What's most important to you in a Mass Effect game?

I was going to vote Story & choices on impulse but then I stopped myself and thought about it for a moment. In all honesty, it's never been the overarching story that has "made" a Bioware game for me, it has always been the companions and the bond that I as a player develop with them. I can look past iffy story decisions if they give me characters that I either like or dislike, but at least elicit some kind of an emotional reaction from me.

So yeah, companions for me.

story, characters and environment

Alien punani

In a Mass Effect game, story was more important as I was stuck with Shepard for three games. Shepard was the constant; what happened around her was far more interesting and important. That...makes sense to me, I'm not sure it does outside of my own brain.

On the other hand, I thought DAI had a pretty dumb story with dumb choices but I love playing it cause I really enjoy the companions and dialogue. And running around, because I'm easily pleased by open worlds.

I don't think I can judge MEA based off of what I liked about the original trilogy, because judging one game against an entire trilogy isn't fair. I have to judge it against ME1, and it's story I feel is just as good as ME1 on a foundation level while missing some of the oomph and mystery of the original game. But if I judge it against other Bioware games, like how I love the companions of Dragon Age, I find it lacking. (That's actually pretty par for the course for Mass Effect - it took me nearly two games to warm up to Garrus and I've never been overly fond of Wrex or Tali because they were more info dumps than characters in their first game.)