Mass Effect Legendary Edition is out tomorrow, yet I can’t help but think it’s not worth playing right away. There’s another game that should be included but isn’t, Mass Effect Andromeda. Here’s the thing, I know that dedicated and very vocal fans don’t want Andromeda included in the original trilogy. It feels a lot like a side story, even though it’s directly related to the main games. Still, it’s a game in the series nonetheless, and no matter how far away from it we get, that will still be true. That’s why I think that you should play Andromeda tomorrow if you’re not on board with the game being left out of the remake/remaster treatment.
Mass Effect Andromeda isn’t the game that it was pitched to players as. It’s missing a bunch of features that made the first three games so great, and it’s a step in the wrong direction. I understand that BioWare wanted to expand the universe and explore with a new character, but fans didn’t like that. We all want to keep close to the original protagonist, but that’s not always possible. Andromeda had the unfortunate pleasure of being the first Mass Effect spin-off title, replacing a full game that could have acted as Mass Effect 4. There are more mistakes and missteps in terms of story and gameplay, but it’s more the fact that the game could have been Mass Effect 4 and someone decided it shouldn’t be.
Personally, I think this is partly down to BioWare wanting to explore the universe more, and partly down to EA executives sticking their fingers where they don’t belong. EA is notorious for pulling stupid moves like this that they think will enhance a game. Almost always though, the outcome is that they’re wrong, and they kill a game before it even launches. I do honestly still think that Andromeda should be in the Legendary Edition though. It’s not fair that the game has been left out, and EA needs to keep them all together. If we forget about this side story, we’re going to lose quite a lot of lore that’s exclusive to this title. Don’t hate the Legendary Edition, but save some money and play Andromeda until it goes on sale.
