3 new Mass Effect: Andromeda facts – and 3 mysteries
Prepare to boldly go where BioWare has never gone before...
The dark black void of space – it’s cold, unforgiving, inhospitable. But we can’t wait to get up there and explore it.
Mass Effect: Andromeda is easily one of our most anticipated RPGs, and EA finally gave us an early look at E3 this week.
Only it was more of a “behind the scenes” glimpse rather than a gameplay trailer.
Still, there’s plenty of new info for fans to get excited about – plus a handful of new mysteries to keep us guessing until the next official reveal.
Here are three things we’ve learned, plus three new questions.
FACT – IT’S RUNNING ON FROSTBITE
It’s official – the Frostbite engine is pretty much EA’s baby now. It might have been the brainchild of Battlefield studio DICE, but it’s running the show for pretty much every upcoming EA game this year.
That includes Mass Effect.
Basically, you can expect stunning graphics, realistic lighting and physics, lifelike facial animations, and massive open spaces to explore. Perfect for bringing new, unexplored worlds to life.
Seeing how BioWare is promising "distant star systems with remote and hostile planets ripe for discovery", you can bet that engine will be pushed to the limit. Plus, you’ll be able to explore it all inside the Mako, which looks set to make a return.
MYSTERY – WHO ARE YOU?
Mass Effect has always let you create your own lead character, so it would be huge if EA ditched that for Andromeda.
Nothing’s been confirmed just yet, but odds are the human character that pops up and the end of the trailer will be who you end up playing. That’s right, no more Shepard.
She wakes up from Cryo-sleep on the new Normandy-esque spaceship, which (based on the writing down the side – we know, we’re super sleuths) is called the Tempest. Expect to spend a lot of time at the helm.
FACT – YOU’RE THE ALIEN NOW
Andromeda is a completely different story from the original Mass Effect trilogy, moving the action to an entirely different galaxy.
That means humans are the aliens now, rather than a familiar face on the Citadel.
It’ll be up to you to build a new home for humanity, finding a way to live alongside new species and alien races.
With whole galaxies of creatures and locations to choose from, we’re betting Bioware has big things planned to make your journey a tough one.
MYSTERY – A NEW TEAM?
Mass Effect already had some pretty amazing alien races – who could forget grumpy frog-like Krogan Wrex, or genius tentacle-haired Asari Liara?
Both races will make an appearance in Andromeda, but BioWare is promising a lot more to come.
Don’t expect all of them to be friendly, either – the short gameplay footage shows you getting into plenty of firefights with all manner of alien beasties.
And no, we’re not excited just because it means more pixellated sexy times with weird-coloured creatures. You monsters.
FACT – BUCKLE UP UNTIL AUTUMN
Mass Effect fans might be foaming at the mouth to play Andromeda as soon as possible, but it looks like you’ll be waiting for quite a while. Rather than show off a gameplay trailer, EA ran a "behind the scenes" clip and promised more information "in the fall".
That probably means no more new information until Gamescomm in September. Hopefully we’ll actually get a controller in hand and be able to try it out for the first time.
As for a release date? We’re still in the dark right now. It’s still pencilled in for Q1 2017, so hopefully everything’s on track and Andromeda doesn’t slip any further into next year.
MYSTERY – ENTER PLAYER TWO?
Developer BioWare promises a lot more freedom in Andromeda, but there might be more than most players were expecting.
Confirmed information is basically zilch right now, and the behind the scenes trailer didn’t make any mentions of it, but on stage, BioWare teased an "online component".
We’ve literally no clue what this means – multiplayer space exploration? PvP combat? Either way, it’s exciting stuff.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
