Multiplayer is 100% Optional in Mass Effect: Andromeda

There were a lot of controversies surrounding Bioware’s Mass Effect 3. One of the ones that were overshadowed by that big one everyone remembers was the fact that you couldn’t get the best ending without partaking in the game’s okay-but-not-really-great multiplayer mode. See, without churning out a few rounds of multiplayer, you couldn’t get all the support you needed to keep characters from dying or stop the wanton destruction of the planet, which was annoying if you dislike human contact of any kind or simply didn’t have a good enough internet for the stuff.

Well, the next Mass Effect is set to have multiplayer too, and multiplayer that ties into the game’s single-player mode: so the fear, amongst some fans, is that you’ll have to play it in order to get the best ending, or see the full single-player story. Well, to those concerned fans, Bioware has one thing to say: nah.

Talking with Kotaku Australia, Bioware producer Mike Gamble explained in more detail how the game’s multiplayer and single-player components would mesh up:

"There's a system that we use called the Strike Team system, and fundamentally it allows you to go between single-player and multiplayer within the game, and it's packaged around a meta-story of what's going on in Helios.

You can switch between multiplayer and single-player without breaking the narrative flow, but it’s not like a drop-in-drop-out system: you’ll still have to go through loading screens. But more to the point, you don’t have to do multiplayer stuff to see the whole Helios story: it can be completed on your own, without any help from meddling strangers.

The interview also shared some other facts about the game: it’ll have an unlocked frame rate, will work fine with ultra-wide monitors, and while it won’t ship with mod support, if enough people ask for it, Bioware aren’t opposed to the notion.

Still! Rejoice, anti-social among you: your hand is not forced in Andromeda. Now go back to your corners.