Mass Effect Andromeda is still vividly remembered by fans of the series and the internet as a whole for being a very underwhelming game. Still, not everyone associates bad memories with the latest main entry in the series developed by BioWare.
Tom Taylorson, voice actor for the male version of protagonist Ryder, stated in a fresh interview with We Are Mass Effect that it was the best thing he has ever worked on, but it was done dirty by its publisher EA and by the toxic atmosphere it launched in, where it quickly became the punching bag of the week for "online chuds".
"It was hands down one of the best things I've ever worked on. I had an immense amount of fun working on it, made good friends along the way, learned SO MUCH, and while the opportunities didn't always pan out, it did lead to many other opportunities for work down the line," Taylorson said. "Still one of my favorite things I've ever worked on in any medium. It was a special and challenging time in my life and I'm forever grateful to have Andromeda be a part of that."
Not many, however, share Scott Ryder's fondness for Mass Effect Andromeda, and Taylorson believes the deck was stacked against the game. "It was done dirty by a publisher expecting too much from it, not being fully cooked, forced out the door too early, forced to use corporate's shiny new engine when many of the team didn't know how to work with it and it was NOT suited to the storytelling part of the game," he said. "On top of that, it was released to a VERY toxic atmosphere online and elsewhere in the gaming space. It quickly became punching bag of the week for online chuds for views and clicks. Their love of hate sealed the deal."
Suffice to say, Mass Effect Andromeda is hardly the last game to have become the punching bag of the week. Games like the failed live-service shooter Highguard from former Apex Legends developers and, more recently, Bungie's Marathon, which has more SteamDB searchers than actual players, are only a few examples of games falling afoul of the community's perception.
Still, I believe Mass Effect Andromeda deserves another chance. While I realize its quality is nowhere near its predecessors', there's definitely a decent enough game underneath its roughness. Additionally, the game did get many of its most glaring issues fixed after launch, but the damage, at that point, was done. Hopefully, not everything the game did will be thrown away for the next entry in the series, as combat was solid and incredibly fun, despite every other issue the game had.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
