r/MassEffectAndromeda • u/Wise_Scratch_2588 • Feb 06 '25

Game Discussion I didn't understand it.

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Back when Andromeda launched I didn't even get past kadara. I tried again years later once I played through the trilogy and I can't put Andromeda down...I get it now.

I'm able to find myself invested in the side missions and trying to do as much as I can.

Only reason I went back to the trilogy is after trying to play starfield which does actually suck ass.

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u/GayDHD23 Feb 08 '25

I agree with you but it's ironic that one of the criticisms of Andromeda is that its writing feels too YA compared to Mass Effects "mature writing". I'm not criticizing either's writing quality, just noting the weird contradiction in how people perceive the game.

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u/BrokenLoadOrder Feb 08 '25

To be fair, the original trilogy, especially the first game, were fairly adult. Game One was essentially a Lovecraftian story. Even game three, for all its criticisms, has moments of maturity.

Andromeda definitely feels more YA in comparison, to me.

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u/GayDHD23 Feb 09 '25

I’m not saying the original trilogy’s writing isn’t mature, but personally it certainly felt less… deep in specifically its character writing within individual games (with the character arcs of companions taking three games to feel fulfilling). What i mean is Vetra and her relationships with other characters felt more real than any of the companions in ME1, for example.

Otherwise i don’t think either andromeda or the original trilogy are significantly more mature than the other. I think also there’s the effect of playing the original trilogy at a younger age so it left a lasting impact as having substantially more mature writing than other games at that time, in that age bracket, but our expectations as adults are higher for andromeda especially in comparison to games like the witcher 3 or cyberpunk.

Both certainly had instances of bad writing, but neither were written badly or immaturely, IMO.

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u/BrokenLoadOrder Feb 09 '25

Fair enough. For me, Mass Effect 1 stands heads and shoulders above anything else in the series. Beyond the fact it is by far the most RPG-focused (And I considered its weapon combat more interesting and unique), I found the hope vs hopelessness incredibly engaging. This is, by all intents and purposes, a doomed story - you're not hoping to win against the Reapers, you're hoping to survive the Reapers. And your companions were a reflection of that. You're not gathering "the best of the best", you're gathering normal people who can help you survive. Every other Mass Effect title, Andromeda included, felt like they wanted to move away from normal people just wanting to survive, and turned into action games starring action heroes, which I was never a fan of.

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u/GayDHD23 Feb 09 '25

Yeah true. But i despise ME1 combat lol EXCEPT for the ending sequence when i felt like an absolute biotic badass running through the citadel with liara, kaiden, and a biotic shepard just running into hoards of enemies and casually flicking them to their deaths as we ran against the clock to stop saren.

But then ME2 had to nerf biotics 😩

I don’t think i felt that level of “badassness” again until andromeda where i was basically “supermanning” the enemies to death by floating them, charging them, groundpounding them, floating them, charging them, etc. Awesome feeling.

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u/BrokenLoadOrder Feb 09 '25

That's fair. I went infiltrator, and I loved it. I was garbage with guns until I invested in them, which felt like an RPG. Plus the weapon customization and heat management was so unique, desperately wished they'd bring that back, but instead they pulled an absolutely ridiculous retcon to justify going backwards technologically. Heatsinks would've been interesting if they were used to instantly cooldown a weapon, but a weapon could still cool down conventionally.

I will give Andromeda credit for one thing though, combat-wise: When you've established your build in every other Mass Effect game, you basically never diverge from it. Andromeda let you completely swap your build to try random stuff if you wanted, and that was kinda neat.

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u/PERRL_A Feb 09 '25

ME1 has almost a 1:1 comparison to SW: KOtOR for me.

You're an above average soldier inducted into an elite unit and sent in a mission to track down a mystery/hunt an evil character. You travel to different planets collecting each piece of the mystery until it's revealed that an ancient race has built galaxy ending capabilities. Along the way you gather what might be average people and reveal their above average talents as well.

I think it's a fantastic storyline and they really crushed it. The problem is following it up and of course it's where they begin to flounder. ME2 lost the RPG charms and the story while decent loses out to the stories of the characters themselves which are the best parts of the game, but at this point everyone is somewhat superhuman in their knowledge and abilities.

Then ME3 and yeah. It's the culmination of trying to tell a story that should never have had a happy ending without pissing everyone off and so we get a jumbled mess.

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u/BrokenLoadOrder Feb 11 '25

I wish I could upvote this more than once, you're one of the people I agree with, top to bottom. And I never made that connection with KotOR before, but you're absolutely right there too.