Mass Effect: Andromeda – What went wrong?

I am a huge fan of Mass Effect. Five years ago, just after the launch of Mass Effect 3, I blasted through all three games and loved every minute of it. When EA announced a new ME game back in 2015, I was so excited like you would not believe! Bioware, the developer behind the series, has had five years to create and perfect another installment in the series. Now, it’s been five long years, and the result is…

…this. Among it’s problems are poorly animated cut scenes, mediocre writing, awkward-looking facial expressions, bad UI, and a host of glitches and bugs. What went wrong?

As far as I know, no Bioware employee has come out and blamed any specific factors or blamed anyone for these problems. So, we can only speculate what went wrong and when. But, from an outsider’s perspective, allow me to weigh in on what went wrong for Mass Effect: Andromeda.

  • New Engine

The first three games in the series ran on modified versions of Unreal Engine 3. Bioware was presumably more experienced with the older engine. Bioware had only worked on Frostbite, the new engine, once before, in Dragon Age: Inquisition. Unfamiliarity in the way the engine works can mean a higher likelihood and frequency of glitches and other issues.

  • New Beginning

Mass Effect 2, in my opinion, had some of the best writing in the entire series. It had the previous game to build on its characters, plotlines, and lore. On the other hand, the events of the previous games have almost no baring on the plot of this game. Andromeda is starting from scratch. New characters, new galaxy, new enemies. And with no previous investment into these characters, and with worse writing to back it up, it’s hard to feel invested in what is going on.

  • Deadlines

This, by far, is what I put the most blame on. Electronic Arts has earned a reputation of not being the most friendly company, both to its developers and customers. While EA has tried to shed this reputation publicly, it is probable that Bioware was under pressure to meet strict deadlines, meaning they had to cut corners and release the game as-is, leaving many glitches unfixed and animations unpolished, and having to fix these problems post-launch.

The result of all of this is a sour taste in the mouths of Mass Effect fans and gamers in general. With a direct sequel probable, the new series of Mass Effect games is off to a rocky start. But maybe we shouldn’t blame Bioware and EA so much. They’re only human, after all.

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3 Responses to Mass Effect: Andromeda – What went wrong?

  1. Jacob R Chorney says:

    I had played and been a fan of the first three Mass Effects myself, playing them on the 360, but I had no idea about Mass Effect: Andromeda until this blog. So I looked into it and after I did I am glad that I had not bought it. A lot of people who I saw play it or review brought up a lot of the same issues you bring up like the bugs, facial UI and not to mention dialog and plot. Also after reading this and the other comments wonder why the change if they were working so well before?

  2. Sangsun Kim says:

    I haven’t heard about mass effect being transferred to Bioware Montreal, but I really didn’t think that Bioware would put a new group in charge of such a monumental project like Mass Effect. This helps to explain why the game seems to be so unpolished as might expect a AAA title to be. I’m hoping that the game will grow more and more immersive as they hot fix the issues (if they decide to at all), otherwise the crowd of disappointed gamers may all end up asking for a refund. I agree with the story being not invested, but I do enjoy the few times that part of the people from the last game to crop up from time to time. I’m glad that they didn’t attempt to separate themselves from the previous trilogy completely.

  3. jah6080 says:

    I heard that another big issue was that the main Bioware studio didn’t actually make Andromeda, instead they gave the responsibility to one of their Bioware Montreal, who had never made a full game by themselves before and had only really assisted with games in the past. Because of this Bioware Montreal wasn’t adequately prepared to make a full game on their own so we got this product that feels rushed and doesn’t really add anything new to the series. Now why Bioware would push one of their biggest franchises onto a studio that wasn’t ready for it is beyond me.

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