New Cinematic Trailer for Mass Effect Andromeda

“Is that our golden world?” a dramatic female voice asks.

“That’s habitat 7: New Earth, if we’re lucky”, responds the evil Captain from Shawshank Redemption.

The new Mass Effect: Andromeda trailer is out and it’s cinematic as hell. A minute and 43 seconds of drama scored by the usual Dark Knight era wobbly sub drops, sinister bass synths, and heroic notes that let us know Andromeda is just as cool as going to the movies.

I’m getting more of a Star Trek reboot vibe from this clip: The sexy depiction of space exploration, a powerful villain with a satanic voice, and a witty Captain going up against insurmountable odds with a plan to “change the rules”.

The first half of the trailer suggests the Humans run into Archon’s trap while looking for their new home before their resources run out. He offers them a simple deal: “Surrender. Or burn”. Archon is depicted as a powerful force compared to Ryder’s plucky group of explorers.

The second half shows Ryder recruiting help from different planets and species, which could be a great parallel to the excellent loyalty missions of Mass Effect 2: The Best One. After three games of Humans, Krogans, and Asari, I’m looking forward to encountering some new flavors.

Romance has always been a fun part of the Mass Effect RPG experience. Bioware shows off their improved ‘intimacy’ tech and it looks much smoother than before. The character models are styled with a light sheen of moisture that reminds me of creepy Japanese robots, but it’s still a huge improvement.

I enjoyed Bioware’s previous video release for its focus on menus and the dryer aspects of character customization but this current trailer does a great job of setting the tone for the story and characters.

There’s a second video at a much slower pace, introducing us to the team and some of the tech we’ll see in the final game.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is available March 21, 2017 for PS4, XB1, and PC.