Sadly the title of this article is true, Mass Effect: Andromeda won’t have paragon or renegade conversation options when speaking to certain characters throughout the game.
Most fans of the Mass Effect Universe will know that one of the best things about the conversations in the game is the fact that you can either choose to be a complete asshole, or take the high road and be a true hero. This was a key way to define your character as you progressed through the story and even the first three games in the series. But this is why the developers chose to step away.
In a recent interview with GamesRadar, Mac Walters, creative director for Mass Effect: Andromeda, revealed the news that they didn’t want the iconic Shepard conversation options if he wasn’t going to be in the game. “So, Paragon and Renegade is gone. The reason they’re gone is because they felt very Shepard – they were very tied to the Shepard character, so they didn’t really make sense if we weren’t going to have Shepard as our protagonist”.
This, while sad, makes more sense after hearing what Mac says later on,
What we have now is based more around agreeing and disagreeing. The reason I like that is because in the trilogy it’s like, ‘I’m gonna play Paragon,’ and then you know which way you’re moving the stick on every conversation. You don’t have to think about it, because you’re just going to hit Paragon every time.
I for one can agree with the fact that when playing the games, I too would just choose the Paragon option without reading what it actually said. Now, instead of having two options, players will need to figure out what the right thing to say is, without the help of knowing which one will be the best choice to either be a good person, or aggressive.
Additionally, the new system will allow players to add different tones into their dialogue to make talking with other characters even more engaging. “We’ve added in four tones and we’ll talk a little more in the future, but they basically allow other types of characters to express them[selves] in one of four different ways, and sometimes one of two different ways.”
With the information given, its clear that the developers wanted to drop the Shepard storyline completely in order to truly take the series in a whole new direction. I mean to be fair it does even take place in a new universe. The game is currently scheduled to be released on March 21st.