So "we moved on". Did it benefit the franchise afterall?

NOPE I DID NOT WANT TO MOVE ON... AT ALL Back when the original BioWare forums still existed, I created the "RESTART OR REBOOT" thread and the "SAVE THE MILKYWAY THREAD". People ignored me and laughed at my notion. I still gave BioWare the respect for their decision where they want to take their IP next, but I stressed that the chances of failure or fuck up is great since moving to Andromeda in the first place is idiotic. I mean how the F is it hard to canonize just one fucking ending just to save the bloody franchise? bloody hell

now look at this shite.

In that you are right. And I have no problem with this being an entirely new approach. That said, I would have liked for them to create an equally strong lead. People play these kinds of games for escapism, to identify with something they aren't in real life. Larger than life. For me at least, Ryder's a douche and for the largest part stays a douche. That could have been easily remedied by supplying the character with snide responses to all the insinuations of not taking them seriously, but the game goes to great lengths of rubbing into your face, you're not taken seriously.

Also, the more I played, the more I realized the companions not being on par with previous games. In other games, even after playing them three of four times, I went to them to get their opinions and to see what they have to say. Not here. I find myself pushing the X button to speed things up. Which is largely a result of whatever your character says, the response almost always is the same. Which reminds me of FO4 where you could outright insult a character and get the same response as if you just had applauded them.

It feels like there's zero history in Andromeda. All the fun stuff is gone. I don't like it.

There are ways but there aren't ways that'll annoy quite a few people, no matter what you do it'll get some worked up by it essentially removing some consequence. Andromeda is the easy option, although since the Milky Way is vast one I've always though unnecessary, and one that indtroduces its own problems (if the Milky Way races can get there in 600 years it seems very unlikely that it wouldn't have been tried in the past, and that the Reapers wouldn't already be there - my point about the size of the MW notwithstanding).

I really don't think that they've screwed up Andromeda though, by any stretch of the imagination. Sure the game had its flaws, but none of them renders the whole setting messed up, plenty of scope to move on from there.

HArdly, the difference you are missing is the last 2 CDPR games have been good, the last 3 BW games have been mediocre if you are being really, really kind. 

I have to disagree. I think it was a good move to go with someone  who has to grow into their role. Starting off as a hero gives you much less potential for growth; "you set off as a hero everyone respects and admires, you continue to be a hero everyone respect and admires, you end as a hero everyone respects and admires" doesn't really have the ring of interesting character development. To me, that's much less engaging. I would rather a character to whom I can more easily relate, because I get to see them become something more, and not just sit in on an episode of them being a hero. Besides, the Warden, Hawke, Inquisitor, Dragonborn... all of these characters started off untested. By the end of MEA, I felt like Ryder had stepped out of the their father's shadow to become a hero in their own right (and, I would argue, something 'larger than life').

I would also disagree with all of Ryder's successes being accidental. And sure, they needed SAM, but so would an Alec homologue in the same situation. SAM's no different than the Warden's taint-turned-Archdemon-destroying-ability, the Inquisitor's mark, or the Dragonborn's... whatever it is that the Dragonborn has (incredible lung capacity?). All of these characters relied on something special, something not really intrinsic to themselves. And maybe this time we had a crew of misfits rather than hardened veterans and specialists... but that hasn't really been the case for any of the games you've brought up either (except perhaps ME2 and ME3). And if you want to talk about a kid who seems to succeed by folly and fluke, Hawke is a prime example; Hawke felt like the blindsided victim of circumstance just muddling through a bunch of horrible events and doing their best to keep their head afloat, whereas  Ryder, at least, seemed to have some kind of direction and end-goal.

No, I am not missing positive critical reception of the Witcher series.

what I refer to is Witcher fan base habit to dismiss simple statements of fact about the essential design choices in that game with the:"it's the lore, stupid, and that's how they do things in their great---etc, etc, etc, essentially dismissing criticism as not relevant, because they did like the game overall. That attitude may lead to the Cyberpunk developed exactly the same way as W3, instead of evolving into something more players can enjoy, while retaining the features current fans like.

I'm certainly not larger than life. But the crap Addison says at the start, not even me would have swallowed without a comeback along the lines of "you need me, so kindly cut the crap".

But that's not an option. You have to take her comment and many ensuing ones. At some points, such as the meetings on the Tempest, the game even goes into autopilot to deliver the stupid lines of not being killed, in order for Cora having her comment about Krogans. Or the squadmates simply filing out without turning back to leave my character looking like an idiot.

These are the things not sitting well with me. The things pointing out you're a douche and can't do anything about it.

which would be a good thing, BW tried it and ended up making terrible games that are roundly hated, which have no redeeming features or worth, in my case the last BW game I thought was genuinely good, rather than 'ok'  was released in 2010. 

Minimalistic art. As in RGB.

That scene where Ryder is having a meeting with everyone and they all turn and leave on her and she responds like a 14 yr old with the weak "I didn't dismiss everyone." was so full of ugh.  Her own team treated her like that.  There was no growth to her at all.  And her weak forgiving of Peebee for that stunt with the escape hatch?  A stronger character would have had the ability to either accept that OR KICK HER OFF THE SHIP and off the team.  Ryder never got a backbone in this game.