Leaving the Milky Way behind, Mass Effect Andromeda revolves around massive arks filled with people who have decided to make a fresh start in a new home, going into cryo for hundreds of years.
The arrival in the Andromeda galaxy is not smooth. The viable planet the human ark was heading towards is cracked into pieces and the region is full of vast areas of an unknown dangerous energy source. Furthermore, the other arks are missing and the forward base had a civil war. Your mission is to solve all this while finding new suitable homeworlds.
The combat in Andromeda is extremely satisfying. Biotic Charge, Push and Pull are some of my favourites, hurtling across the battlefield and throwing enemies at other enemies. It’s fast paced and so much fun. Missions are entertaining and the mystery of what has happened, and an ancient race that has vanished, is engaging.
The crew all feels like a crew – even the ones that stay on the ship. Everyone talks to each other, they move into different rooms at certain points and there’s extra chat logs to inspect. You ship – the Tempest – can be explored with no loading screens and feels like a home. Adding to that, as you select planets/asteroids/other objects from the map, the ship will fly to them and you will see many breath-taking views from the ships windows – it really makes it feel like you’re moving around the galaxy in a ship.