Mass Effect Andromeda Story Recap: 10 Major Plot Points You Need To Know

2. Your First Encounter With Archon Happens Early

In both cinematic trailers, Archon plays a relatively prominent role, serving as the catalyst for much of the Andromeda Initiative members' troubles. Combined with the character setup of Archon being "a master of his game," it seems that he will be an especially formidable foe. It also seems that the game will waste no time in introducing you to him.

In the first trailer, he shows up at the end to grab Ryder by the throat as he has seemingly neutralized each member of the Andromeda team. In the second trailer, Ryder warps into a new area and ends up face-to-face with Archon, likely leading to that scene in the first trailer.

This concept of introducing the central villain early-on is fairly typical in this series. In ME1, Saren showed up in the first mission. The Collectors destroy Shepard's ship in the intro of ME2 and are introduced to them the first mission following that, and in then there's ME3's intro, which went full-on 'Reaper invasion' within about five minutes.

Introducing the antagonist early in-game also helps provide the character with plenty of time to develop and change. Clearly, Archon has to make an impression in his character intro upon seizing Ryder's team. Perhaps this is where Alec Ryder gets caught in the crossfire?