Eurogamer's Andromeda Ending Analysis April 24, 2017

Yep, a lot of stories waiting to be told. I really hope to see the Meridian as the new hub, and venture into kett' space. I also wonder if Angara and Remnant story is a result of the sci fi suggestion that the most potentially successful way to explore space is to build machines that are capable of self-repair, resource harvesting and self-propagation, and building Angara recreates the Jaarden that are many galaxies away and way in the unreachable past...

Good article.

I really like how the game feels open after it's ended, but there are some threads that i strongly dislike the episodic nature of.

The ones I like:
- The Quarian ark
- Reyes (kill me now)
- Tempest and co.
- Meridian
- Family Mystery
- The Kett (as much as I don't care)

The ones I dislike
- The Scourge
- Jien Garson

The ones I like are for obvious reasons. They all reach a point of having a stinger and you want to know where they could take that. The family mystery is a reveal, the Meridian is a big change for the entire premise so a pretty good conclusion to Andromeda 1's plot really. Sloane and the Carpy-Shenanigan-whatever subplot was resolved as far as "stability on Kadara" goes and we're waiting for a further plot to address the Return of Reyes.

The ones I don't like is because they're so unresolved and one is almost entirely self-serving it's just bad and comes across as a slap in the face to me for paying for a story that teases both parts as its premise. What they tried to do with the Scourge is akin to what they tried to do with the Reapers. The difference is we have no fucking clue what the Scourge is compared to how the entire Reaper reveal came about in ME1. The Scourge is almost a form of "evil Mass Relay network" in a weird sense. It's all there but we don't have that reveal anywhere in the game that explains where it really came from other than maybe some vague mention about something-something scourge with the Meridian AI. This was not something the game should leave as unanswered as it was in the opening mission all the way to the end. Huge, huge mistake.

The second one, which is entirely self-serving is Jien's murder subplot. You don't open a mystery by revealing how someone got murdered and then pretend that's a sub-conclusion. This is the worst kind of sequel bait they have ever done. Eventually I'm sure it can turn out to be interesting but it came across as "we made a mystery but we don't know how to answer it yet, so there it is". It makes Andromeda feel episodic and I don't like that. DLC can be an episodic form of extension of the main game but you should never leave the main conclusion of the core game feeling like it's just an episode and the Jien subplot comes across in that way.

I'll just feel cranky handing out 15$ for Episode 2 of the Jien Garson Murder Mystery and I also dislike the idea of buying Andromeda 2 now just knowing it may just leave some threads set up in its respective beginnings completely unanswered to be addressed by DLC or Andromeda 3. It's not like ME2 where the plot went off the rails for a weird self-contained middle act because it's not as if ME2's premise seemed to promise answering anything about the Reapers. What ME2's ending was to its premise is everything it set out to answer. Jien's murder was teased so early on in this game I thought for sure it would tie into the Family Mystery or the main plot but it turned out that so far it's neither and it was just a random murder by "who could it be? CERBERUS?" for no god damned reason until BioWare finds out a retcon-esque explanation for it in a sequel.

ME:A has the ignominious distinction of going first and setting the stage for the next act. I think there are something things this game could have done much better (endless fetch quests, removal of the battle wheel, menu navigation setup, bugs, lazy animations, making the Archon look a bit more intimidating and less like an angry plushy doll). However, the remaining base is pretty solid. By the end Bioware has created an interesting setup (Ryders, SAM, Benefactor, Jaardan, Heleus as a whole) now it's up to the writers to follow through. It has shades of a much bigger mystery like Dragon Age. Right now, I like where the overall story is going. I'm hoping Bioware as a whole has the talent (and the balls) to take risks and create a memorable story.

Nice article, thanks for sharing! They hit on alot of stuff I agree with (mainly the idea that the Jaardan were potentially AI and that their enemy was another faction of the Jaardan rather than a whole other race).

I hope they really dig into the alternate story threads in the next game. I need closure, damn it!!!

I do sense DLC in this one. Just reminds me of the Solas reveal, even though plot-wise it isn't alike. But it feels like a plant to set up the last piece of DLC that will act as a second ending, just like Trespasser.

Can easily see Reyes being involved, too. Done well, I'd fork out for it. ME DLCs have been some of the best content, after all.

Yeah, there were clues for not only Solas but also for Blackwall. The clues for their respective reveals became more obvious in hindsight but some saw them before then. Most importantly, the clues were there. If Cora does turn out to be a double agent, I wouldn't consider it to have been foreshadowed at all and it wouldn't feel like a good twist.

In the epilogue, Cora's words aren't too clear (thus ambiguous, intentional or not).  She talks about Meridian as a new "cradle for humanity" and then she envisions working until "we're at the top of the mountain."  Interesting choice of words, again, whether or not intentional.  Does she mean humanity will succeed in their new home, or could it be that she's ambiguously suggesting that humanity will be superior to all others?  The writers could interpret it either way if they so choose.

I could see Cora running away from TIM and thus (so far secretly) on the run from Cerberus.  Or, it could be she's aware of Cerberus, thought she made it clear that she didn't want anything to do with them, but gets pursued as a high value target by Cerberus in the next game or DLC.

Another scenario could be that she is indeed deep cover.  I noticed Bane Massani mentioned "aesthetics" in his side quest as to why he intends to wipe out Kett.  Sounds a bit like Khan from Star Trek.  Then there's the mysterious Reyes.  I could see a scenario in which multiple or perhaps all three are actually Cerberus.  That would be thrilling, in my view, as Reyes and Bane in particular are very intriguing and have solid voice actors and characterization.  Cora seems professional and sweet, so her heel turn would be a fair twist.  Then again, she could end up like the VS from ME2 and go distant/antagonistic without being an actual villain.

What I'm saying is, Cora's path could offer far more depth as to intrigue should the writers care to take her in that direction.  At this point, she seems like the character who has the most potential to change everyone's perspective a la BSG: The Plan.  Not sure if Bio's writers care, though, or if they have the skill to pull that off.  They may prefer to keep her vanilla and merely a wannabe Asari.  :/