Mass Effect: Andromedaside quests will be ‘meaningful’ reveals producer Fabrice Condominas, who also says that BioWare took inspiration from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
WhenMass Effect: Andromedaarrives on PC and consoles next month, the sci-fi RPG will offer players plenty to do. Along withromancing companionsand toying with thegame’s new crafting system,Andromedawill also feature plenty of side quests. However, some are concerned that these side quests will seem like a ‘grind’ rather than enriching the main game experience. WithAndromedabeing a huge open world, boring side quests would be a cardinal sin.
Laying those worries to rest isMass Effect: Andromedaproducer Fabrice Condominas. In the March issue ofPC Gamer, Condominas discusses the side quest grind problem in BioWare’s previous game,Dragon Age: Inquisition, in which players found themselves stuck in an area completing side quests for hours. WithAndromeda, Condominas isn’t dissuading players from doing that but the team has “learned a lot from Inquisition” and is “approaching the completionist aspect very differently” as a result.
Part of this new approach includes makingMass Effect: Andromeda’s side quests more “meaningful” in order to have more of an impact on players. The producer says that “it was very important for us that the quantity of scope doesn’t downgrade the quality of whatever you are doing there.” He also points to CD Projekt RED fantasy RPGThe Witcher 3: Wild Huntas a game that has gotten this right and that the team has “observed what other games” like TheWitcherhave been doing.
BioWare’s new way of making side quests will be music to fans' ears. Along with fears thatMass Effect: Andromedahadn’tlearned fromMass Effect 3’s story, grind-like side quests was one of their biggest areas of doubt. So, to hear that the new title is taking a leaf out of CD Projekt RED’s book, keeping in mind thatThe Witcher 3is an award-winning game, is surely enough to get them looking forward to the game.
At this point it’s unclear exactly how much has changed in comparison toInquisitionor theMass Effecttrilogy before it and just how much those other games have been an influence. However, fans don’t have too long to wait until they can play the game for themselves. AMass Effect: Andromedatrialwill be offered almost a week ahead of the game’s official release date and fans will have a few hours then to figure out whether the side quests are a lesson in tedium or whether they are suitably entertaining.
Mass Effect: Andromedareleases August 12, 2025 on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.
