This review contains spoilers
After completing the Legenedary Edition of the original Trilogy, I needed more Mass Effect. I have heard mixed reviews of this game, and as someone who has enjoyed the more divisive BioWare games such as Mass Effect 3 or Dragon Age 2, I was willing to give it a chance. It turned out to be kind of like Dragon Age Inquisition, but with all the downsides of that game.
The cast feels like the ME1 cast, except worse in every way. No shot you will ever remember the Krogan in this game compared to Wrex. No way you will ever compare Vetra Nyx to Garrus. Liara from the first game was kinda boring and had to be saved by the writing of 2 and 3, but Peebee just feels like they wanted to repeat the process that you would love the main Asari of the group and she just does not have that magic. The Nomad basically has zero percent of the charm that the Normandy had. I feel like Ryder would probably be a better protagonist if it weren't for the fact that the previous cast was Commander fucking Shepard, so they stick out like a sore thumb.
The exploration feels like a worse version of the exploration of Inquisition. Every quest feels less like world building and more just like uninteresting busywork. The worlds felt very unrecognizable and bland. The combat felt okay, but it was still bogged down by all the downsides of this game. I was told by other Mass Effect fans that this game had their favorite combat, which confused me because 2 and mainly 3 felt so much better. And then there's the glitches, which are genuinely really funny. But also is a big indicator that this game was rushed. This game was crunched, not unlike the other games such as Inquisition and DA2, except it feels awful here. I'm already not having a fun time with the game, so it just breaking the way that it does is just so... it's funny but it also makes me sad the way that it is.
I feel like this game has a concept of an interesting story and the fact that they wanted to be separate in story from the trilogy is okay. But... it's just so uninteresting. Awful villains, a protagonist I don't really care about at all, a cast that isn't much better, they introduced a new race called the Angara which are pretty cool but feel wasted with how uninteresting this whole story and game is. They deserved better.
I'm not usually this negative and I don't go out scouting games I know I don't like. I did not go in, wanting to dislike this game and yet I did. And it's fucking Mass Effect. So yeah... not a fan of this game.
The cast feels like the ME1 cast, except worse in every way. No shot you will ever remember the Krogan in this game compared to Wrex. No way you will ever compare Vetra Nyx to Garrus. Liara from the first game was kinda boring and had to be saved by the writing of 2 and 3, but Peebee just feels like they wanted to repeat the process that you would love the main Asari of the group and she just does not have that magic. The Nomad basically has zero percent of the charm that the Normandy had. I feel like Ryder would probably be a better protagonist if it weren't for the fact that the previous cast was Commander fucking Shepard, so they stick out like a sore thumb.
The exploration feels like a worse version of the exploration of Inquisition. Every quest feels less like world building and more just like uninteresting busywork. The worlds felt very unrecognizable and bland. The combat felt okay, but it was still bogged down by all the downsides of this game. I was told by other Mass Effect fans that this game had their favorite combat, which confused me because 2 and mainly 3 felt so much better. And then there's the glitches, which are genuinely really funny. But also is a big indicator that this game was rushed. This game was crunched, not unlike the other games such as Inquisition and DA2, except it feels awful here. I'm already not having a fun time with the game, so it just breaking the way that it does is just so... it's funny but it also makes me sad the way that it is.
I feel like this game has a concept of an interesting story and the fact that they wanted to be separate in story from the trilogy is okay. But... it's just so uninteresting. Awful villains, a protagonist I don't really care about at all, a cast that isn't much better, they introduced a new race called the Angara which are pretty cool but feel wasted with how uninteresting this whole story and game is. They deserved better.
I'm not usually this negative and I don't go out scouting games I know I don't like. I did not go in, wanting to dislike this game and yet I did. And it's fucking Mass Effect. So yeah... not a fan of this game.