Watch the Beginning of Mass Effect: Andromeda
By Jason Gallagher 06 March 2017
With Mass Effect: Andromeda‘s March 21 launch date drawing closer, developer Bioware continues to release new information about the game and the latest reveal is pretty substantial.
BioWare has teamed up with IGN to release footage of the first 13 minutes of the game on YouTube. There aren’t any major surprises in the early going, but if you want to start the game on March 21 completely spoiler-free, turn back now.
The video begins shortly after the player has selected his or her chosen Ryder, the main protagonist of Mass Effect: Andromeda. Character creation is not shown in the video, but it’s clear that players will once again be able to pick a male or female character and customize him or her to their liking.
In this particular playthrough, a male Ryder wakes from cryosleep after more than 600 years on board the Hyperion ship. The video shows players a taste of the conversation system, with Ryder making some dialogue choices while talking to the ship’s doctor and on-board AI. Things quickly go haywire, however, and Ryder is dispatched to get the emergency under control.
Before he leaves, he’s told his sister is not waking from cryosleep like she should be. This is rather amusing as this is how Mass Effect: Andromeda appears to be dealing with the player choosing between a male and female Ryder. Presumably, a female Ryder character would be told her brother is not waking.
The ship’s doctor later assures Ryder, however, that the sibling is being induced into a coma and should be fine. BioWare has been tight-lipped so far about whether or not the player will run into their sibling later in the game, but the fact that the game goes out of its way to assure players the sibling will recover suggests it’s a definite possibility.
The family affair continues when Ryder heads to the bridge to talk to the mission’s Pathfinder, who is also his father, Alec Ryder. The video ends with our protagonist being dispatched down to the possible future homeworld of the human race to see if it’s suitable for the 20,000 colonists on board. Chances are it won’t go well, as we know that players will get to explore multiple planets throughout the game.
Mass Effect: Andromeda is set to release March 21, 2017, for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
