Bioware held true to their commitment and direction to the "lighter tone" of the story in creating a new ensemble of new characters for you to hang out with. After over 160 hours on 3 playthroughs, I've developed some opinions on them. Gameplay elements aside, non-combat personnel included. Let's start with the ones you begin your journey across Andromeda with:
Liam Kosta
- Despite what people are saying that Liam is boooring, least interesting, I find myself enjoying my conversations with him. He's honest, straightforward and seems to understand Ryder's difficult postion (remember when he slammed the table to shut everyone up for Ryder?). Mah bro!
- Liam's story and personality are simple at first glance: "guy trying to make things work for everyone", and at times he could come off as brash, unthinking - but deep down I could sense deep emotional turmoils of someone who made the choice to leave everything behind to boldly go where none has gone before, and the moment he revealed that his family car is slowly on its way traveling to Andromeda in 2 millions of years, it was heartbreaking and really hit it home for me.
Cora Harper
- I understand that Cora has issues with Ryder being made Pathfinder, but the more frequently I engage in conversations with her, the more I felt uncomfortable with the fact that not only she was a hardcore by-the-book military woman, she also acted like she was an asari, it came dangerously close to being pretentious, if it weren't for the development following her loyalty mission. She gave up on trying to fill Alec and her mentors' shoes and became somewhat more of her own person, and I like that, and that bit about a garden of roses gives me a peek of Cora's emotions. Hopefully we'll get to see her grow more in the next installment (and perhaps confirm that little theory about a certain blue-eyed pro-human leader, eh?)
Lexi T'Perro
- I am pleasantly surprised by her character. Unlike Dr. Chocolates in the previous games, Lexi is given a more detailed story, motivation and role in the overall narrative. I always has a spot for the scientist characters in rag-tag team, who always quietly keep everyone on their toes and held together like glue.
Vetra Nyx:
- It is very refreshing to finally meet a family-oriented turian. Being an older brother myself, Vetra's personality clicks with me, because I understand what it's like to look out for your younger, bubbly siblings. Not to mention, the amount of sass in Vetra's conducts piqued my interest the moment she got the Tempest off the hook from that...one guy at the docks.
- Calm, collected with plenty of experience on how the world functions, Vetra doesn't hesitate to take advantage of it to make things work for her benefits, and in turn, Ryder's team, but she does seem to need more than a few turian hammer massage (LOL), a little me-time, like the Doc suggested, and I ended up really caring about Vetra getting overheated like a thermal clip. It's a little embarrassing to admit, I ended up romancing her all 3 times in my 3 playthroughs and...Oh my god, woman, you're a Sentinel! Here comes Vanguard Ryder, owning kett left and right like nobody's business.
Nakmor Drack
- As much as I enjoyed Drack's wisecracking grumpiness, I must say Bioware writer team didn't really do his character justice, as if they thought "hey, everyone likes Wrex, let's make him older, grumpier and snarkier", and for a time I almost felt like Drack was just another krogan badass. However, like the old tradition of loyalty missions, Drack's character receives a major boost when he gave Vorn the rap for being reckless, and how he viewed himself as expendable to the krogan's new life in Andromeda. Not only that, his relationship with Kesh is sweet, relatable and often hilarious.
Jaal Ama Darav:
- I got the rug pulled from under me when it comes to Jaal and the angara as a whole. He is a surprisingly emotional character, and despite his initial distrust of Ryder, I gradually grew to enjoy having Jaal around because of his honest opinions and curiosity. He does seem a little bit awkward, surprisingly so because I was expecting someone more...Javik, but all the more reason for me to like Jaal (and his quip on the "captured hero, soulful eyes" made my LMFAO). I think many would understand Jaal's struggle as the unremarkable, quiet one in a large family, somewhat of a black sheep and his drive to prove himself more than he seems. It is cliche, no doubt, but why fix something that works, right? And his face, OMG Jaal, who kicked your puppies...??
Peebee:
- Seriously...I tried so hard, I TRIED to explore Peebee's personality by diligently follow through with her quest and dialogues...but goddamn, she embodies every thing that is the worst about the asari: arrogant, condescending, selfish, dismissive of others' opinions. When she picked a fight with Lexi for, what, having a turian for a dad? - I felt like throwing her out the airlock, but alas...she threw Ryder out the airlock instead with her suicidal landing on a freaking volcano! What the hell was that for!? Risking the Pathfinder and his friend's lives because she couldn't wait for Kallo to figure out a solution!? Goodbye Peebee, I wanted to do to you the same thing I did with Jacob (ventilation tube involved). Instead of someone energetic and swaggering (like Jayla from Star Trek Beyond), we get "Here! An asari! Love her! Love her or die!". Bleh. Character development is a process, it takes actions, and reactions, cause and effects, not just some fancy speech about how you've grown to care for people!
Kallo Jath:
- Kallo is ADORABLE, almost like a teenage boy finally getting to drive the car he built with his Dad. I like characters who are chatty but not judgmental, and Kallo fits right in that bill.
- What surprised me even more was Kallo's attachment to the Tempest, its crew and builders. When he confronted Gil for being reckless about the ship's system, I felt every bit of emotion he harbored, and that pain of reliving memories he knew that weren't there anymore (solipsism, anyone?). Like a comment I saw on YouTube: "Kallo's giggle can cure space cancer."
Gil Brodie:
- Get the hell off my ship! What kind of spaceship engineer could be foolish enough to make adjustments to the ship's systems while it's FLYING THROUGH SPACE with monstrous tentacles trying to fry it!!? Gil's dismissal of Kallo's understanding of the Tempest is also childish, unprofessional and overall irritating.
Suvi Anwar:
- In the early gameplay reveals, I was skeptical about Suvi because I tend to a avoid the religious ones. However, I grew to like Suvi for her direct approach to new things (licking a rock and getting a swollen tongue for it, HAH!), and I did not expect her to be very open-minded about other people's opinions on her faith of "higher-power". A true idealist that embodies what makes science great, someone like that is a gem.
And so, that's my thought on the new characters. They're not "the cult of Shepard" (LOL), but I've largely enjoyed my time with them. What're your thoughts?