I gotta say, Ryder is a nice contrast to Shepard....

Yea, I can agree to that, but to some it is a sign of being immature just as to some it's a coping mechanism ( I did say insecure too not just immature).


Without knowing him, his background I went with the possible immature as I know many that it's not a coping mechanism, it's they just don't want to grow up (hence one being a good friend).

But tha'ts just you.

The problem is the autodialogue and the game making you accept  that Ryder has an unchangeable snarky personaliy.

I just love this. Renegade femShep cracked me up.
but I think part of it is also Jennifer Hale's voice.
Ryder needs some edge but otoh I also get what people are saying about her being a kid.

Ryder lost his credit as an RPG protagonist in my eyes after he couldn't have an opinion on the fact that he became proto-synthesis creature after the prologue. Seriously after all the fuss the trilogy made about AI's and the game just glitches over it. At times it feels like the game is actively  trying to irritate those who didn't like the synthesis ending or the transhumanist propganda of ME3.

Favorite quote so far: "Well scan them back!"

Well - MEA does restrict the amount of self-insert you can do with the character.  The same is true of a lot of PCs to greater or lesser degrees.

I'm not keen on the idea of SAM, either, but accepted the invitation to play Ryder when I decided to buy the game.  I'm finding it... an interesting concept to explore.

Over the course of the game he grows or withers to be as stale as Inquisitor. His "all-in-one" role both to the plot and practically in-universe, makes him a Mary Sue protagonist that can only grow after the game is over if the scope of the plot grows even further out of proportions but as it is we already have a new larger-than-life plot with an all-looming threat and a hostile race which Ryder almost singlehandedly has to beat and he singlehandedly has to do literally everything for the Nexus it seems.

The only way he can grow as a character is if the plot becomes completely contrived and stupid. That's why you gotta be careful with that narrative design. They tried to find a way to make Ryder a "Shepard before Akuze" sort of guy but he's totally bottlenecked by his contrived Pathfinder role that happens before they even properly establish why a Pathfinder is important, how they work or anything really. Remember the walk on the Normandy in ME1 before Eden Prime? They used that to explain humanity's current standing and what Spectres are via Nihlus but it wasn't until the end of the Citadel, which is essentially the end of Eos in this game if you have to compare it structurally, where Shepard becomes a Spectre. Only AFTER the player has bumped into numerous encounters that create an idea of where humanity stands on the galactic stage and what people think of them, you're rewarded with the spectre status. You understand it well enough at that point to get what an awe-inspiring moment it is. Ryder becoming a pathfinder happens like "uh, okay??" really suddenly and all info we get is literally spoonfed to us via textboxes or Rydad talking about how proud he is about being a Pathfinder and the second you become Pathfinder the game just throws shit at you "look it's the Pathfinder! Look, that's Ryder!". Shepard also occasionally had his alliance and "survivor of akuze" status to make people recognize him.

Ryder just feels less believable and 100% more contrived to me.

Completely agree with many of you above. I love my Scott. I liked what one of you said, Shepherd felt like the means to tell an epic story, Ryder is a character you're also exploring.

Ryder is young, cocksure and goofy as hell. Or at least that's how he's ended up in my playthrough. Voice acting is superb and I genuinely enjoy most of the writing. It feels like lots of effort placed here, possibly at the expense of other squad members where some of the interactions are a little lacking.

I really hope they end up being protagonists in sequels. It feels nice to be with a character at the start of their journey, rather than landing towards the end and having to read backstory rather than live it.

I've just started a second playthrough, and couldn't bring myself to move onto Sara yet as still feels like there's more to see of Scott as a character.

Technically a little under 200 years, if we're going by the character's actual date of birth. The extra 600 years are pretty meaningless, because, you know, stasis. 

As for millennial douchebags, that's unpossible. The character would starve to death without a Chipotle or Dean & DeLuca to get food from. 

I know what my Shepard would do if she was in Ryder's shoe's. excellent

Since ME2 dlc days, dialogue have always been dumbing down. Heart just keeps growing. Really a shame. 

I should start remembering these one liners.