Mass Effect: Andromeda Will Feature Over 1200 Voiced Characters

EA and BioWare have recently stated that the upcoming Mass Effect: Andromeda will feature over 1200 unique voiced characters.

According to PC Gamer, Mass Effect: Andromeda’s producer, Michael Gamble, stated that the upcoming game will feature lines of dialogue which are “like Mass Effect 2 and 3 combined”.

He went on to describe the focus and importance that the development team placed on developing the squad in Mass Effect: Andromeda, stating: “…the number of characters is vaster, but the amount of stuff you and that character can talk about is also larger—especially the squad, we definitely focused in on the squad. We made sure the squad was beefy, and developed, and that you could do different things with them and then that information would basically carry through the conversations.” This is something I’m particularly excited to hear, as conversing and developing relationships with your party is always one of my favourite aspects of BioWare games, and it helps to add another layer of immersion into the RPG environment.

So far, gamers have been given a small taste of this interaction and character development in the form of ten hours of trial gameplay, but Gamble says that there’s lots more to come, and that the vast number of voices won’t all be small one-liners and other bit-parts from shopkeepers and such: “Uh, not that low level, not that low level. I’d say maybe like one step above that,” Gamble said, the “step above” presumably referring to a small handful of single lines of dialogue from secondary, ensemble and background characters.

Mass Effect: Andromeda is set for release on March 21 in North America and March 23 in Europe, and will be available on PC, Xbox One and Playstation 4. Will you be getting the game on its launch day? Have you played any of the trial gameplay? Let us know in the comments below!