Mass Effect: Andromeda

Mass Effect: Andromeda is an action RPG from BioWare that chose to leave the well-known Commander Shepard trilogy behind and move the story six hundred years and one galaxy forward, to the Andromeda galaxy, where humanity sends a huge colonization fleet called the Ark as part of the ambitious Andromeda Initiative. Playing as Pathfinder Ryder, the player freely explores sprawling open planets using the Nomad all-terrain vehicle, builds and supplies outposts, and deals with growing conflicts between humans, the other races of the Milky Way, and the hostile native Kett, while combat combines cover mechanics, a range of special abilities, and a jetpack that enables dynamic vertical movement directly during firefights, setting the game apart from the slower pace of the series' previous entries.

On PS4, the game offered large, genuinely open planets to explore and a noticeably improved, more dynamic combat system compared to previous entries in the series, but at launch it was unfortunately marred by technical issues, bugs, and unnatural, stiff facial animations that quickly became the target of internet mockery and damaged the game's initial reception. Despite that, the atmosphere is well supported by ambient sci-fi music and an extensive codex describing the new galaxy and its inhabitants, though the story itself was generally viewed by critics as noticeably weaker than the beloved original trilogy.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is judged somewhat more kindly in hindsight than it was at launch - the combat system, character building, and planet exploration have found their defenders among players, even though the title remains permanently in the shadow of the previous trilogy and its influence. It thus serves as a reminder of how easily technical problems and a rushed release can damage the perception of an otherwise sincerely ambitious and costly project, one after which the Mass Effect series went quiet for several years.

Why play it: For fans of the series willing to forgive technical issues and a rushed release in exchange for a decent combat system, character building, and planet exploration - a reminder of how easily a rushed release can damage even an ambitious project.