 27, 2017
    9
    So, I've been a fan since the very beginning. I really appreciate that Bioware has returned the franchise to its' RPG roots. This game definitely feels more like the first Mass Effect. I enjoy the focus on exploration and world building. Most of the new characters are very interesting and well thought out, especially Peebee and Drack. I will say that there isn't a threat nearly as ominousSo, I've been a fan since the very beginning. I really appreciate that Bioware has returned the franchise to its' RPG roots. This game definitely feels more like the first Mass Effect. I enjoy the focus on exploration and world building. Most of the new characters are very interesting and well thought out, especially Peebee and Drack. I will say that there isn't a threat nearly as ominous as the Reapers, so you don't get the constant sense of urgency you did in the Trilogy. Overall though I believe that it's a solid entry into the series. The people complaining about this game were probably just fans of the more action oriented gameplay of 2 and 3. For anyone who preferred the RPG elements of the first game, this is a must have.… Expand
  12. olivier944
    Mar 22, 2017
    8
    Yeah, ok.... this is not the game we expected..... but 0/10 ..... CALM DOWN. Mass effect Andromeda is ok. like Mass effect 1, Andromeda start a new ''trilogy" , so the story is not perfect but the gameplay is very funny. Animation sucks.
  13. O-reno
    Apr 3, 2017
    0
    This is what happens when devs are more concerned about diversity, inclusivity and other sjw stuff when developing the game, that making a good game itself
    Sadly the old bioware is gone
  14. Greyking
    Mar 24, 2017
    8
    While very few games will ever live up to the glory of Mass Effect 2. Andromeda is an adequate side story in the series. Yes, the animation is wretched and has the appearance of an Xbox 360 game. However, the colony building, crafting, and customization options are almost on par with Mass Effect one. And all true Mass Effect fans know that even though Mass Effect 1 was a legendary game, itWhile very few games will ever live up to the glory of Mass Effect 2. Andromeda is an adequate side story in the series. Yes, the animation is wretched and has the appearance of an Xbox 360 game. However, the colony building, crafting, and customization options are almost on par with Mass Effect one. And all true Mass Effect fans know that even though Mass Effect 1 was a legendary game, it was super rough around the edges.

    However, I must take points off for the terrible soft cover system. It makes taking cover tricky, and it's very easy to come out of cover in a firefight. Also Losing the ability to actually control your squad members is a bummer also. However, you can have them direct their attacks. Lastly this game glitchy. It certainly needed more time for polish.    … Expand
  15. Cartoongamermat
    Mar 24, 2017
    9
    This game is great, despite the awful animations, technical issues, and SJW involvement. Underneath all that muck is a great sci-fi RPG about discovery and exploring a dangerous new galaxy. While the cast can feel awkward because of the at-times horrendous facial expressions, I still grew attached to many of my squad-mates. Vitra and Liam come to mind right away. I even grew attached toThis game is great, despite the awful animations, technical issues, and SJW involvement. Underneath all that muck is a great sci-fi RPG about discovery and exploring a dangerous new galaxy. While the cast can feel awkward because of the at-times horrendous facial expressions, I still grew attached to many of my squad-mates. Vitra and Liam come to mind right away. I even grew attached to Sarah Ryder. I loved her personality and she felt very real and personable. The gameplay was also very fun and addicting. Boosting around enemies, dodging, and shooting feels amazing in this game. The combat is fast, fluid, and overall very solid. The controls feel great too. Everything is responsive and tight. Using the jet pack to climb structures and dash around is a blast. The exploration is also very fun. I love exploring the huge planets and finding enemy bases and caves. Also finding side quests on each planet makes exploration rewarding, especially since side quests award some nice experience points and other rewards. Even the side quests are mostly interesting. They add a lot of lore to the game and make you care more about the characters. Even the fetch quests and monster hunts are interesting because they usually have some story element to them that adds to the lore in some way. Some are better than others, but for once, the side quests are well worth doing, unlike in Dragon Age Inquisition. Overall this is a fantastic game, marred by technical issues. Sure the story might not be as exciting as the original trilogy, but it offers something new. This story of discovery and uncertainty is exciting in its own right. Even the villain is memorable. Throw away your ideas of what a Bioware story should be and you should enjoy all the stories in this game. Even the writing didn't bother me much. It was usually pretty snarky and at the least, entertaining. Please people give this game a chance. Even if you have to wait until the patches are out, at least try it.… Expand
  16. mechroblaster
    Mar 24, 2017
    9
    Facial animations be damned. This game is amazing. Yes, there are facial animation issues that may or may not get fixed (please do fix them). However if you can accept facial animations as "the issue" of this game and then go out and enjoy beautiful vistas, amazing combat, flexible and customizable power options, awesome and deep side missions (yes there are annoying side missions too),Facial animations be damned. This game is amazing. Yes, there are facial animation issues that may or may not get fixed (please do fix them). However if you can accept facial animations as "the issue" of this game and then go out and enjoy beautiful vistas, amazing combat, flexible and customizable power options, awesome and deep side missions (yes there are annoying side missions too), and a good story then you have no reason not to get this game and fall in love with it.… Expand
  17. tyronnlue
    Mar 22, 2017
    9
    I truly cannot understand the negative reviews for this game. Sure, there are aspects that aren't perfect; but the majority of content I have encountered so far is great.

    The game starts by providing some context to your mission and almost immediately you are pulled into a crisis. The overall atmosphere in the game is so good: the music, the sounds, the landscapes, the voice acting by    I truly cannot understand the negative reviews for this game. Sure, there are aspects that aren't perfect; but the majority of content I have encountered so far is great.

    The game starts by providing some context to your mission and almost immediately you are pulled into a crisis. The overall atmosphere in the game is so good: the music, the sounds, the landscapes, the voice acting by your squad mates. It's all gravy. You'll want to keep playing. You'll want to explore.

    Also, Scott Ryder's voice actor sounds like the same actor that does Nathan Drake's voice in Uncharted.

    I have 2 recommendations. 1) Play this game, it's really good. 2) Go into it with an open mind. Much of the criticism the game is receiving is unwarranted.    … Expand
  18. fealar
    Mar 24, 2017
    9
    I'm not giving it 10 because it does have animation issues and some awkward character voices (not terribly bad but sometimes off-character).
    But i'm having a BLAST playing it! The combat is REALLY FUN, fast-paced, you have to move A LOT the aim is well implemented for this kind of games.
    Last but certainly NOT LEAST there is what I've been waiting for: STORY! Men this IS a space-opera    I'm not giving it 10 because it does have animation issues and some awkward character voices (not terribly bad but sometimes off-character).
    But i'm having a BLAST playing it! The combat is REALLY FUN, fast-paced, you have to move A LOT the aim is well implemented for this kind of games.
    Last but certainly NOT LEAST there is what I've been waiting for: STORY!
    Men this IS a space-opera game! Characters, motivations and stories are deep, dialogues are not given and you DO feel the sense of exploring the unknown! On a side-note i LOVE there are not giant ! to mark an Npc with an available quest, you have to get to him and talk and you don't know if it's just fluff or a quest until you listen!    … Expand
  19. marnes
    Mar 25, 2017
    7
    This is a good game with major flaws. Fortunately the combat and rover exploration portion of the game-play is quite good and represents the majority of the game. Everyone knows animations are hilariously bad, and I'll get to that later.

    Biggest negatives are: 1. huge lack of music in the game, and key signature moments (say becoming a Spectre in ME1, or getting the Normandy) -- the    This is a good game with major flaws. Fortunately the combat and rover exploration portion of the game-play is quite good and represents the majority of the game. Everyone knows animations are hilariously bad, and I'll get to that later.

    Biggest negatives are:
    1. huge lack of music in the game, and key signature moments (say becoming a Spectre in ME1, or getting the Normandy) -- the equivalents in ME4 are very brief casual affairs with no music. This is very disappointing for me, and even the memorable space exploration music is so subdued and ambient, you have to crank the sliders to even hear it.
    2. The space exploration, while pretty, transitions take too long, aren't skipable, and there is very little of interest. Very half-baked and incomplete. Sometimes you find minerals or a derelict ship/satellite. Scanning planets is briefer than the ME2 system, only because there is literally only 0 or 1 anomalies per planet (mostly 0). Feels empty.
    3. Character/Animation system. Looks like Bioware moved from the expensive motion captured method to procedural animations. The characters are a real step back, character generation is limited. We're talking worse than Skyrim here. Eyes looks largely flat and dead, and when the lead character smiles she looks like Jack Nicholson in the Shining.
    4. Crafting, research, scanning -- it seems to be a lot of work to do everything needed to research and craft items, and by the time you are able to do so, you end up looting superior items and not needing to craft at all. Still I'm still in the first quarter of the game. Feels like crafting is to fill gaps, but the pacing feels bad and difficult in the beginning, possibly due to the overwhelming amount of choice. So I'm saving it for when I need it.

    Overall the game is fun and engaging, but there are several parts of the game that feel undercooked. While animations are genuinely pretty bad, I can overlook some of that. But I'd say if Bioware is listening, music and space exploration needs more work and balancing. Maybe more planets that you can rover on.    … Expand
  20. kingofkoopas
    Mar 27, 2017
    2
    My review was taken down for stating that the male character looks like your typical "man" of today, emasculated and queer looking. Everyone else is focusing on how ugly the women are and that does not get taken down. The real thing that they don't want you to realize and wake up from is that men should not look like the main male character from this game.
  21. PhoneyFree
    Mar 23, 2017
    4
    Long time Bioware rpg fan KTOR 1/2, DA series, Mass Effect 1-3. Sorely disappointed and disillusioned. If you like action heavy multiplayer games then you'll probably enjoy this. If you like story rich "Role Playing Games" with freedom to create your own take on the protagonist and that has depth, engaging, compelling characters etc. then look elsewhere.

    Pro's: decent action/combat.    Long time Bioware rpg fan KTOR 1/2, DA series, Mass Effect 1-3. Sorely disappointed and disillusioned. If you like action heavy multiplayer games then you'll probably enjoy this. If you like story rich "Role Playing Games" with freedom to create your own take on the protagonist and that has depth, engaging, compelling characters etc. then look elsewhere.

    Pro's: decent action/combat. Cons: Underwhelming Story, Dull characters, cringe-worthy infantile dialogue. Really for pew, pew multiplayer action fans. Had to laugh when somebody here said it was like Blasto from the original series. Forgot about Blasto, but your not wrong my friend. I should go.    … Expand
  22. TheLewdOne
    Mar 24, 2017
    8
    I dunno, I liked it. The faces are really the only thing that bothers me, and they aren't NEARLY as bad as people are saying. The graphics are better than ME3 as well but weird human faces and a few FPS issues in crowded areas are too eye catching for people to realize this.

    Oh yeah, and the character creating was majorly disappointing. Other than that, fun characters. Engaging    I dunno, I liked it. The faces are really the only thing that bothers me, and they aren't NEARLY as bad as people are saying. The graphics are better than ME3 as well but weird human faces and a few FPS issues in crowded areas are too eye catching for people to realize this.

    Oh yeah, and the character creating was majorly disappointing.

    Other than that, fun characters. Engaging combat with an emphasis on movement. Good premise. Story on par with the original Mass Effect. Some questionable NPCs, some great NPCs. Cringey sex scenes but alright romance. Pretty much Mass Effect 1 with tighter gameplay, but released in a much more competitive market. If the masterpiece that was Witcher 3 hadn't come out, this game would probably be much higher rated.    … Expand
  23. RussianSpy
    Apr 3, 2017
    10
    Critics are wrong!!The game is awesome,especially story and characters,don't live up to the negative hype of the game, just play it yourself.Andromeda holds every canonic rules of the original trilogy ,interesting epic story,romance relationship with your teammates ,and choices you must face that will affect in the game and of course the next mass effect game.The game holds a ton ofCritics are wrong!!The game is awesome,especially story and characters,don't live up to the negative hype of the game, just play it yourself.Andromeda holds every canonic rules of the original trilogy ,interesting epic story,romance relationship with your teammates ,and choices you must face that will affect in the game and of course the next mass effect game.The game holds a ton of references to previous games.I just cant't believe to what's wrong with the people and critics these days,bioware gives you a canonic epic adventure and the are dislikes it!!Stop thinkinkg about an old characters the're gone ,it's time for new ones,and new characters are super like almost everything in the game,of course game has bugs ,but which game doesn't has them today ?Waiting for Andromeda 2 ,thank you Bioware for another epic story !… Expand
  24. grizzyGR
    Mar 27, 2017
    8
    Mass Effect Andromeda is a great game. While there are many negative reviews keep in mind that the people who are hating Andromeda and are saying the original ME trilogy was amazing are the same people who did nothing but complain about Mass Effect 3 (view their old reviews of ME3 if you don't believe me) In today's day and age, there will always be haters.

    Andromeda reminds me a lot of    Mass Effect Andromeda is a great game. While there are many negative reviews keep in mind that the people who are hating Andromeda and are saying the original ME trilogy was amazing are the same people who did nothing but complain about Mass Effect 3 (view their old reviews of ME3 if you don't believe me) In today's day and age, there will always be haters.

    Andromeda reminds me a lot of the original Mass Effect. It is a solid game with great ideas and promise, but it comes up a little short on some fronts. The primary difference is that Mass Effect (1) introduced us to this whole new universe, and Andromeda is just a new galaxy within that universe.

    Yes, facial animations aren't great but they don't ruin the game. Game-play is incredibly fun and the new jump boost takes it to a whole new level. My biotic can now get up close and personal and quickly boost away to get back to cover before getting destroyed. Multiplayer is still great (some issues linking to single player on occasion, but not too bad). The story is decent so far, but nothing groundbreaking. However, the focus that YOU are the alien is a feeling I enjoy very much. Planetary exploring is also very fun and satisfying. Some missions can be monotonous, but there are enough options that you can change things up pretty easily.

    Overall, I give this game an 8. However, the level of enjoyment I receive while playing feels like a 10. Give this game an honest chance, and try not to dwell on the bad things you may have read. Having tunnel vision on one or two flaws can make you blind to the beauty around it.    … Expand
  25. MyddrinEmrys
    Mar 22, 2017
    7
    Reading through the user written reviews, the most common thing I have seen is "this doesn't feel like a Mass Effect game," followed closely by "this isn't the game Mass Effect fans have been waiting for."

    I've also seen a lot of 0 and 1 scores that seem to be based on nothing but pure spite. Now being a little over 8 hours into the game, I am more convinced that a lot of the reactions    Reading through the user written reviews, the most common thing I have seen is "this doesn't feel like a Mass Effect game," followed closely by "this isn't the game Mass Effect fans have been waiting for."

    I've also seen a lot of 0 and 1 scores that seem to be based on nothing but pure spite. Now being a little over 8 hours into the game, I am more convinced that a lot of the reactions are due to people building this up in their own minds.

    Now granted, some of the criticisms are very legitimate. While I disagree that "these characters obviously had to leave the Milky Way because they suffer from some horrible disease that make them ugly and walk funny," I have seen more of the movement issues people are complaining about.

    I've read others, though, that indicate to me that the person just didn't seem to be paying attention to the story and had their own story that they wanted to see play out. They didn't get that, so they have decided to chuck their toys out of the stroller and cry. That being said:

    My Score: 6.5/10, rounded to 7

    Areas where I agree with the criticism:

    1) Graphics issues: the facial expressions are a bit strange at times. They do, however, tend to elicit a chuckle at times. However, I find the complaints that they are "broken" hyperbolic.

    2) Movement: This is mainly an issue in the cut scenes, but the characters don't seem to move fluidly. It's a very mechanical way of moving about, like they are all androids playing at being human, and not doing it well.

    3) Sub-quests: After Witcher 3, it is difficult to sit through an endless loop of "fetch this widget," or "clear out this area" that has no real impact other than experience farming. A couple of them seem to have decisions that you are TOLD will have an impact, but the only impact I've seen is to the amount of experience my character has.

    4) Soundtrack: It's not bad, but it isn't good either. It is just sort of there.

    Now some areas of disagreement:

    1) Story: I think the most common criticism's boil down to "Ryder isn't Shepard." Umm... duh. In Mass Effect, Shepard was already an experienced warrior who knew who he was. Your only real influence over him was making him a paragon or rogue. Ryder is unsure of himself. He has been thrust into a position of authority even HE wonders if he actually deserves and had the fate of the entire Milky Way contingent placed upon him. As a huge fan of "coming of age" stories, I like seeing this.

    2) Dialogue wheel: I like that you are given some more nuanced options, though a bit miffed that in too many cases, it only you the "emotional" response or the "logical" response. The answers, though, fir very much in with how I perceive Ryder to be. He is a young man living under his father's shadow. So many times, you meet people that joined the expedition because of your father.

    3) Sidekicks: The obligatory "one of each type" is present. However, I like the fact that they are voiced well and aren't afraid to hint OR blatantly TELL Ryder that they disagree with him.

    4) Writing: I've seen a LOT of complaints about the writing, and I really have to disagree with this criticism. Are there some cringeworthy lines? Absolutely, especially when Ryder is trying too hard. Kind of like a kid who is TRYING to play grown up and making a mistake because he lacks experience. Which is exactly what he is. This is not ME2, with a team composed of the best of the best of the best.

    ***SMALL SPOILER: You learn this early in the game***

    General Observation: Many of the criticisms I've seen seem to indicate that the person wasn't paying a lot of attention to the narrative playing out. Everyone in a position of power on the Nexus WAS NOT INTENDED TO DO THE JOB THEY ARE DOING. The upper command was killed either by the encounter with the scourge or during the uprising. Alex Ryder dies on the first world he explores.

    EVERYONE has been thrust into a position of power for which they are not ready. They are stumbling along, trying to do they best they can. Some are obviously in over their heads, while others are rising to the challenge.

    ***END SPOILER***

    Many people seem to be expecting some sort of continuation of Shepard, or for him to feature a bit more in this title. However, they seem to be forgetting that when the arks left the Milky Way Galaxy, Shepard was in the middle of the events of Mass Effect 2.    … Expand
  26. TennesseeTuxedo
    Mar 22, 2017
    4
    I've sunk several hours in the game, with plenty more to go so I'll update my review when I'm done.

    The game has me wanting to trudge on further into the story and the worlds but it in no way has me mesmerized of likes of great RPGs like the other MEs and Bethesda games. I haven't noticed the animations issues too much, although I don't pay as much attention to those as others might    I've sunk several hours in the game, with plenty more to go so I'll update my review when I'm done.

    The game has me wanting to trudge on further into the story and the worlds but it in no way has me mesmerized of likes of great RPGs like the other MEs and Bethesda games.

    I haven't noticed the animations issues too much, although I don't pay as much attention to those as others might and I find myself cutting the through the boring, droning dialog. One thing many of the reviews have spot on is the writing is very poor. Not sure what happened but writing is a cornerstone of any RPG and this is full of sophomoric one-liners and lacks character and story development, seriousness and sophistication. Critical people die and every one looks on as if nothing happened. The characters appear young, younger than prior installments, so maybe they are supposed to be wonder teens or something and this explains the lack of interesting dialog. But it's bad. You feel like you are missing nothing by clicking the space bar.

    The characters and NPCs are god awful ugly, I mean maybe the ugliest I have ever seen rendered in a game. I don;t know if they have poor artists, bad tools, or its the political correctness gone wild that some talk about but there is nothing to look at in this game. If you are enticed by the warnings of nudity and strong sexual content look elsewhere as there is nobody here at all, male or female, that you'd want to see naked. If this is political correctness I don't know what they are trying to prove. I don't look like eye candy hollywood stars/model but I certainly like to look at them and don't feel devalued because pretty people happen to be in my video game.

    I like the combat, however the first aliens you come across look like something out of Dragon Age and not a sci fi.

    I never spend much time with character creation but for those that do, they really dumbed it down, it looks you get the choice of a head, that's it!

    I'll re-post when I get through more of the game but have some bad feelings about it so far.    … Expand
  27. DeRui
    Mar 23, 2017
    4
    I feel like I was deceived. The game is a lot new, and it's good. Let's remember all that we loved Mass Effect for. The game was a drama, a beautiful story, each character had a soul and personal tragedies. In the new game, I did not see this. I did not hear the pain in my voice, I did not see the tears and emotions on their faces. I do not believe in the drama of the people of Andromeda.I feel like I was deceived. The game is a lot new, and it's good. Let's remember all that we loved Mass Effect for. The game was a drama, a beautiful story, each character had a soul and personal tragedies. In the new game, I did not see this. I did not hear the pain in my voice, I did not see the tears and emotions on their faces. I do not believe in the drama of the people of Andromeda.

    Of course, there are pluses. The fighting became interesting. But this is the only plus. But this advantage does not interest me.

    I expected a new story with great emotions. And what did I get? Forgery.

    I'm deceived.    … Expand
  28. Metrallero
    Mar 24, 2017
    7
    Yes, I'm quite disappointed about the animations, like anyone else should be, the quality that this game aims at shouldn't deliver those poorly polished animations that get you out of context in many occasions.
    But apart from that, what really saddens me is that this IS a good game, I'm actually enjoying it as much as I enjoyed the previous Mass Effects. The characters have a huge    Yes, I'm quite disappointed about the animations, like anyone else should be, the quality that this game aims at shouldn't deliver those poorly polished animations that get you out of context in many occasions.
    But apart from that, what really saddens me is that this IS a good game, I'm actually enjoying it as much as I enjoyed the previous Mass Effects. The characters have a huge potential, their personalities are similar to the ones on the original trilogy and every one of them has their humorous winks. Combat is delicious, flawless, runs very smooth, same as performance (I'm playing it high with a 970)
    From my humble point of view, the community is raging like a 5 year old that didn't get the exact same toy that he wanted for Christmas. Pretty sad. For me, this game doesn't deserve the bad reviews it's getting, those only show an immature community.    … Expand
  29. Nightox
    Mar 27, 2017
    8
    Mass Effect Andromeda is a fantastic game with exciting combat and skill system. There are a lot of good potential things about this game as some of the romances, story, loyalty missions, missions in general and more were used. However, there are small issues with the game like bugs, glitches, but the four main issues with this game that seriously needs to be fixed. Or Mass EffectMass Effect Andromeda is a fantastic game with exciting combat and skill system. There are a lot of good potential things about this game as some of the romances, story, loyalty missions, missions in general and more were used. However, there are small issues with the game like bugs, glitches, but the four main issues with this game that seriously needs to be fixed. Or Mass Effect Andromeda will turn and stay from a space adventure game into a meme game.
    1. Of course, facial animations. It's no joke facial animations look like lifeless plastic characters. Most of the time these characters look dead and lack any emotion in the game at all. Also, on some occasions not only do the faces look off but, the lip synching is bad as well on occasions. It can sometimes remind me of the terrifying GTA Online character lip-synching.
    2. The romance is broken...let me explain. In this game, the romance system is divided into heterosexual, which is the opposite sex and homosexual, which is of the same sex. I'm not kidding when I say that the difference of the two when romancing a character is disturbing. For instance, most of the heterosexual scenes feature characters stripping down naked and getting the best sex scenes. However, a HUGE (not all) part of the gay romances feature kissing a couple of times, and the screen fades to black, and that's it. When I saw this, I was extremely pissed off cause I thought Bioware was LGBTQ friendly and yet they pull a stunt like this and can't show scenes of the gay or lesbian scenes without it fading to black. It's like Bioware is incompetently lazy, or they were embarrassed to do it.
    3. The writing on the game is average. But, because these characters are so plasticky and lack any emotion at all, it makes the writing even worse. On some occasions when you're talking to characters and it's supposed to be a heartfelt moment, it breaks that immersion because you can't believe it because they don't look it.
    4. This is probably one of my most offensive things I do not like about Bioware at all, and that is hiring people who put their beliefs into a game. Bioware was recently accused of making bad facial animations on females so they can be de-sexualized. Due to this, many fans of series were outraged because while Bioware created a beautiful looking male Scott Ryder, and the female Sara Ryder took a hard blow. Not only does she not resemble her face mode Jayde Rossi, but it seems a ton more women in the game look positively revolting to watch. Putting your beliefs into a game is extremely dangerous because you will end up losing a ton of customers which is exactly what happened. Not only that but apparently Bioware hired a highly white-hating racist that makes white people know he hates them; and yet he/was a designer at Bioware. Which was probably the reason Bioware's facial animation was so bad.

    Other than those issues I believe Mass Effect Andromeda is an enjoyable game once it starts going. I hope and pray that the BioWare team didn't blow the chance for a sequel and will learn from their mistakes when another Mass Effect game comes. I hope there is a direct sequel to these characters because these characters need to be redeemed from the unfortunate mess up from this game.    … Expand
  30. Zshara
    Mar 29, 2017
    8
    It has a very good story and characters so far, it just takes a little while for it to pick up. Some lines/jokes seemed forced but there isn't much of that. Talking with companions and their loyalty missions have seen a good improvement. The flow of combat and power use has also been greatly improved from predecessors. It's no longer extremely stale linear cover base shooting.
    Minor con:    It has a very good story and characters so far, it just takes a little while for it to pick up. Some lines/jokes seemed forced but there isn't much of that. Talking with companions and their loyalty missions have seen a good improvement. The flow of combat and power use has also been greatly improved from predecessors. It's no longer extremely stale linear cover base shooting.
    Minor con: Cluttered UI system. Repetitive task/sub missions.
    Major cons: Poor facial animations, especially for a story driven rpg. And very limited character creation. (Bioware said they are working to fix both of these so we'll see how that goes).    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

3
#3 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2017
5
#5 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 61 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 61
  2. Mixed: 30 out of 61
  3. Negative: 1 out of 61
  1. Power Unlimited
    Oct 19, 2017
    78
    It might be the biggest, most complex and action packed game in the franchise, but Mass Effect: Andromeda is also the least convincing one. The dated facial animations, the inconsistent writing quality and the regularly occurring bugs take you out of the experience too often. On top of that, BioWare has not used the concept of a whole new universe to its full potential, which often makes it feel like Mass Effect: Andromeda has not left our Milky Way at all.
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  2. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Jul 7, 2017
    70
    While it’s underwhelming in places, there’s a lot to like as you venture into the weirder parts of Andromeda. Frequent technical issues hamper the experience a bit, as does an uninspiring main story. [June 2017, p66]
  3. Games Master UK
    Jun 6, 2017
    81
    A welcome, if slightly patch return for Mass Effect. The script has problems, but combat is bloody brilliant. [May 2017, p.62]
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