The first official details about Mass Effect Andromeda's plot, the Ryder family's place in it all, and new gameplay details have all been revealed via Game Informer's latest cover story on the upcoming Bioware RPG.
The latest Mass Effect game's namesake comes from the Andromeda Initiative, which was established around the time of Mass Effect 2, according to Game Informer's story. The Initiative's goal isto find a new home, and the group goes about dong this by creating four "arks," each of which carrying a different alien race. The arks are set to make their way to the Andromeda galaxy, specifically to investigate the Heleus cluster and its inhabitable "golden worlds."
Players come into the Initiative's mission as either the son or daughter of the leader, or Pathfinder, of the human ark. (Remember — the male and female playable options for Andromeda are actually brother and sister.) As either Scott or Sara Ryder, the children of Alec, players assume the role of the Pathfinder at the outset of the game, as that designation is passed on to one of Alec's children.
Creative Director Mac Walters also noted to Game Informer that though Andromeda kicks off with an entirely new focus and set of protagonists, the game is not necessarily the start of a new trilogy.
"At the end of this, we want it to feel like a story was completed," Walters told GI.
The human ark, the Hyperion, finds itself at the wrong location after a 600-year trip, however, where it loses contact with the other three arks, as well as the Nexus, a command center sent ahead of the arks to the Andromeda galaxy.
Game Informer's story also reveals the Kett, the first non-Milky Way alien species Andromeda players will encounter in the game. The demo GI experienced of the game had the Kett in an antagonistic role, however the outlet notes the whole race may not prove to be enemies of the Ryders.
What happens to the Hyperion, what other races may be encountered, and just what motivates the Kett are kept a secret, but GI does reveal a host of changes to the Mass Effect formula coming with the fourth main entry in the franchise.
Andromeda will see the return of loyalty missions for party characters, according to GI. They won't affect the ending of the game, but these missions, as well as romance options, will be available with the player's allies, two of whom GI also revealed —the asari PeeBee and member of the Pathfinder team Liam.
Echoing the Mako from the first Mass Effect, players will also be able to explore planets in Andromeda via the Nomad. According to GI, the Nomad has been designed in response to some of the criticisms of the Mako, including changes to handling, camera and the vehicle's sense of speed. The Nomad will be used to explore the open terrain of planets, including the new desert world Elaaden, which will feature plenty of story-focused and optional missions for players, as well as new additions like the still-mysterious vaults and the occasional, formidable super-bosses.
Andromeda will also see some combat alterations. GI notes that while Mass Effect 3 used two systems that allowed for either a more thoughtful combat approach or a faster "stop-and-go" technique for its co-op (which returns in this game), Andromeda will essentially combine the two for both modes.
"it's much more dynamic and action-oriented," producer Fabrice Condominas told GI, noting that "we no longer do the [Mass Effect 3] thing of pausing and aiming with the wheel up."
The player character will also now automatically take cover when the player presses up against an object and can just as easily pop out of cover, while the jetpack replaces the game's traditional combat roll and can be used to strategically take a higher vantage point in combat.
In terms of customization, players will continue to be able to design their Ryder as they see fit (as well as your brother or sister and your father). But rather than assigning your Ryder to a class, players can mix and match abilities unrestricted by class choices. Players can still specialize in a particular set of skills, and doing so will unlock certain profiles that provide additional bonuses to players, according to GI.
Also offering more freedom to players is the decision to abandon the ability to let players go down paragon or renegade character paths. Some dialogue options will be associated with different tones, but Andromeda creative director told GI the studio wanted to "give you more opportunity to express yourself with different tones, but not necessarily give you some sort of binary meter by which the whole world judges you."
As for where the journey ends, Bioware is staying quiet on whether the game will have multiple endings, but Andromeda producer Michael Gamble told GI that Andromeda's ending will be "something different than the trilogy" because the game offers "a different type of story."
During N7 Day, the official Mass Effect Andromeda box art was revealed, as well as new special editions available for the game. Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 were also made backward compatible for Xbox One players.
Jonathon Dornbush is an Associate Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter @jmdornbush.
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