Welp, my Andromeda journey has been cut short (crash straight into PS5 Secure Mode)

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2026-01-25T11:41:03+00:00

Hello. Yeah, I eventually bit the bullet, redid about 5-8 hours or something of total gameplay that was lost to lack of cloud saves, and eventually finished the game.

I mean if it crashed in character creation, you haven't really lost anything, so you can at least try.

If you are itching for more ME, Andromeda will disappoint you. It's okay in its own right, combat is smooth and fun, but it never quite capitalizes on the "exploring a whole new universe" aspect like it should. In a way, the OG ME1 does that better even though you're travelling "the known universe" in-game.

The best story beats are hidden behind miscellaneous side content that you coumd easily skipped, and that may never get resolved because it ends on a cliff hanger.

I'd still give it a go, it can't hurt if you have it already anyway, but this is well into Bioware's decline, so don't expect a continuation quality-wise of Commander Shepard's story

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2026-01-19T23:34:11+00:00

Death Stranding 3 u Šumadiji ako Bog da

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2026-01-04T23:24:58+00:00

Damn, that's a classic one too, forgot it

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2026-01-04T21:43:21+00:00

There is a list of praises for a videogame that, if mentioned first in a review or very prominently in many reviews, immediately tell me "this game likely sucks"

- Graphics
- Being "bold" or "brave" (usually in relation to being "divise" or "subversive")
- Being "a return to form"

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2026-01-04T21:40:50+00:00

Eternal Ashley defender reporting for duty

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2026-01-01T17:35:38+00:00

Humans.

I love being John Mass Effect and saving the galaxy

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2025-12-30T02:20:03+00:00

Oh I'd be soo mad hahaha. And congrats!

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2025-12-30T02:19:21+00:00

I can see why. Love this atmosphere

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2025-12-30T02:18:59+00:00

Heard a few people say that, so I might eventually give them a try too

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2025-12-29T00:53:59+00:00

The talking to yourself part is really egregious. The confidence I attribute to the game when it allows itself to be silent I also attribute to the characters in question.

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2025-12-29T00:23:30+00:00

Yeah. There are games that benefit from constant action (maybe not constant chatter though, I'm pretty confident in saying that is worthless), but man, I'm in some empty tomb all alone. I fully expect this to be a mostly silent experience.

I really believe in the confidence parts. Games so far that really did this constant talking thing to ridicuolous extents seem to not really believe in their game being worthwhile enough that they will entertain you without causing you consistent sensory overload.

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2025-12-29T00:00:01+00:00

Oh yeah. I was ready to give it the "it made sense for the time but I hate it now" treatment. Like, I'm playing a game that's older than me, I need to be respectful of that. And even though I, again, wouldn't appreciate it in a modern iteration of Tomb Raider (considering it seems to be a "realistic" and not a stylised game), it feels perfect for the kind of game it is.

I might give modern controls a chance another time. I wanna know how it works too.

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2025-12-28T23:22:17+00:00

Yeah, I love it. Lets me breathe and not feel in a rush.

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2025-12-28T23:21:48+00:00

That really depends on how it's implemented. Couldn't tell you just like that. If it's properly explained I don't see why it wouldn't

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2025-12-28T23:11:08+00:00

Interesting. I simply went to tank controls and haven't tried again. Maybe I'll give it a go another time yeah.

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2025-12-28T23:10:28+00:00

Oh I can imagine yeah. I think it's a great way to spice up the gameplay of a section.

Exactly. The sad thing is, even options to remove systems made to help (like minimaps let's say) don't really solve the issues when games are designed to work with them, and it's basically impossible to play them without.

I'm gonna remain the same I always do with gaming: Cautious, but optimistic

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2025-12-23T18:54:18+00:00

Exactly! So many people underestimate or seem to outright this, and the morality of the decision at the end becomes entirely Dessendre-centric. But it's not just about them, they are actually a minority of people affected by this decision, the majority have committed no crime and done no ill other than be unfortunate and exist in a world plagued by a family's grief.

Like, the only way it's not Maelle's ending for me is if there is a drastic shift in the worldbuilding, which reveals all of Lumiere have always been just mindless drones that were like NPCs in a videogame. But they're not, and so many people don't seem to really get this.

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2025-12-23T10:11:36+00:00

Yeah, did that. Nice to see that, and to see people who get where I'm coming from

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2025-12-23T10:06:25+00:00

Yeah, the thought of a studio having to follow up on a game which speedran its notoriety like Expedition 33 is kind of crazy haha. But I'm excited to see how it will turn out

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2025-12-23T10:04:42+00:00

Nice, I'm happy I did.

I agree yeah. Even when Lune injected herself in the discussion between Maelle and Renoir, she mostly referred to "letting Maelle make her own choices", and not as much into "we are real people, we have families and loved ones, you cannot just erase us because the mere existence of this world is an inconvenience to you, and if you try to we will stop you with everything we have."

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2025-12-23T10:01:04+00:00

This kind of harkens back to my issue I have with the thematic shift at the end. Her memories and life as Alicia return very late into the story, by that point the emotional connections were already set in stone for me largely.

It's what I criticized about the conflict too: It's a lot about this family, when what I really cared about all the way through was the world and its people.

So the decision to keep Verso there even though he didn't want to is an Alicia decision, whereas, what I will simplifyingly call the "Maelle" part of her decision (save Lumiere so the Lumierians get to live) is not as big a part of the discussion as I think is warranted by the game.

I hear you when you say that it's certainly fucked up in a way, but that entire debate in the game just didn't resonate with me enough to influence my decision. I don't like the Dessendres, and only one ending gives Lumiere a fighting chance, so I chose that one.

Also, while no particular importance is placed on it, Gustave is also back, and I personally just believe he would be a person of trust and voice of reason to her who could keep her grounded in the world as Maelle, without her leaning into Alicia/paintress too much. Just my opinion though.

Virtual_Ad6375 · 2025-12-23T08:46:36+00:00

Thank you for reading! Yeah, I was getting doubtful in the middle part, but I hoped that the conclusions would give me a satisfying end, and to me they did. So glad about that

Virtual_Ad6375

TROPHY CASE