1.09 as the release version

I think the reception would have been a little better, but I don't think it would have shifted a lot. There are still plenty of things in the game that I think people would have latched on to complain about, they just wouldn't have had the facial animations for it. The other thing is I doubt everything that was done to the game post launch in patches would have been thought of, things like the character creator or the third m/m romance were tied directly to what people were indicating were problems.

The whiners who wanted nothing but to whine about the game wouldn't have done anything differently, and the pandering hacks in gaming journalism wouldn't have done anything differently.

While in some parts it may look better, but even at release it was 8.5/10 for me. Patch 1.09 would make it a 8.9/10.

There would have been less memes as @upupaway95 said. However, it would have been like an 8 (critically) vs a 7; which isn't that much better. There are times I wish mainstream reviewers did like a year later reviews. This is a case where something like that would help MEA.

My issues with the game (even though I had a fun time with it) go beyond the animation or, at least, they go beyond what BioWare's done so far with the animation. While I could simply direct you to my rather long analysis of the game (and I still left out things related to the UI), I'll try to summarize.

There are certain things you cannot fix without a major overhaul. These include, but are not limited to, dialogue and agency, both of which rely heavily on the writing. At multiple times throughout the game I stared in disbelief when certain (logical) dialogue options were never presented, or when my character said something that was supposed to be one thing (according to the chosen trait) and turned out to be another. Decisions are sometimes forced upon you when it makes no sense, and taken away from you when it does. You have a lot of influence and political power when the story wants you to... but none when you want to.

The "open-world" feeling of Andromeda hinders the narrative more than it helps it. It makes sense that the world should feel vast when your prime directive is to explore Heleus looking for a new home. However, it does not when you're racing against time to stop the Archon from laying waste to everyone in Heleus. There is no time to go planet-hopping collecting plant samples for Dr. Camden. Controlling the flow of the narrative is important, something BioWare obviously understands at some level as evidenced, for instance, by their use of radiation on Eos.

One final point I'd like to bring up is how inconsequential opening cryo pods feels. AVP is a carbon-copy of Inquisition's Influence system and another stubborn refusal to use it to make the world more reactive. Wake up military personnel? Set up better defenses on outposts or encounter patrols hunting the wildlife. Thaw a couple of Salarian scientists? Maybe you'll unlock research into better weapons and armour. Want more traders? You may soon see your outposts become a hub of trade activity with new vendors and visitors from across Heleus.

There are just some things you cannot patch...

You're back, Fluffy?

A lot of youtubers and various other clickbaiters would have a lot less money.

Some of their proponents continue to promote their crap.

...

If the product was released at 1.09, then BioWare's image and the reception of Andromeda would be wholly different. The lazy, click-bait YouTube community wouldn't have the ammunition to post an easy-to-mock scene! You would hear a lot of the serious media talking about the writing and the delivery of lines. It would've garnered an eight (and that's not an exaggeration. I know my patreon recipients.) just like the Q/A imagined. Many of the harshest critics didn't even bother with Andromeda with full analysis: they just took the recycled videos already made and summarized it like this: "I told you it was going to suck. EA, thank you for the most profitable March ever."

The banter between party member is just as good as Inquisition which won GOTY. The graphics and gameplay are an improvement (with baffling regression in some aspects) over the trilogy, but that's not as funny as the duck walk or the duck lips. The plot is pretty weak at times and that isn't anything new (looking at you Mac and your whole "make diversity" by ending it schtick. Synthesis is stupid... ACCEPT THAT.) with Mr. Walters. Absolutely no polish was given and we know why: 18 months (+2 after launch) was all the time given to make Andromeda. That's not hyperbole. That's fact.

Bottom line: EA doesn't care about image or reputation. The only thing that mattered is making good on investor's confidence. That's it. In other words, EA's CEO, Financial Officer and Marketing "bigwigs" are complete morons who put money before the art because they're completely ineffective at speaking to investors and explaining the issue. They let BioWare take it on the chin (because the scope and direction can only be done at BioWare's level and rightly so) instead of protecting a golden goose that miscalculated or made horrible choices. I hate EA. EA = Enthusiasm Annihilated. They're unoriginal, they chase trends that aren't fully investigated, they spend millions on advertising (only to look like con artists: did you think you were original by copying the Division's reveal tactics? You're a waste of payroll.) and have a reputation that only the mafia would want.

The blame for the product is BioWare. The blame for the release is on EA. Both are the same. They screwed up, endangered jobs and knocked their own reputations harder than any YouTuber can ever do. That's it. Argue my points, but that is my perspective. That's what I saw and I have the memes, the videos (going back a whole year and EA did nothing.) and the scores. Most of the reviews are parroted from other reviews because the hate is real, but EA doesn't think it's exists or think it's exaggerated.

(New thread coming after I talk to the mods for guidance).

By the way, I would've added a poll Vonuber. I wanted to do this since playing 1.09, but I needed more personal time on the title to be confident on what I was saying.

Yes, absolutely...no question

GOTY contender. Easy. No stretch of the imagination whatsoever. You know... after seeing Inquisition's DLC and patch 1.09... I know BioWare is capable of making great art, but just reread what I just said. Every title is judged at launch with a hype window that gets milked for about two months. After that, it's onto the new and current stuff. I heard nothing worthwhile from EA about Inquisition's DLC and I didn't think Inquisition deserved GOTY as a vanilla product. No way. I strongly disagree. A game not on the Frostbite canvas was vastly better, but it didn't suit me. It wasn't until I played all of the DLC that showed me that despite the gripes I had about it, I interacted with the art and the canvas for a ridiculous amount of hours on this tired rig. Andromeda is my GOTY once it arrives on the new rig. I don't see anything that remotely interests me down the stretch until 2018. Still waiting on Star Citizen by then as well.