Developer Bioware has made a name for themselves for their story-heavy role playing games, which have stood out because of interesting characters and an amazing backdrop against intriguing worlds that makes a player want to explore and connect on an emotional level. The “Mass Effect” trilogy is one such set of RPGs, creating a unique experience that this reviewer believes cannot be replicated. After five years we now have a new “Mass E ect” game. “Mass Effect: Andromeda,” however, fails to recapture the original trilogy’s glory.

To get away from the canon storyline of the original ME trilogy. “Andromeda” has the player exploring a whole new galaxy cluster, away from the canon storyline of the original ME trilogy. After traveling for 600 years in a cryogenic stasis pod, the player finally arrives at a new system named Andromeda. The setup here is that the player is a “Pathfinder,” someone who is trying to make the new system viable and livable, as this new system is anything but a new paradise. The setup is nice and the concept is pretty cool, yet it does not take long for the game to feel shallow.

For example, there are technical issues with facial animations; they are sometimes wonky and incoherent. Then there is the problem of the game being “open world” now, which this reviewer feels “ME: Andromeda” could have done without. However, there are two major aspects that bring this game down: the characters and the voice acting.

The point of having a main character in any game is so the player can connect to the events happening within the game. The player ultimately needs this connection to even want to play the game. The main character, either Scott or Sara Ryder, comes across as incredibly out of place. They are so disconnected from the events within the game that it takes the player out as well. The in-game companions are not any better, either. Most of them are not interesting in the slightest, and even for the few that are interesting, the player has already invested fifty –plus hours just to hear it.

As for the voice acting, no one in the game seems to actually respond to one another, no direct interaction. Every character just feels like they are going to say what they have to say then leave. The main character is the worst in this regard, again seemingly disconnected from gameplay.

“ME: Andromeda” should have been a whole different game because it has none of the original feeling or aspects that made the original trilogy so great. The gunplay was really the only thing that was satisfying since it was easy and fast.

FINAL VERDICT: 6/10