I feel they played it too safe with the Andromeda Aliens

Is was not really playing it safe, there is just a lack of work in all fronts and content. I mean all the alien races have the same face, that alone should tell people something.

They said they wanted aliens which were relatable. And not specifically to the OP, but just a general observation....Andromeda had a great story, solid cast, amazing combat, and terrific RP elements...but the aliens look too human 0/10 lazy bad, naughty BioWare.

You're right, it wasn't lazy. The Khet reveal video says as much. BioWare weren't lazy; the concept artists actually provided versions of the final alien species that looked strange and exotic, but they were vetoed by the higher ups. BioWare just decided to be deliberately boring.

But sure, we need our aliens to be relatable. It's not like that sort of thing is achievable with competent writing, expressive animations, and emotive vocal performances. Just look at E.T.: total garbage. And of course, it's not like BioWare could have done something interesting like having aliens that aren't relatable and require us to relate to them regardless. You know, like a sci-fi plot. That would just take time and effort that was clearly better spent on littering the open worlds with sidequests.


On a serious note: it isn't traditionally lazy. I'm sure everyone put in more than their fair share of hours over those 5 long years. What it is is conceptually lazy. Or in other words: lame. Why bother with a new galaxy if you're going to fill it with the same shit? Why bother with sci-fi? BioWare had a clean slate and a premise brimming with potential, and they go out of their way to make the aliens "relatable."

but...why? Why is it lazy,lame, or boring conceptually to have bi pedal aliens? Especially in a genre where that is still the rule and the interesting looking aliens are by far and away the exception.

I mean sure it.might be nice to have 'interesting' to have different looking aliens. But i really can't be arsed if the aliens in any given show or game are just humans without a costume pretending to be an alien. Judge not by the number of ones foreheads but by the content of ones Character.

And i mean sure. The Khett came off as dull and poorly executed...but even then somehow they manage to come off as more interesting then the Reapers ever were owing to one small fact. The big problem is the Archon is no Saren...let alone an illusive man.

They played it too safe with the art-style in general because aside from the Remnant vaults and the tiny Purple Jungle Plant all of the rest of the worlds look like Earth and could have been parts of the same planet. There's not enough unique architecture, musical cues, etc. on the different worlds to differentiate them aside from say Aya which looks like a shopping mall. Safe is the word... Nexus aside all of the supposedly hostile environments looks too sterile and non-threatening. The only other memorable location was Meridian and we don't even get a chance to explore it.

It's an entirely different GALAXY and we've seen more alien looking environments in the Milky Way (Feros, Ilos, Illium, Migrant Fleet, Geth ships, Derelict Reaper, etc.). The Salarians, Turians and Krogan are all more alien in appearance and culture than the Angara. There is not a single element of the plot or location which wouldn't have worked perfectly fine in the MWG - even the Angara. For all we know they are lying and we are not in an Andromeda at all but simply an isolated cluster at the edge of the Milky Way for what difference it would have made.

Speaking of aliens even though it's only a single star cluster I did expect to meet other aliens from different parts of Andromeda to set up future games which put too much emphasis and expectation on the Angara. I'm really disappointed at the thought that while there may not be anymore Mass Effect games if we do eventually get one only to end up fighting boneheaded kett again on more Earth-like planets then I despair at what could have been and the total lack of imagination from BioWare.

I'd just call it lazy and uninspired...

They just copied too much from previous Bioware games, failing to make MEA look and feel unique.

Maybe it was time mismanagement. But the game is underwhelming in every respect. Not bad but if anybody asked me what's unique about MEA or done exceptionally well I'd say nothing. It's a solid game. Fun even for a while. Forgettable though.

I'll remember Ryder however as the most douchebag derp face protagonist I've ever played. So THAT is MEA's accomplishment I guess. *g*

Personally i've never had a problem with the majority of alien species being bi-pedal and possessing human or earth-like characteristics as it keeps the setting grounded but there was just a total lack of variety which was the main problem for me.

Perhaps the remnant should have been sentient, that would have made them so much more interesting as without language/communication there is no culture to explore.

Create an alien and it has to look believable, which is obviously a problem when no-one's ever seen any for real. But if I'm thinking "how the hell did that ever evolve those things?" or "no way could that become a technological species, with insufficient means of manipulating its environment" the design has an uphill battle. The problem is is that it also struggles when I'm thinking "human with bits glued on". Weird for the sake of weird, or bad guys looking as scary as possible because they're bad, also fails. Show anyone who's never heard of ME a kett and angara side by side and ask them to point at the bad guys... (mind you they'd do the same with a turian and asari). The hanar break a lot of these guidelines but they've got the perfect excuse for doing so, being uplifted by the Protheans.

Designing science fiction aliens really is a job you can't win at!

As far as looks I felt the Angara looked too much like cobras. All they needed was a forked tongue and they would be there. But as far as venemous snakes go, i think BW did a good job.


Put a monacle on that on you have Jaal!

This is the biggest failing of the game, by a damn proverbial mile. For a reboot, Andromeda had one major goal, above all else: creating entire new galaxy that gives the player that same sense of "awe" and history as ME I did.
Instead of being thrown into a web of alliances, conflict and philosophical differences, what you have is two new races that at best look like plastic toys in comparison.
Best thing for the series would be leaving Heleus cluster and colonization behind and then make an attempt for a real reboot.

Right. I count 16 sapient races in the trilogy, and twelve of them are bipedal. Of the 11 alien bipedal races, five are shown to be sexually compatible with humans. (Six if you think it could work with a batarian.) So what's the problem, again?

The only difference between weird for the sake of weird and weird for the sake of something is simply bothering to make that something. Want space dragons? Make a low gravity planet and put them there. The thought experiment is interesting by itself, and hell, who doesn't want to see space dragons, but now that we have space dragons, what kind of stories can we tell? What sort of cultural dilemmas can we face?

That's what sci-fi is: taking weird premises, building them a plausible framework, and hopefully providing unique insights because of it. Andromeda actively suppresses weird premises, so now we're left with an incredibly uninteresting framework that's bound to provide the same exact insights as the previous trilogy. This is why the BioWare trope chart is a problem: clearly, BioWare are capable of creating different stories, but they don't seem to be confident enough to make substantive changes to the core of their formula. I am tired of hearing the same old "put aside your racial differences!" and "work as a team!" themes in these games.

If BioWare aren't willing to make really weird aliens with really weird cultures, then that's all we're ever going to get: a retread of "hey, almost entirely compatible species of aliens, stop your superficial bickering and work together!" Frankly, I don't think we need to be told that anymore, unless BioWare have the balls to make more tangible connections to real world immigration, gentrification, identity politics, and ethno-nationalism (which they don't).

If nothing else can we not get something that looks cool? Is that too much to ask for?