Mass Effect: Andromeda Prelude

As gamers experienced earlier this year, Mass Effect: Andromeda failed to be up to standards in terms of gameplay, mainly because it came out riddled with bugs for some reason. In fact, Bioware admitted defeat and said that they are unable to fix most things, so there’s not a lot of hope left for the game. Even so, the fans remain true to the franchise, since it is one of the most original stories out there, after all.

Mass Effect: Andromeda Prelude is an interactive visual novel in which you play the role of Commander Shepard as he is contacted by an Andromeda Initiative member with a request. The game was released before Mass Effect: Andromeda hit the markets, so the story is almost entirely unrelated to the events from the actual game. Whether this is a good thing or not is entirely up to you.

The first thing you notice after starting the game is how many assets were borrowed directly from the Mass Effect franchise. This includes backgrounds, soundtrack pieces, and even the voice acting to some extent. Hence, you can hear Seth Green’s voice as the Joker in here as well, albeit only in some cases, and it’s usually to inform Shepard about an incoming call.

The story itself is not very long, nor is it too complex. As such, everything starts when Shepard is contacted by an Andromeda Initiative operative, who asks him for advice and some help. There are no major changes regarding the Mass Effect universe or the technology you might be used to from the original franchise, so it’s very easy to get the same vibe from the game.

You can reach two different game endings depending on your dialog choices along the way, but since the story is very short, you can pretty much figure out which decisions are going to affect the ending. As mentioned before, most of the backgrounds and artwork pieces are borrowed directly from the Mass Effect trilogy, but the character artwork is original, and it’s quite decent as well.

Mass Effect: Andromeda Prelude may not feature phenomenal writing, nor too much original artwork, but it certainly brings back a few pleasant memories. Hence, it’s a decent fan-made project designed for the hardcore fans of the franchise.