Mass Effect: Andromeda is a title I've long felt conflicted about. On the one hand, I do feel that the general hubbub about the animation issues at launch was largely overblown, and I am invested enough in this new setting to want to know what happens next. At the same point, changes to gameplay like the Profile system and the removal of Paragon/Renegade have been a mixed bag, and the core narrative itself is both weaker than those of the original trilogy and bogged down by the open world drudgery. It's an experience made all the more frustrating by the fact that, unlike Dragon Age: Inquisition, this isn't a truly terrible game. There's the foundation of something solid here, and to not see it come to fruition is a real shame.

Still, if nothing else, I have been inspired to write some stuff set after the events of the main Andromeda story, so consider this a small appetizer for some future stories. This codex entry will be one of many I plan to eventually post here, and it's been a neat little writing exercise putting them together, as it both scratches my wargaming fix and helps keep writer's block at bay.

So, yeah, I'm still at it. Dealing with some personal stuff I hope to lick in the next little while, and stressed out by the pandemic, as you might expect, but alive and kicking all the same. Hope you enjoy, and let me know what you think!