How 'alien' is Mass Effect Andromeda going to be?

Honestly, the consumers are to blame here. I mean, look at this forum, how many threads do you see about romance bullshit, and how many threads do you see about the intricacies of lore?

People are bending backwards in a bewildering display of fanatic fanboyism to explain and defend every illogical decision connected to the design of ME:A,
as long as there's guns banging and MP it looks like most of the crowd is happy.

3 active abilities restriction? Meh, who cares. Tempest designed by space hippies? Yeah, that makes perfect sense.
Even the reasoning for going to Andromeda at all is not something they bothered to explain sufficiently.

I agree for the most part.

Still, I have to wonder why the Lore in Dragon Age seems to be more robust than the Mass Effect Lore.

Obviously, they didn't seem to care much about the established lore when they occasionally decided that they had to make whatever point,
but overall, the history of the world, the lore about magic, religion, the Elves, Tevintar, it all seems to be more in depth than the Mass Effect lore.

In Mass Effect different species of aliens are usually the classical "Planet of Hats" trope (for a large part at least), while in DA there's always more beneath the surface.

And I say this despite the fact that at this point I feel somewhat fatigued and disillusioned with the whole DA IP.

It's possible I suppose, but I suspect that they wouldn't bother.

There's also a difference between a real explanation that makes sense and justifies such a monumental undertaking (like a way to survive in the face of a possible Reaper attack) and an excuse.

I've always wondered about this. I'm a science fiction die hard fan, so if there's two games to choose that I don't know anything about, one from sci-fi and the other fantasy, I'll always choose sci-fi first. I'm not a big fan of the fantasy genre.

It happened to me with Mass Effect and Dragon Age too.

And to be honest, the lore of Dragon Age impressed me so much more. There was a point I've wondered how could there be a discrepancy so big between the two IPs from the same company, even if there are different writing teams.

Just to think about all the things they've come up with on DA: Darkspawn, blights, wars that happened and still had big effects on the present, the Black City, elves, dwarves, Grey Wardens, the religion, all the things with the Evanuris, Titans, man, it's so rich! Orlais, Ferelden, Tevinter, Par Vollen. You can expand that world (and to be honest, we're still in the dark about so much, like the human and qunari origins, all that exists beyond Thedas) and it just makes you wanting more.

Mass Effect created a very powerful lore too at first, the mystery, the races that came before, all the species in the galaxy with thousands of years to expand to the stars. You were actually fighting the Council's most powerful spectre (the best of the best) in the first game, where you practically didn't know anything about that galaxy. You felt like you really were a nobody in this much bigger scope of species, dealing with people so much more knowledgeable and powerful than you.

Then you prove yourself at the end of the game and in the second it all turned human centric. We were the big deal, in everything. We were suddenly incorporated into the system in a way that just seem displaced from the first game.

In the third one, it got even worse: suddenly Cerberus is one of the major threats for ALL SPECIES. Like there wouldn't be some asari, turian, or salarian dark organizations with a lot more resources and time to do more damage, since they are living in the stars for more than 2500 years.

I disagree with this. While ME2 and ME3 went further ahead in the human focus, humans were special compared to the others species in the current cycle from the start. No other species had the fast, incredible leap humanity had, not only from a technological standpoint, but on the political scale as well. Their embassy, Spectre (which first candidate happened actually only a few years after joining the galactic community) and Council seat achievements are unheard of before.
Their military shown to be able to stand on the same level of turians, at least in quality, and they developed to become the fourth military power of the galaxy. They developed with the turians one of the most advanced ship of the galaxy. The game ended with the Alliance saving the Citadel and the galaxy.

Their feat before and in ME were extraordinary, and clearly shown how special humanity was, both in game and from the writers' perspectives. The following games might've gone further, but the mindset was already there.

I've always wondered about this. I'm a science fiction die hard fan, so if there's two games to choose that I don't know anything about, one from sci-fi and the other fantasy, I'll always choose sci-fi first. I'm not a big fan of the fantasy genre.

It happened to me with Mass Effect and Dragon Age too.

And to be honest, the lore of Dragon Age impressed me so much more. There was a point I've wondered how could there be a discrepancy so big between the two IPs from the same company, even if there are different writing teams.

Just to think about all the things they've come up with on DA: Darkspawn, blights, wars that happened and still had big effects on the present, the Black City, elves, dwarves, Grey Wardens, the religion, all the things with the Evanuris, Titans, man, it's so rich! Orlais, Ferelden, Tevinter, Par Vollen. You can expand that world (and to be honest, we're still in the dark about so much, like the human and qunari origins, and all that exists beyond Thedas) and it just leave you wanting more.

Mass Effect created a very powerful lore too at first, the mystery, the races that came before, all the species in the galaxy with thousands of years to expand to the stars. You were actually fighting the Council's most powerful spectre (the best of the best) in the first game, where you practically didn't know anything about that galaxy; Saren was the guy you couldn't do anything but respect, an enemy so much more compelling than, say, the Illusive Man (who is just a creepy reclusive who thinks he's cool). Saren was there in the frontlines too, knowing what it takes to get the job done. You felt like you really were a nobody in this much bigger scope of species, dealing with people so much more knowledgeable and powerful than you.

Then you prove yourself at the end of the game and in the second it all turned human centric. We were the big deal, in everything. We were suddenly incorporated into the system in a way that just seem displaced from the first game.

In the third one, it got even worse: suddenly Cerberus is one of the major threats for ALL SPECIES. Like there wouldn't be some asari, turian, or salarian dark organizations with a lot more resources and time to do more damage than this 30 years old annoyance; You'd think something would've come up, since they are space worthy for more than 2500 years.

I agree that Mass Effect had a steady "humanization" of the setting as the series moved on, but I felt that Dragon Age was just as guilty in it's titles as well. Just look at the first game and it's expansion and compare it to the latest release: 

In DA:O/A you had near human level intelligent dogs in the form of Mabari, ancient Golems, Sylvans, Werewolves, Darkspawn with an eerie amount of sentience despite being thralls to the Archdemon. The Awakened with their alien view of things, various demons and spirits that would talk to the player and try to entice them with deals or trap them with tricks. You had dragons with an uncanny amount of cunning and wherewithal to allow things like cults to approach them and care for there young and offer free food. Etc.

Flash forward to DA:I and practically all of that nuance is gone. Marbari are just dumb not-wolves you slaughter by the pack. Golems and Werewolves are nowhere to be seen, and Sylvans are barely referenced in some stupid Plants vs. Zombies easter egg. Darkspawn are just mindless monsters, and no acknowledgement is given to the Awakened, and their possible connection with or usefulness against Corephyeus. All the spirits and demons you encounter are just mindless monsters to kill, with the minor exception of Cole (who's more of a human anyway) the one in the templar quest (though its more one-sided monologuing) and the one demon broker. No talking to the Fear demon, who has been feeding off of the collective emotions of Thedas for who knows how long, no speaking with Pride Demons, despite them being the closest to humanity in their intelligence and personality. Dragons are now reduced to big bears with wings and a breath weapon. Etc. 

Flash forward to DA:I and practically all of that nuance is gone. Marbari are just dumb not-wolves you slaughter by the pack. Golems and Werewolves are nowhere to be seen, and Sylvans are barely referenced in some stupid Plants vs. Zombies easter egg. Darkspawn are just mindless monsters, and no acknowledgement is given to the Awakened, and their possible connection with or usefulness against Corephyeus. All the spirits and demons you encounter are just mindless monsters to kill, with the minor exception of Cole (who's more of a human anyway) the one in the templar quest (though its more one-sided monologuing) and the one demon broker. No talking to the Fear demon, who has been feeding off of the collective emotions of Thedas for who knows how long, no speaking with Pride Demons, despite them being the closest to humanity in their intelligence and personality. Dragons are now reduced to big bears with wings and a breath weapon. Etc. 

Yes, I agree. Things in DA got a little dumbed down too to some things they already established, but they pushed forward in other aspects and expanded their lore to new levels.




However, yes, it was a little frustrating to just proceed to Rift A and destroy all demons, then proceed to Rift B. And it's true that it was frustrating the lack of mention to Awakening DLC and the future of the darkspawn, yes.

Considering you are fighting THE most powerful darkspawn ever found (which you've already defeated in a previous game) and the fact that he controls demons instead of, you know, darkspawn, was a little weird, and not touched in the plot. I feel Dragon Age is expanding their lore incredibly but, it's true, not touching so much their previous creatures or settings.

Mass Effect however, it seemed to be to have shrank. They created so many awesome races and a especially interesting setting, but failed to explore them more positively. We got stuck with humanity. Imagine to expand the lore of turians and their military culture, what being part of a society that demands and expects everyone in their roles to be. What problems could that cause, a new cult? A separatist movement? Another war?

Or the salarians with their vast spy and intelligence network; They were experimenting with the yahg, for Christ's sake! What more could we eventually discover?

The asari got their lore expanded a little with the whole Ardat Yakshi and "the Prothean Experiment" (I still laugh at that), I admit. 

That would've been a lot cooler than "Humanity first and foremost", solving all problems and being all problems since the second game.
But I may be being a little harsh with it, since this was a "Humanity's ascension" story. Still, I got frustrated with the way the aliens were treated in the trilogy. They just seemed (since ME2) to be there to show how humanity was glorious. They became secondary.

Fighting Saren was, and still is, to me, one of the best things in Mass Effect. Not the Illusive Bitch, which suddenly appeared in the series and became the central point of all plots (even from the past).

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For traveling all the way to another galaxy Andromeda sure feels familiar, everything is readily understandable and only those aliens which are human-like are featured. Even villainous species like the Khet are noted for their human-esque faces and ability to showcase empathy and emotion. 

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