Metacritic - 75
Opencritic - 75
Stevivor - 9.5/10
Rock Paper Shotgun - No score
Opencritic - 75
Stevivor - 9.5/10
Press Start - 9/10Andromeda is superb, easily jettisoning Ryder and crew ahead of Commander Shepard and his team. It's clear BioWare has learned lessons with the original Mass Effect trilogy, offering something even better and far more cohesive with this new series. Its only misstep is a slow, labouring tutorial that lasts the better part of five hours; though, after 60 more, it seems like nothing more than a distant memory. Offering deep, engaging characters, a new lore for a new galaxy (but enough interconnected so franchise fans don't feel left out) and a stellar storyline, gamers of any background will find something to do in the far off reaches of the universe.
COG Connected - 8.8/10Mass Effect: Andromeda manages to successfully bring back the sense of exploration and discovery that fans have longed for since the original Mass Effect, whilst honing and improving the already enjoyable combat mechanics of Mass Effect 3. The result is something truly special – a metaphorical slow burn, a hybrid that is sure to appeal to fans of both the original game and its flashier sequels. Despite this, Andromeda is hampered slightly by its lack of visual polish and presentation, which can kill the wonder and fantasy as quickly as it builds it.
Gaming Nexus - 8.8/10So is it fun? Heck yes it is. The fantastic combat and strong story points far outweigh the technical missteps and more cringeworthy moments. Bioware may have bitten off more than it could chew scope wise, and the fringe elements of the game clearly have suffered for it. However, they've nailed the key aspects of what made for a great Mass Effect game in the past. - See more at: http://cogconnected.com/review/mass-effect-andromeda-review/#sthash.Rht72lLN.dpuf
Forbes - 8.5/10Mass Effect: Andromeda doesn't quite live up to the hype, but it comes close. Considering the situation in which the developers found themselves, they put out an addition to the franchise that really feels like returning home even though you're millions of light years from Earth. With stunning scenery, a distinct Mass Effect feel, and an abundance of things to do, it's a worthy investment for any Mass Effect veteran or newcomer—but don't expect it to be perfect.
PlayStation Trophies - 8/10I have a feeling that Mass Effect fans will enjoy the game, but I don't think anyone will claim it outclasses the original trilogy, outside of maybe the very first game. If you could combine the story and memorable quests of the originals with the combat, visuals and scope of Andromeda, you would have the perfect video game, though I think what's offered here will satisfy most. Despite its issues, Andromeda is welcome return to one of my favorite fictional universes, and I am still not ready to let Mass Effect go. I'm not sure I ever will be.
The Sixth Axis - 8/10You might initially turn your nose up at Mass Effect: Andromeda, but stick with it and you'll be richly rewarded with a vast space opera that gets better and better. It has problems, but they pale into insignificance once you're swept up in the exploits of Mass Effect: Andromeda's Pathfinder.
Game Informer - 8/10I found it hard to be excited during the opening hours of Mass Effect: Andromeda. It feels too safe, too much like what's gone before, but then it clicks. There's a moment where the galaxy opens up and you find yourself embarking once more on a huge mission across compelling, beautifully constructed planets, surrounded by memorable characters. Sadly the glut of technical missteps serve to cheapen proceedings, but this is still an adventure you don't want to miss out on.
Critical Hit - 8/10When taken as its own journey (and not in comparison to Shepard's saga), Mass Effect: Andromeda is fun, and the important parts work. The narrative isn't astounding, but keeps you invested and drives you forward. The combat is entertaining whether you're in single-player or multiplayer. The crew isn't my favorite, but I like them and they have some good moments. Even with its other problems, these are the largest forces shaping your experience with Mass Effect: Andromeda, and they make it worth playing. At the same time, I was often left looking through a haze of inconveniences and dreaming about the game it could have been.
PC Gamer - 8/10Mass Effect Andromeda is a fresh start – but in borrowing liberally from the first game it's made many of the same mistakes. In spite of them, it's an exciting space adventure that delivers everything that's become important to Mass Effect: Great characters, fun exploration and a climactic tale of good vs evil.
Attack of the Fanboy - 4/5Here's the thing, though: in the end, Andromeda still manages to be more than the sum of its parts. As a critic I can point to the things that don't quite work, the things that could be better, the things that should be better after 10 years and four of these games. I can also appreciate where improvements have been made, the basic pleasure of an improved combat system and a full-feeling, spectacular sci-fi world to explore.
PlayStation Universe - 8/10Mass Effect: Andromeda fails to deliver a compelling plot and the journey to a whole new galaxy offers little that's new or exciting. Still, it does give you the same quality gameplay the series is known for and you'll enjoy your time with your new crew, even if they're no replacement for the originals.
RPGFan - 7.8/10The Andromeda saga begins with enthusiasm and the spirit of Mass Effect. It's a credit to that spirit--to its truly great characters, gameplay, and fiction--that a staggering number of technical and design flaws don't change the recommendation. If you love a good story, you should play Andromeda. If you love RPGs and shaping a world with choices, you should play Andromeda. If you've ever loved Mass Effect, you should play Andromeda.
IGN - 7.7/10Mass Effect: Andromeda presents plenty of great ideas, but these tend to be either aped too closely from its predecessors or buried under issues that are surmountable, yet frustrating all the same. It excels most keenly at crafting environments that drip with atmosphere, suffused with rich color and ambient, spacey sound. Though this new setting lacks the depth and texture of BioWare's Milky Way, would-be explorers and romantics will find their odyssey to Andromeda sufficiently enjoyable.
Polygon - 7.5/10Mass Effect: Andromeda is an expansive action role-playing game with a few great moments that recapture the high points of the landmark trilogy that came before it, and energetic combat and fantastic sound effects contribute to a potent sci-fi atmosphere. Without consistently strong writing or a breakout star in its cast to carry it through the long hours and empty spaces, however, disappointments like a lack of new races, no companion customization, and major performance problems and bugs take their toll.
RPG Site - 7/10Let's be clear: I'm conflicted about Mass Effect: Andromeda. There's a lot of roughness throughout the game, and the technical issues, while not game-breaking, are often incredibly distracting.
But it's my time with the cast that I'm still thinking about, and the mysteries about the world that haven't been answered that make me feel like I'm waiting once again for a new Mass Effect game. And if I'm judging a game by where it leaves me, Andromeda succeeds, even if it stumbled getting there.
Videogamer - 7/10Ryder's tale feels like a solid beginning to something new. It needs more than a little polish, and probably some extensive work under the hood, but Andromeda has reassured me Mass Effect can exist without the Citadel, Earth, Shepard or even Ryder. This new galaxy left me with more questions than answers, but I'm okay with that. I hope another entry to the series means more exploration into every corner of humanity's new home.
CGMag Online - 7/10Performance issues are a huge let down, and it feels more Dragon Age than Mass Effect. But if you like open world exploration with fast paced gun fighting, and a hero story like an OTT Hollywood action movie, you'll probably like Andromeda.
GamesRadar+ - 3.5/5At times, Mass Effect: Andromeda can feel like an expansion and not a true follow-up. A lot of strides have been made to improve the already dazzling combat system (which is leaps and bounds more exciting than your average cover shooter), but so much of it feels like a regression. That slip still puts it a cut above a lot of others in the same space, but the failure to iterate after the divisive conclusion of the original trilogy isn't going to do BioWare any favours.
Hardcore Gamer - 3.5/5With a little more focus, Andromeda could have been a great game. The premise of exploring a new frontier in space is exciting and original, and the cast of characters inhabiting this new world - be they the fresh races, or the people you've dragged with you from the Milky Way - are more interesting than not. Some of the worlds have a real beauty, and the main narrative itself is compelling enough to carry you happily to the end. But there's too much quest padding. Too much technical jargon. Too much fighting for a game with a poor fighting system. Too many clever little animations and quest-steps in between the stuff that's actually fun to do. Place the resulting experience next to infinitely more finessed open-world games like The Witcher 3, Horizon: Zero Dawn - or even the original trilogy - and Andromeda compares very poorly indeed. Not a disaster, but definitely not the fresh start this series needed, or the one fans have been waiting patiently for.
Destructoid - 6.5/10Performance issues are a huge let down, and it feels more Dragon Age than Mass Effect. But if you like open world exploration with fast paced gun fighting, and a hero story like an OTT Hollywood action movie, you'll probably like Andromeda.
PlayStation Lifestyle - 6.5/10Mass Effect: Andromeda spends a lot of time not really feeling like a Mass Effect game. If anything, it feels like a spin-off -- the sort of thing created by another studio that's unsure about what direction to take it. Like in the game itself, there are problems with the atmosphere. But Andromeda is very clear that it doesn't aim to be like the other Mass Effects. New beginnings, not funerals -- for better and for worse.
USgamer - 6/10With the vast love of the Mass Effect series, Andromeda was never going to make people 100% happy, the same way the ME3 ending didn't make people happy. The BioWare team put so many great things in place, but the main story, the characters, and most of the writing keep the game from being great. Sadly, technical mess keeps it from being good.
Metro - 6/10Mass Effect Andromeda falls short of its predecessors, but it's still a competently executed open-world action RPG with an interesting world and tons of quests to complete. Its biggest shame is that it doesn't make better use of its setting, opting instead to go with more of the same. Hopefully BioWare will be more ambitious when it comes time for the inevitable sequel.
Gamespot - 6/10We didn't particularly like any of the characters and interacting with them often comes across like some purposefully silly-looking YouTube skit. Whereas the team behind Andromeda's action and role-playing elements have used the five years since Mass Effect 3 wisely it feels like those working on the script and story have only just woken up from hypersleep themselves, and dashed out this rushed and worryingly flawed game in a matter of weeks, not years.
The Daily Dot - 3/5In many ways, Andromeda feels like a vision half-fulfilled. It contains a dizzying amount of content, but the quality fluctuates wildly. Its worlds and combat shine, but its writing and missions falter--and the relative strength of the former is not enough to compensate for the inescapable weakness of the latter. As a Mass Effect game, Andromeda falls well short of the nuanced politics, morality, and storytelling of its predecessors. For me, the series has always been about compelling characters and harrowing choices, so to find such weak writing here is bitterly disappointing. Yet even after 65 hours, I still plan on completing a few more quests. The game can't escape its shortcomings, but patient explorers can still find a few stars shining in the darkness.
VentureBeat - 5.5/10It's a shame that the central narrative of Mass Effect Andromeda is deflated by this burdensome gameplay, because the crew of the Tempest is worth meeting. The mystery of the Kett is a fresh spin on the apocalyptic war of the original trilogy, and following the stories of people in the Heleus cluster often leads to surprising developments with tough decisions waiting at the end. Ryder's tale and the thrill of colonizing a new star system set Andromeda apart from other Mass Effect games, but it often plays worse than a game from five years ago.
Games have to fit into our lives, and that's not always fair. Mass Effect: Andromeda might've worked a decade ago on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but it doesn't work in a world that is delivering games like Horizon: Zero Dawn, Nier: Automata, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. In this reality, BioWare's latest role-playing game is old, broken, and often boring. Worst of all, it's going to disappoint fans of the Mass Effect series.
Rock Paper Shotgun - No score
Eurogamer - No scoreMass Effect Andromeda feels like a game that exists because there needed to be a new Mass Effect game. It's hard, as deeply as you explore it, to find something that shows any other reason for it to be. Despite the extraordinary opportunity of a fresh start, fresh characters, and even a fresh galaxy to set it in, this feels like a lengthy rehash of what came before. It is bad in many ways, from its madcap AI, poor character faces, dated design and most of all, horrible writing, but its biggest crime is just how unavoidably, all-encompassingly dull it is for so, so many hours.
ACG Gaming - "Wait for a deep sale / Rent" (Video)It's gripping stuff, and a reminder of the greatness of the Mass Effect trilogy - its intelligent reworkings of pulp sci-fi cliche, the taut splendour of its scenarios and aesthetic, the colour and dexterity of its writing. All that's still in here somewhere, I think. But then you pop out the other end of the mission, back into Andromeda's labyrinth of drudgery and obfuscation, and remember that you're a long way from home.
