Anyone else think Horizon might impact MEA's review scores negatively?

Don't have a PS4 - exclusives are problematic.

Doesn't look like anything to me...

I dunno. I've been playing since midnight and it's pretty amazing so far.  Best looking game I've ever played overall, combat is insanely fun, intense, and rewarding (I think they've improved the melee combat too for the release), Leveling up has been fun (just as in depth as any other action RPG), the crafting is fun (not tedious), and the voice acting and facial animations are great (animations better than anything in Mass Effect OT).  I am surprised to see the common, uncommon, rare, legendary, exotic in this game for weapons, armor, and mods.  The armor sets, weapons, and mods are just as detailed as Mass Effect 3 except you choose full armor sets instead of separate pieces (The armor sets do upgrade to rare, legendary, etc allowing for more mods).

I was really hyped for Horizon as much I'm hyped for Mass Effect, and I'm still constantly finding myself saying "holy shit, that was awesome!" or "this is so cool".  I also came into this game thinking Aloy would be kind of boring.  Without spoiling anything, she's surprises me a lot.  Maybe people will call her "Mary Sue" but I guess she reminds me of a Jyn Erso type character.  Naive but strong.  Awkward but sharp and cunning and sometimes a smart ass.  

I dunno, I've barely played the game as I'm taking it slow, but I'm impressed.  There even times when I pick a dialogue option (Heart, Hand, or Brain) and that choice has come back and helped me or haunted me later in the game.  Element Zero , I think you're going to really like it.

If Mass Effect is similar in certain ways, I don't think it will harm the review or the experience.  I'll gladly play it again in mass effect.     

Come back to me in a month when you aren't blinded by hype and fanboyism. There's always a cooling period for new games when you actually realize whether they are good or not. Again, I don't think it's a bad game, but I don't think it's amazing either. From all the features and content it provides, it's just another decent open world game with a slightly different setting. You may want to look at the Brom video, because the voice acting and animations definitely aren't better than the Mass Effect OT lol.

My problem with HZD is it doesn't really do anything new. It took half of its features from the Far Cry series, alone. I like open world games that truly innovate on the genre, and it doesn't do that. From the reviews I read on the game, it was specifically stated the story was lackluster and many characters are outright laughable. It's definitely not BioWare or CDPR quality storytelling from everything I read, but to each his own.

Personally, I hope there are no similarities between the two. I want Mass Effect Andromeda to actually be a Mass Effect game. Not a generic open world game with a Mass Effect skin. So far, it looks like Andromeda is taking the best ideas from ME1, ME2, and ME3, while throwing in some new concepts. Anyways, I'm glad you are enjoying the game, at least for now. HZD to me just isn't worth the attention and I doubt many will be talking about it months down the line.

I don't think it will matter much, unless ME:A is notably worse.

Having said that, I somehow need to... not stay up all night and play HZD, if they release it at midnight.

Stupid work

I was disappointed to learn the main character was fixed, but it won't be an issue.

I'm not calling you a fanboy, directly. I'm referring to the hype and anticipation around the game. It's a similar situation with Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. That is a good game, but it's not the amazing spectacle everybody was making it out to be. It also, like HZD, got a lot of insanely high scores from the gaming media and was considered a masterpiece. Now? People realize it was a mediocre to decent pseudo-open world game with a largely silly story. My impression is HZD will largely follow that same path after it has become stale after a few weeks to a few months.

The Witcher 3 definitely did do something new... It successfully combined BioWare, choice-driven storytelling into a Bethesda-type open world experience. That had never been done before, and CDPR set a new standard for open world RPGs. Not to mention, that game has the best side quest content you'll ever find in any RPG. That game was truly innovative in its ambition and scope.

From my perspective, HZD and TW3 aren't even in the same category. That goes for Mass Effect Andromeda as well. It looks like a quality new IP that could potentially become something great after a few games. With this initial showing, it just relies on too many generic open world staples and there are some issues with the game (animations and VA as I already pointed out). The Brom situation might not be everywhere, but it shows inconsistency.

Reviews score? No.

Sales numbers? Maybe.

I guess it depends on the game.

IIRC The Witcher 2 got rave reviews and I couldn't stand the damn thing, while both Fable 2 and Fable 3 I think got mixed and low reviews respectfully but I did enjoy both them quite a lot. Now some of it is also the general hype surrounding the game like the rare deluxe ultra super-duper hype for both The Witcher 3 and No Man's Sky really turned me off from both games even if I were interested in playing them, which FTR I'm not interested in either one. One got raves and the other got low-to-mixed reviews and I still don't give a damn about either one.

However games that are hyped but not to the moon (or if they are but I can avoid the rare deluxe ultra super-duper hype like the fucking plague) like Fallout 4 and  Torment: Tides of Numenera then I MIGHT be more inclined to buy them sight unseen. FTR I just did buy Torment: Tides of Numenera for the Xbox One.

Some games like the recent Tomb Raider reboots, Transformers: Devastation, Saints Row IV, Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and Mass Effect: Andromeda I buy because I'm a fan of these franchises and/or the companies making them. Now it doesn't mean I'll buy every Tomb Raider game that continues from the reboot but I will be more inclined to give it more of a chance than something like that Cyberpunk game from CCPR (or whatever they're called), because of the huge disappointment that I got from The Witcher 2. First impressions are important and CCPR didn't made a lousy first impression on me so I'm far less inclined to try games from them however the same was true with Dontnod with the visual impressive but kind of boring Remember Me but a good friend of mine highly recommended Life is Strange: Season 1 to me and I was truly blown away by it. So if some people I know and trust recommend Cyberpunk then I MIGHT give it a chance provided I'm in a position to afford the game.
 
In the end all I can say is that while it's nice to play games that have great reviews but at the end of the only review that matters to me is MINE and MINE ALONE. I stopped caring about review scores, critical acclaim and critical scorn, and other people's opinions a long time ago. If they don't like something I do like then it's their lost not mine.

I think you are missing the point. The Witcher 3 combined non-linear, choice-driven, storytelling with a vast true open world game. That, as I already indicated, had never been done before. Anything else you are referring to is superficial and trivial in comparison to that huge feat and achievement.

As I said, most of what you just stated are features in Far Cry. You don't kill robot dinosaurs, but there is plenty of wildlife to kill. You clime towers to unlock the map. You infiltrate plenty of enemy camps. You collect plants in order to craft items. Nothing of what HZD is doing is remotely new in terms of open world mechanics, which is why I don't find the game very compelling.

Day/Night cycles with dynamic weather systems also aren't new to open world games. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind was doing that in 2002. As I said, I'm glad you are enjoying the game. For me, having played as many open world games as I have over the years, it's something I don't have a lot of interest in. It would be a game I'd pick up on discount and play long after its release.

Either way, I think MEA is going to crush HZD. It may not get the same kind of glowing reviews, but I would bet money MEA will be the better game by a landslide.

Edit: To comment about Breath of the Wild, you are right it's not all that original when compared to other open world games. However, Nintendo is putting a unique spin on the open world space in a way only Zelda could. Shrines, which are essentially mini-dungeons, are dispersed throughout Hyrule. The unique and interesting approach to weapon decay and the inability to actually repair items, which I don't think any other open world RPG has done.

The unique horse-training simulation and even the impact that weather has on Link. Cold environments require you to wear heavier clothes. Lightning requires you to unequip any metallic items for fear of being struck. Lightning can also cause wildfires, apparently. There are just a lot of unique systems in that game that Nintendo is combining to really put an interesting spin on a lot of open world mechanics.

At least 60% of Andromeda's sales will be on PS4. Make no mistake H:ZD and ME:A share a huge portion of the same audience.

NPD, VGChartz sales data for just about every mainstream release for at least the past two years.