Mass Effect: Andromeda is BioWare’s “biggest” game, in terms of content. We’ve already learned of the game’s new “Kett” alien race, and that there will be “cultural hubs” similar to Omega and the Citadel, as seen in previous titles. Multiplayer details have also been revealed, including the “Prestige XP” mechanic and microtransaction model.
Moving back to focus on the single-player, lots of new info about the campaign has been revealed. Thanks to Eurogamer, we now know four squadmates who will be supporting Ryder on his journey:
Liam, a fellow human, is one of your two starting squadmates. Like main character Ryder, he arrived in Andromeda aboard the human ark Hyperion.
Cora, another human, is the other starting squadmate alongside Liam. We’ve yet to see Cora’s face, despite her being featured in various trailers.
Peebee, an asari, and has been a regular part of the game’s marketing and trailers. She’s generally referred to as Peebee, although that is a nickname. She joins your squad after crossing paths with Ryder early in Andromeda’s story, and comes with some experience in the alien galaxy.
Drack, a krogan, still hasn’t been officially announced by BioWare but is now all but confirmed. Drack has a loyalty mission involving a lost ship of krogan who you have to save.
More information on Mass Effect: Andromeda‘s campaign comes via Game Informer, who has compiled some remaining facts and quotes collected while visiting BioWare and interviewing the team. We’ve sorted the most interesting tidbits down below:
Ryder is intentionally more of a blank slate than Shepard at the beginning of Andromeda. “Shepard came on the scene, and it felt like they’d already accomplished a lot and they’d done a lot and they’d seen a lot – but I hadn’t,” says creative director Mac Walters. “That whole universe was new to me, and so there was a bit of a disconnect between me and my player character right from the start. And so, with this, I’d really like us to close that gap as much as we can without going full amnesia.”
Despite the series’ long history, the move to new hardware and adopting the Frostbite engine means BioWare built all systems, tools, and assets from scratch for Andromeda.
Not all of the races from the original trilogy appear in Andromeda, but they may show up in future installments. “We’ve designed the IP in such a way that they can all show up,” Walters says. “For hopefully obvious reasons, they’re not all going to show up in the first game.”
The blistering heat of Elaaden is only one kind of environmental hazard. “Another planet you might have ice, or radiation, or another kind of hazard,” says producer Mike Gamble. “We’re trying to mix it up, and how you survive them will be different depending on the planet. Some might require a different Nomad upgrade, others will take shelter, and so forth.”
Don’t expect the events or characters of the original trilogy to shape the state of the world in Andromeda. “We didn’t want to invalidate anything that people had done in the past, and we wanted to make sure everyone feels like they can be onboard, whether or not they have played before,” Walters says.
During sequences that might have just been non-interactive cinematics before, players now have a degree of control – like steering a character falling through the sky, or examining objects in a shuttle as a conversation is going on.
If you’re hungry for more, you can check out the full list over on Game Informer.
Have these new details heightened your excitement for Mass Effect: Andromeda? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
[Source: Game Informer, Eurogamer]
