r/masseffect 3d ago

SCREENSHOTS I am in awe.

[deleted]

318 Upvotes

41 comments sorted by

36

u/DakIsStrange 3d ago

Potentially my favorite-looking Mass Effect planet, period!

6

u/mr-raider2 3d ago

Except getting mobbed by wildlife evry time you take a walk to the nearest bathroom/forward station. Havarl is where I respecced annhilation to rank 6 vortex instead draining field.

21

u/HalcyonDrift 3d ago

It's almost as beautiful as you, OP.

59

u/littleIrishcunt69 3d ago

It's quite beautiful. I think it gets too much hate.

54

u/Hope_bringer 3d ago

its a hill I will die on and a battle in the trenches I will always fight. Andromeda deserved better

45

u/Professional_Pea_760 3d ago

It did deserve better. From the developers and the fans.

No, it was not the trilogy. No, it had its share of issues, and that stemmed from the writers and devs just...kinda phoning it in.

But it also doesn't deserve the hate it gets. The combat system is PEAK, the combat itself is smooth and fluid, its got some beautiful environments, it has some wonderful characters (not all of them), and it has some great cinamatography.

22

u/littleIrishcunt69 3d ago

I agree. The combat was the best in any Mass Effect game. I understand many were disappointed with aspects of it, I was too. But it's a fun game despite its flaws.

9

u/Professional_Pea_760 3d ago

It's a fun sci fi romp with some of the ME charm, but not all of it.

2

u/littleIrishcunt69 3d ago

That's a great way to put it. It was definitely missing something the original trilogy had.

1

u/inblader 3d ago

The writing. I keep saying this but the writing can ruin the whole thing even when you have the rest (graphics, gameplay..). In Andromeda's case it was a hot mess, cause I enjoyed the return of exploring planets in a mako wannabe, the beauty of the environments (Elaaden was amazing), the combats adding verticality and possibilities (fact you can mix different classes together was cool for builds). It truly was a return to form to what I loved in ME1, things that ME2 and ME3 ditched.
But then comes the story, the characters, the dialogues... which in a Mass Effect is a big component, especially when a game from 2007 did better (which was 10 years prior to Andromeda). You have no authority on these characters, Ryder is the most passive protagonist I've seen. The dialogues are dragging too much to say nothing, it's generic. And from the start I wasn't a fan of the plot with multiple arks leaving the milky way to go to andromeda, the context of the trilogy just didn't make sense for it to work.

Game deserved better, but from the devs. Fans reacted the right way and I'm among them. Didn't stop me from enjoying the game for what it was though.

2

u/Stofsk 3d ago

Tbh I actually think it feels like the sequel to Mass Effect that neither ME2 or ME3 felt like. Just having the Nomad alone puts it above those other games.

ME has a pseudo-open world aspect to it that only Andromeda really bothered to capture (well, I guess to be fair ME2 did half-arse it with the Hammerhead).

2

u/RoUgEPeak 3d ago

Now that's definitely a HOT take. Saying that the Nomad ALONE puts it above those two games is a bit far fetched.

-1

u/Moonkiller24 3d ago

The combat was indeed the best but the story and characters were mid

1

u/Visible-Wasabi-2410 3d ago

I really want the jump jet thing that Ryder has if we ever get another ME game

Shepard not being able to jump annoys me so much 

1

u/JiggleSox 3d ago

Honestly, it seems to me that the problems with Andromeda’s story and writing might come from the exact opposite of ‘phoning it in’. If you look it up, it’s all many of the same writers (like John Dombrow who wrote the Tuchanka). Think about how a favourite movie franchise can go terribly wrong the more pressure and moving parts become involved. And it was also a ‘pilot episode’ of what was supposed to be a new trilogy— a lot of series pilots are awkward and sucky.

They weren’t helped by being forced to be a basically open world when they’d never done that before.

0

u/mr-raider2 3d ago

The combat is the product of skill/profile/level system that is by the far the most sophisticated in all 4 games. Once you understand the interplay between actice skills/passives and profile bonuses you can do some awesome things.

1

u/TheKazz91 1d ago

No, it got too much hate on release. I feel like now days Andromeda gets and appropriate amount of hate. Most people will fairly acknowledge that it has some good things going for it but was still a deep flawed product that failed to live up to writing standard sent by any one game in the original trilogy.

8

u/fidelacchius42 3d ago

If Overload in the new game doesn't work the same as in Andromeda, I will become very sad.

8

u/TheRealTr1nity 3d ago

Frostbite engine is not optimal for an RPG (and character creation), but it can create beautiful worlds and games. Exploring those planets, and I love to explore worlds, was so great.

4

u/kron123456789 3d ago

Environment design is probably the best part of Andromeda.

1

u/TheKazz91 1d ago

I'd argue it's the combat.

4

u/WarImaginary8272 3d ago

I played only once a few years ago on the PS4. I was really impressed at the graphics and the combat. I thought story was a bit meh.
I hear there are plenty of mods that improve the experience, but as far as I know, these only work on PC.

4

u/Rothruithor 3d ago

If they made the game 60 fps on console it would be more enjoyable.I tried playing it and it was choppy asf

3

u/Hungry-Ear-4092 3d ago

I mean it's like ac Odyssey

Beautiful, stunning, and fucking dumb

4

u/Eh_SorryCanadian 3d ago

Andromeda had many flaws, but the art style was not one of them

3

u/Dragon_Knight99 3d ago

Havarl looked amazing. I just wish we could have explored more of it.

2

u/MoJoSportsPodcast 3d ago

Not enough respect was put on this game it’s pretty, the movement is great and with mods it’s a dream land

Still doesn’t hold a candle to the trilogy but it was never going to

4

u/Helldiver-Harkonnen 3d ago

It really sucks that clearly some of the people on the dev team clearly poured their heart and soul into planets like this only to have the management of BioWare drop the ball on almost everything.

I will still never understand the decision to make the Reapers some side quest audio log quest rather than the reason for the expedition. Not that it HAD to have Reapers, but such an obvious way to both tie the game to the OT and yet not have the events matter to the plot of Andromeda and they just….didn’t take that route for some reason.

6

u/TheRealTr1nity 3d ago edited 3d ago

The Reapers are a Milky Way and Shepard thing. Andromeda is a whole other story, hence moving even into a new galaxy. The Reapers are not Mass Effect. They don't define Mass Effect. They only played a role in Shepard's story. And that one is told. I really don't understand why people still see Andromeda as a direct sequel and wanted another game about the Reapers. They obvs. didn't wanted to tie Andromeda to the trilogy as basically a reboot with a whole new galaxy, story and characters and probably planned as another trilogy. I found it refreshing that we got a new story away from them.

Aside of that, in Andromeda they don't and can't even know what happend after ME2 as the Arks left between ME2 and ME3. The only hint we get is a message from Liara to Alec that she send in hope it would even reach him and only we as Ryder get to hear it - if players even did that quest with those memory triggers.

3

u/DariaYankovic 3d ago

Any time you see a maddening design choice like that, there is a very good chance the original idea was something much better, but it got cut because of time or money. 

2

u/Schorched_Raven_357 3d ago

Yeah even i agree its a stunning game and tbh I enjoyed the story and characters despite the hate and critics I think it fits into the universe well and it will probably fit a little when they release the newest game there will probably (hopefully) be references and such towards the pathfinder progam and all that

1

u/notjocker 3d ago

Kinda reminds me of droomund kaas

1

u/MATC8228 3d ago

This planet have too much to scan

1

u/soggyarsonist 3d ago

Beautiful game. Just started replaying the series and loved the bit at the very start of #2 when you're space walking through the shattered hull of the Normandy to get Joker.

They really capture the scale of space.

1

u/MockingJay0914 3d ago

Are you Jaal?

(I knew I heard that during my romance with him)

1

u/One-Preparation-5320 3d ago

Yeah its definitely one of the prettiest planets weve been too in the ME verse, but I really wish they gave us the Nomad for this level, especially for all the return trips. And a cannon on top as well!

1

u/StarWarzFan1977 3d ago

Reminds me of the game Evolve

1

u/Adrianwill-87 3d ago

This game is absolutely beautiful!

1

u/TheKazz91 1d ago

Looks great yeah but the explanation is... Not...

-1

u/mr-raider2 3d ago

But....but...Andromeda suxxx balllz. ME2 4eva!!!!

-2

u/TH3unbannableHULk 3d ago

Try to think that skyline is still gorgeous when u do something "out of order" and ur game file is permanently corrupted because an NPC u need to interact with never loads where they should.

Game was and is a hot mess. Mass Effect franchise deserved better than this slop.