An Avoidable Disaster – The Tragedy of Mass Effect Andromeda

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After shipping Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic on PC in 2004, a team led by Casey Hudson entered pre-production on Mass Effect, the project that would allow BioWare to explore its own space opera across a three-part epic. Mass Effect’s groundbreaking choice-based systems and role-playing elements set the bar for many RPGs that followed, and solidified BioWare as one of gaming’s most pioneering studios. An innovative save system capable of carrying user progress across each entry further elevated the experience. But the characters, the stories, the carefully crafted lore both pronounced and subtle, along with the player’s intimate role in it all, encouraged millions to flock aboard the Normandy in every form it took. The perceived belittlement of the player’s role at the trilogy’s end tainted the journey for some, however, leaving whatever came next with a decidedly tall order to fill.

Shifting their focus to the new IP later known as Anthem, Mass Effect leads at BioWare’s main office in Edmonton assigned the next installment to BioWare Montréal, the support group previously responsible for Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer and Omega DLC. A long road lay ahead for the team, its destination locked to the Andromeda galaxy, pulling Mass Effect away from the Milky Way, Commander Shepard, and the once all-encompassing Reaper threat. Other challenges beyond the stressors of changing the scenery and protagonist beset much of the project’s development, though. An unclear vision, mismanagement, bouts of infighting, and technological woes each contributed to Mass Effect: Andromeda’s less-than-stellar release as well as the series’ impromptu hiatus.

This is the tragedy of Mass Effect: Andromeda.

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