Mass Effect Andromeda gets more details on squadmates

A new interview with Mass Effect: Andromeda creative director Mac Walters and producer Fabrice Condominas via Eurogamer reveals many new details on the ever hyped installment to the series. We've recently seen gameplay for Mass Effect: Andromeda, but this new salvo of information is focused on story and characters.

In the first gameplay trailer, we were introduced to a pirate-like settlement run by a character named Sloane Kelly. The settlement was set up by settlers from the Milky Way sent on the Andromeda mission. This gameplay trailer is revealed to be part of the central story. It's a possible outcome if things did not go so well for the arks as they traveled to the Andromeda system.

The Tempest, Andromeda's equivalent of the Normandy, has an AI named SAM. But SAM isn't just the new version of EDI, it has a much different relationship with the player character. For one, SAM is always with the player and was also previously connected to the main character's father, spanning the relationship further than just the game's timeline.

Walters reveals the existence of a cut squadmate. He explains that it wasn't because of dislike for the character, but because they were underdeveloped as a character. With the resurgence of loyalty missions and beefing up of general relationship dialogues, the team decided to trim the fat and focus on making the remaining characters that much more engaging. Walters did suggest however that the cut character wasn't completely dropped off the drawing board and could reappear in a further game, book or comic. He also revealed that more characters could show up before Mass Effect: Andromeda 2, alluding to some story-based DLC.

Lastly, a release date was surprisingly left out of the interview,  but Condominas assures readers that the announcement will come when the team is "100 percent confident it can go to a certification on a certain date." and that they're focusing on quality. It's likely they don't want to push back any dates and for Andromeda to be the best it can be. Although Amazon may have given us a launch window by accident, it isn't official.

[Eurogamer]