The next few years are set to be busy for BioWare, with confirmation of a new Dragon Age title and a rumored remastered edition of the original Mass Effect Trilogy. With this in mind, the new Mass Effect 5 title is probably not BioWare’s biggest concern at the moment, but that can work to its advantage.
Mass Effect: Andromeda, ambitious as it was, fell flat for many die-hard fans. Due to its receiption, the developer put the franchise “on ice” and the team in BioWare Montreal was merged into Motive Studios. It’s been three years since the release of Andromeda, so hopefully BioWare has been taking notes on what did and didn’t work in the fourth installment of the Mass Effect series. It’s worth mentioning that Andromeda recently saw a resurgence on Steam and waves of good user reviews, perhaps giving many hope for the future of the franchise.
Taking notes doesn’t mean giving in to every gamer’s demands, though. And looking at what it got right, and perhaps more at what it got wrong, can help BioWare focus on how Mass Effect 5 can take the foundation laid by Andromeda and make it better.
One of the key highlights and selling points of the Mass Effect franchise are the characters players get to interact with. Garrus Vakarian the Turian, Tali’Zorah the Quarian, and Urdnot Wrex the Krogan were fan favorites because of their personalities and potential romance stories. Putting in new characters that are the same alien race as beloved characters is not enough to make players fall in love with them, and while Andromeda had some stand out characters and romances, none are nearly as memorable as the companions in the original Mass Effect trilogy.
Introducing a new alien species in Andromeda was one of the smartest things BioWare could’ve done. Jaal Ama Darav was a bright spot in the array of companions, and the Angara provided rich history to the Andromeda universe. Mass Effect 5 can expand on the lore of the Angara and give players even more new alien species to get to know, which could include a reveal of the Jardaan, their “Opposition,” and possible alliances with the Kett.
In Andromeda’s defense, cringy moments and dialogue aren’t new in the Mass Effect universe. However, in previous Mass Effect games, it was easy to see these moments as endearing and hilarious rather than just awkward. Commander Shepard’s dancing was hilariously bad, but that was the point. It’s okay to have dialogue that’s meant to make players roll their eyes or remark “wow, that was bad.”
Where the line gets crossed is having genuine dialogue evoke the same reaction, as Andromeda’s infamous “my face is tired” line is still lauded as one of the worst lines in the franchise. The best thing that can be done for Mass Effect 5 are little quality of improvements like these that make the game feel natural.
It’s typical Mass Effect tradition to set the stakes early on in the game. Andromeda didn’t have the same build up as the original trilogy though, and gameplay suffered for it. Not long after starting the game, Ryder’s father is killed and their sibling is in a coma. Players have no connection to either character, so what should be emotional and sad just ends up being lackluster.
Couple this heavy-handed exposition with decisions that should have had a large impact on the game’s plot but didn’t, and it’s no wonder fans were so disappointed with Andromeda. It’s too late to change its predecessor, but Mass Effect 5 can almost immediately improve these elements. Players should be able to build more suspense and tension before throwing them into more life-or-death situations, with an emphasis on the same system that tracked players’ decisions between the Mass Effect Trilogy to make sure that the decisions that were emphasized in Andromeda actually have an impact on the overall outcome of the game.
The original Mass Effect title had an emphasis on exploration, but later delved deeper into the Reaper plotline by the sequels. Players had a sense that each mission brought them closer to saving the galaxy. With a few exceptions, most of the time Andromeda felt like an intergalactic chore list instead of an engaging game. Lots of missions focused on retrieving and delivering items without any fulfilling rewards afterwards.
Much like the original Mass Effect honed in on plotline in the following games, Mass Effect 5 can follow suit. There was lots of exploration and familiarization of Andromeda throughout the game, so now there should be emphasis on a new, well thought out plotline with less explorative elements. It’ll give players an overarching goal to look forward to conquering rather than a checklist to tediously check off.
This criticism was saved for last because it was by far Andromeda’s biggest downfall and critique. No one, whether a returning or new player, likes playing a bug-ridden game at launch, especially one that was so highly anticipated like Mass Effect: Andromeda. There’s a line of acceptable as game development isn’t so simple, but it crossed the line here once more. The weird, glitchy animations that came with the initial launch of Andromeda should have been ironed out well before release rather than in subsequent patches.
The solution to this problem is excruciatingly simple—Mass Effect 5 shouldn’t be rushed. No game launch can be perfect, but making sure the game runs properly without characters moonwalking where they should be running regularly will already set the sequel well above Andromeda. In a way, it’s possible Andromeda could never live up to the hype Mass Effect fans gave it because the Mass Effect Trilogy was so beloved and iconic. It’s hard for games to thrive under such harsh comparisons, even if they’re compared with the best intentions of the series at heart, but as long as BioWare listens to fans and delivers a polished game come release time, there may be hope for Mass Effect 5 yet.
Mass Effect 5 is in development.
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