Mass Effect: Andromeda

Mass Effect: Andromeda is an action role-playing game in which the player takes control of either Sara or Scott Ryder from a third-person perspective. Both Ryders' appearances and first names can be determined by the player. The appearance of their father, Alec, is automatically adjusted based on the appearance of the Ryder twins. Upon beating the game, a New Game+ is unlocked, which allows the player to restart the game with certain bonuses and switch to playing as the other Ryder. The player can also choose to continue playing with their existing character and complete unfinished missions.

Unlike previous installments in the Mass Effect series, where the player begins each new game by choosing from six different character classes that each have their own unique set of skills, the player instead has free rein to assign any skills they want and build towards a specialty over the course of the game. For example, if the player chooses to invest solely in biotic skills, Ryder will unlock the Adept profile, which results in bonuses related to that playstyle. Experience points are earned by completing missions, and there is no cap on the number of points that can be earned. Once enough points are gained, Ryder levels up, which allows for the unlocking and upgrading of skills along a tree. Points assigned to each skill can be constantly reallocated so that the player can experiment with multiple gameplay approaches without having to restart their game and build up their skills from scratch again.

Mass Effect: Andromeda begins in 2185, between the events of Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. The four Citadel Council races and the quarians are planning to populate new home worlds in the Andromeda Galaxy as part of a strategy called the Andromeda Initiative. Each race sends 20,000 citizens on a one-way, 600-year journey to Heleus Cluster located in Andromeda aboard their own sleeper ship, called an Ark, and selects a leader, known as a Pathfinder. Once the races arrive at their destination in 2819, they help build the Nexus, a space station that serves as a center of government and diplomacy, a living area, and a base of operations for the Pathfinders. Characters and player decisions from the original Mass Effect trilogy are not carried over into Mass Effect: Andromeda, and there is no canon ending which is referenced.

The protagonist of Mass Effect: Andromeda is, depending on player choice, either Sara or Scott Ryder (voiced by Fryda Wolff or Tom Taylorson, respectively). Their father, Alec Ryder (voiced by Clancy Brown), is humanity's Pathfinder, tasked with finding a new home for the species. Squadmates in the game include Alec's second-in-command, Cora Harper (Jules de Jongh), a biotic specialist with intensive commando training; Liam Kosta (Gary Carr), a security expert who specializes in crisis response; Pelessaria "Peebee" B'Sayle (Christine Lakin), an asari gunslinger capable of biotic destabilization; Nakmor Drack (Stanley Townsend), a veteran krogan warrior of the Nakmor clan specializing in close combat; Vetra Nyx (Danielle Rayne), a female turian mercenary who excels in shielding and protection; and Jaal Ama Darav (Nyasha Hatendi), a resistance fighter of the newly introduced angara race. Ryder's crewmates include Kallo Jath (Garett Ross), a salarian pilot; Lexi T'Perro (Natalie Dormer), an asari medical doctor; Suvi Anwar (Katy Townsend), a human science officer; Gil Brodie (Gethin Anthony), a human mechanic; and SAM (Alexia Traverse-Healy), an artificial intelligence that can communicate with all members of the team via implants.

Mass Effect: Andromeda was developed by BioWare, the same company that developed the original Mass Effect trilogy, and published by Electronic Arts (EA), who published the second and third games in the original trilogy. In contrast to the original trilogy, which was spearheaded by BioWare's Edmonton studio, Mass Effect: Andromeda was handled by a new team out of Montreal. This was done so that Edmonton could focus on a new intellectual property (IP), later revealed to be Anthem. The company's Austin team assisted in development as well. BioWare's general manager, Aaryn Flynn, noted that many of the developers working on the project were fans of the original trilogy who came to BioWare specifically to work on a Mass Effect game.

Early stages of development on Mass Effect: Andromeda began in 2012, following the release of Mass Effect 3. One of the first decisions that BioWare made was not to include Commander Shepard, the series' original protagonist, in the game. This strategy allowed them to make changes to some of the series' traditional gameplay elements, such as the old Paragon/Renegade morality system, which they felt was tied to Shepard and would not make sense without the character. They originally considered developing a prequel, but decided against it after soliciting feedback from fans, focus groups, and the development team. Instead of preparing for another trilogy, the company tried to avoid locking themselves into a specific plan with regards to future installments in the franchise, which they felt gave them more creative freedom.

Upon release, the PlayStation 4 and Windows versions of Mass Effect: Andromeda received "mixed or average" reviews while the Xbox One version received "generally favorable" reviews from video game publications, according to review aggregator platform Metacritic. The game was later ranked the 26th best of 2017 by Eurogamer. Conversely, it also received several dishonors, including Worst Game (That We Played) from Giant Bomb.

Mass Effect: Andromeda was not as well received as its predecessors. In his review for Forbes, Paul Tassi predicted that Mass Effect fans would enjoy the game, but prefer the original trilogy, outside of perhaps the original game. Many outlets described Mass Effect: Andromeda as a disappointment, including Giant Bomb and PlayStation LifeStyle, who retrospectively ranked it as the most disappointing game of 2017. Some critics also described the game as a missed opportunity, such as Joe Juba of Game Informer, who concluded, "Mass Effect: Andromeda is fun, and the important parts work ... At the same time, I was often left looking through a haze of inconveniences and dreaming about the game it could have been."