BioWare is known for RPGs that present players with some of the hardest choices in gaming. It is no secret, however, thatMass Effect: Andromedaleft some fans disappointed, and the developer has a long way to go ifMass Effect 5is to help it reclaim its place as one of the most prestigious RPG developers in the industry.
With the next game confirmed to be in development, many players are hoping that the weightier decisions from the franchise’s original trilogy might make a return to the series to deliver a story which feels profoundly impacted by player choices. The lack of weight given to player decisions inAndromedawas one of the game’s key weaknesses, and though the original trilogy had places to improve on this front as well, many fans are hoping to see a return to and expansion upon this design philosophy inMass Effect 5.
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Andromeda’s Choices
TheMass Effectseries is known its difficult choices, facing players with some of the hardest narrative decisions in role-playing games.Andromeda, however, while including several player choices, did not have many that caused long-lasting effects on the main story or were tied deeply to the personal development of the player character.
One of the biggest decisions in the game comes after defeating the Kett Cardinal. The player has to choose whether or not to destroy the entire Kett facility against the wishes ofAndromedacompanion Jaal, who wants to savethe Angaratrapped there or to allow the facility to continue running to spare the Angara. Despite the scale of this choice, the only difference this causes, aside from upsetting or pleasing Jaal, is whether or not the Angaran forces will help the player in the end-game missions.
There are several other small choices throughout the game, such as saving the Salarian Pathfinder or a Krogan squadron, but overallAndromedahas far fewer choices than previousMass Effectgames, and not very many directly related toAndromeda’s companionsin a way that develops those relationships in the story.
Furthermore, some of the biggest differences the player can make don’t always logically lead on from their choices. One of the big final choices in the game involves choosing which ofMass Effect’s alien races’Pathfinders will have to work together to save Captain Dunn. However, if Avitus Rix isn’t made the Turian Pathfinder, Dunn will always die regardless of the other picks. There are some different paths to go down inAndromeda, but these paths often feel more arbitrarily related the player’s choices than in previous games.
Choices in the Original Trilogy
Compared to some of the clear moral decisions Shepard has to make in the originalMass Effecttrilogy,Mass Effect:Andromedacomes up short. The first game has the player explicitly choose between saving Ashley or Kaiden, two important squadmates, during a mission on Virmire. Not only does this kill one of the companions for the entire remainder of the trilogy, but unlikeAndromeda’s decision with the Salarian Pathfinder, it is closely tied to characters developed so far, and poses a potential ethical question as well, since Shepard can romance one of the two people they are choosing between saving.
InMass Effect 2,player decisions can affect the life or death of every single squadmate during the suicide mission. Even the speed to which the player attends the final mission has an impact on the survival of their captured crew, including Kelly Chambers, who the player will be forced to watch die in agony if they do not have their ducks in a row before their crew is kidnapped.
These story choices directly tie in to Shepard’s immense responsibility as commander, and many players have to choose between prioritizing the lives of their immediate squadmates and fan-favorites or the members of their crew as a whole. In the original trilogy, the player can makeShepard do things that are truly unforgivableand have long-term negative impacts - the lack of this inAndromedamakes the stakes of the entire conflict feel lower.
Mass Effect 3’s ending infamously broke the trend, with many of the player’s choices throughout the game seemingly ultimately coming down to three separate final choices that existed independently of Shepard’s actions throughout the game series so far. Even the choice of whether or not to give Cerberus the Collector Base at the end of the second game is rendered without consequence by the opening ofMass Effect 3, suggesting that the negative trend continued inAndromedaactually began at the end of the first trilogy. BothMass Effect 3andAndromedawere constricted by tight release schedules causing much content to be cut, suggesting thatwaiting longer forMass Effect 5may well be a good thing.
In short, where the originalMass Effecttrilogy posed players with choices that weren’t only moral dilemmas but tied into some of the most developed relationships in the game so far,Andromedaonly provided a few such decisions and to little impact. The biggest decision is whether or not to save the Angara at the facility, which is tied toRyder’s relationship with Jaal, who is admittedly one of the best parts of the game. However, the choice does not have a big long-term story impact and remains one of few in the game overall.
There is the caveat that this is one game vs. awhole trilogy, but even the firstMass Effectstands heads and shoulders over it. On a microscopic level, there’s a world of difference, as there’s few choices that would likely go as far as well.
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The Future of Mass Effect
It may not be completely fair to compare the effects of the choices made over an entire trilogy toAndromedaas a standalone game. If the nextMass Effectcontinues the story ofAndromeda, BioWare could begin addressing some of the last game’s underdeveloped choices by having the sequel see those decisions play out in dramatically different ways.
Compared to any single example from the original trilogy however,Andromedastill has fewer big decisions for players to make, making Ryder a less flexible character in terms of role-play and giving the game lessreplay valuethan the original trilogy. Furthermore, the decisions the player makes are more peripheral to the main character than the choices in the original trilogy, which not only affected close companions but also raised questions about the different relationships Shepard could have with their crew.
If theMass Effectseries is to takeBioWare back to some of its best moments, the developer will need to figure out how to deliver the same big choices throughout its games while ultimately planning the impact they will have across the entire story. InAndromeda, it appears the developer chose to get around the problem by avoiding such larger choices altogether, and the next installment will need the time to develop and implement decisions and their varying effects across multiple games if it is to live up to the original trilogy.
Mass Effect 5is in development.
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