When comparing Mass Effect Andromeda vs The Order: 1886, the Slant community recommends The Order: 1886 for most people. In the question“What are the best story-driven games on PS4?” The Order: 1886 is ranked 37th while Mass Effect Andromeda is ranked 55th. The most important reason people chose The Order: 1886 is:
The environments in The Order have a very steampunk, Victorian era feel. The graphics are dark and gritty, which serves the game perfectly well. Not only do they fit well, but they're also brilliantly done. They're very realistic; everything from the buildings and terrain, right down to a character's facial features are simply staggering. The soundtrack is nearly as good. The music has a dark, creepy feeling to it which fits the game's occult-centric nature perfectly. More than that is the voice acting, which is beautifully done. The characters look and sound real, which has been exceedingly difficult to pull off. When you tie the two different aspects together, it creates an environmental effect that's captivating and intoxicating, leaving you wanting more.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Combat is very fast paced
The combat in previous entries of Mass Effect has been based on getting behind cover and having good aim. That aspect still exists in Andromeda, but thanks to the new jump jet, things are much faster and much more fun. The jump jet allows you to vault over obstacles or make quick dashes while running, which lets you flank, charge, and generally just outmaneuver enemies in many more interesting ways.
Pro Exploration is quite fun
Nearly every planet in Andromeda is unique from the others. There's different terrain and environments to check out, new hazards to watch out for, and a plethora of missions to complete on every planet.
Pro You can change the way your character works on the fly
In Mass Effect Andromeda, the class system is incredibly open, and classes can be swapped at any time, even in the middle of combat. Essentially, you can go from being a battle-hardened front line soldier to a crafty engineer, or even to an infiltrator that's capable of invisibility. This will also swap out your abilities, which makes sure you're always prepared for the next challenge you have to face.
Pro Good Story
Pro Fun multiplayer
Mass Effect Andromeda's fast-paced combat from single-player works well with the team-based multiplayer matches, where up to four players cooperate to complete hacking or target objectives while fighting back against waves of enemies. Maps are densely packed with obstacles and winding rooms to take cover in or to take the enemy by surprise. Aggressive foes actively push back forward into player territory even on lower difficulties, keeping matches fun and intense.
Pro Great visual and audio design
The environments in The Order have a very steampunk, Victorian era feel. The graphics are dark and gritty, which serves the game perfectly well. Not only do they fit well, but they're also brilliantly done. They're very realistic; everything from the buildings and terrain, right down to a character's facial features are simply staggering.
The soundtrack is nearly as good. The music has a dark, creepy feeling to it which fits the game's occult-centric nature perfectly. More than that is the voice acting, which is beautifully done. The characters look and sound real, which has been exceedingly difficult to pull off.
When you tie the two different aspects together, it creates an environmental effect that's captivating and intoxicating, leaving you wanting more.
Pro The combat is fast, varied, and very fun
Fighting in The Order: 1886 is pretty great. You have access to a large array of weapons, technology, and even magic to blast your enemies away with.
It plays like a third-person shooter, so expect to have to do a lot of aiming - unless your gun is big enough. You get thrown into combat against humans, werewolves, and other nasty creatures. You've got to change up your tactics depending on what you're facing, and that variety really enhances the enjoyment you get out of the game.
Cons
Con No single-player DLC
There will not be any single-player downloadable content for Mass Effect: Andromeda. This is especially disappointing because, by the end of the game, the writers clearly intended to give more context through DLC about certain galactic races who were absent from the original story. With the news that the publisher, Electronic Arts, has put the Mass Effect franchise "on ice," the series' future looks bleak.
Con Sub-par storytelling
MEA's writing is very inconsistent throughout the game. Sometimes the dialogue is really poor, having lines like "my face is tired". Other times characters forget important information such as the length of their trip to the Andromeda Galaxy, showing surprise at things that should be obvious to them. Even though there are few great moments with moral grey areas, most of the story feels rushed, incomplete, or done by completely different teams with different visions for the game. The end result is a story that lacks immersion and isn't very memorable.
Con Poor face textures and animations
Widely mocked and ridiculed near Andromeda's release, the facial animations, eye movement and tracking, and general skin textures are still sub-par, even after patches meant to fix these issues. Characters look unnatural and downright ugly at times, with the female Ryder inspiring dozens of cringe-worthy compilations of her cinched facial expressions and comical duck-like running animations. Moving to the Frostbite engine no doubt hampered the team's efforts to create believable faces, but in a Mass Effect game, the faces especially should not have been as bad as they were.
Con Really short
Despite being padded with unskippable cutscenes, The Order: 1886 can be finished in a very short time. A first time playthrough can last you up to 8 hours, but you won't getting much more out of it.
Con No multiplayer at all
The developers went for a cinematic single-player experience, meaning there's no local or online co-op/multiplayer. The only way you can enjoy this game with your friends is by taking turns playing.