Mass Effect: Andromeda is less than two months away, and – following the release of the latest cinematic trailer – we’re beginning to see more information about the team you’ll be leading in the game.
In a new “Andromeda Initiative” video on the Mass Effect website, Cora Harper, second in command under original Pathfinder Alec Ryder, introduces us to some of the team. Harper herself is a biotic, and takes charge of the team’s ground missions. She has apparently served with Asari commandos, meaning we may see her as the bridge between the human team and their alien allies.
Her character assessment in the video says that “if warranted” she’ll succeed Alec Ryder as Pathfinder. Given we know that either his son or daughter actually take on that role, it’s a mystery what’ll happen to keep Cora out of the job.
We also get another look at the Ryder siblings, Sarah and Scott – presumably prior to when we pick one to be our protagonist in the game. They’re both Alliance recruits, and are apparently already experienced in the field (no long-winded training sections then, hopefully). Scott has previously helped protect the Arcturus Station, while Sarah supported a Prothean research team – perhaps we’ll see more militaristic and scientific outlooks from them.
Meanwhile, Liam Kosta “specializes in crisis response,” and is described as somewhat of an idealist. According to the character assessment section of the video, he has “multi-disciplinary” skills – it seems to indicate that he’ll be an all-rounder in terms of skill tree abilities.
S.A.M. is the acronym for the ship’s Artificial Intelligence. Short for Simulated Adaptive Matrix, S.A.M. was co-designed by Alec Ryder and the unseen Dr. Ellen Ryder. It receives a direct feed of Alec Ryder’s sensory input. All members of the team have implants allowing them to communicate directly with the AI. We expect S.A.M. will be this game’s EDI-style companion AI.
Already a fan of some of this lot? You’ll be able to grab Funko Pop figures of some of them when the game arrives.
The next installment in the Mass Effect franchise won’t have a season pass. Andromeda is due for release on March 21 in North America, and March 23 everywhere else.
Matt Porter is a freelance writer based in London. Make sure to visit what he thinks is the best website in the world, but is actually just his Twitter page.