Mass Effect Andromeda: 10 New Gameplay Features That Will Change Everything

Back in 2007, Mass Effect’s conversation wheel was a ground-breaking mechanic. Essentially a streamlined version of traditional RPG dialogue trees, the system allowed for player choice without sacrificing voice acting, making Shepard feel like more of an authentic character than a lot of silent RPG protagonists.

Fast-forward ten years, and it almost seems old hat, since every series from Deus Ex to Fallout, and even BioWare’s Dragon Age, have co-opted the feature.

While Andromeda looks to be keeping the wheel more or less intact, it’s scrapped the concept of a Paragon/Renegade binary. Instead, Andromeda’s conversations will be based on a system of agreeing or disagreeing, with four different tones – Heart, Head, Professional and Casual – available to the player.

Interrupting actions will still be featured, and will hopefully be accompanied by some Shepard-esque one-liners.

This is a novel idea on paper. Binary morality systems do feel rather quaint in this day and age – BioWare claims that the move away from Paragons and Renegades is a means of introducing more morally ambiguous choices and plot threads.

In an interview with Official Xbox Magazine, the game’s creative director Mac Walters said that it'll be a return to “that more traditional role-playing sort of feeling, which is less about ‘Do I want to be good or bad,’ and more about ‘How do I want to express myself.'”