LTTP, as they say. I'm about 6 or 8 hours in.
I really did not like it much at all, for the first few hours. It seemed very generic. I know that word is overused, but it fits. Everything felt uninspired, safe, derivative.
I had just come off playing Hellblade, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Yakuza 0 -- all unique, creative, risk-taking games -- so the contrast with Mass Effect couldn't have been more stark. Mass Effect felt like homogenized AAA junk in comparison -- no inspiration, no imagination, play it safe drivel. I actually started the game over after playing for a couple hours as a male Ryder, switching to female, because I had to inject some degree of uniqueness into the equation. Playing as a male space soldier in what felt like a generic AAA game just felt way too boring to me. The sex change didn't help a whole lot, but it made it feel a little different.
I was annoyed at how little sense the story made. The guy is irreplaceable and solely responsible for the fate of hundreds of thousands of people, and so he goes down to a dangerous planet with a tiny little squad -- sure, why not. Both of his children are on this highly select squad, btw, and I'm sure that was all based on merit, no issues of favoritism there. Then he goes wandering off by himself, putting the entire 100,000 at risk, because, hey, why not. And then he sacrifices his life to save his son/daughter -- which sounds noble until you realize that it means he didn't have the foresight to recognize that having his son/daughter in mortal danger might influence his decision making and cause him to do what he did, which is to passing on his responsibility for safeguarding the entire fleet to his completely inexperienced, naive 20 year old son/daughter -- whom everyone else accepts as the supreme leader, because, well, you know, there's no choice. Other things seemed nonsensical, too, but I won't belabor it.
I didn't care much for the characters. No one seemed interesting or likable. Their little expositions seem forced and fake. Maybe that'll change as I get farther in.
The dialog seems poorly written to me, average at best. In general it just doesn't carry much weight or emotional impact. One of my pet peeves is when writers insert modern idiom into games set a thousand years in the future. Do they really think people will still be saying "been there, done that" in a thousand years? And everyone has smirky, smart remarks. Everyone is jokey and flip. I like humor, but it becomes dull and predictable if you over-use it. There's very little emotional range or depth here, so far.
I miss the snarky and rude dialog options. That would make it more fun. Even the dialog options feel safe.
I also disliked how little they made out of arriving in a new galaxy. That is a huge opportunity for wonder and imagination in storytelling. Instead we get a fairly boring arrival story, followed by a "first contact" that is over in a few seconds and holds no tension or mystery. Then two alien races that look like modified humans -- put a couple kinks in their legs, paint them a different color, disfigure their faces a little, slap some big ears on them, and you've got yourself a Mass Effect alien race. They really could have done so much more with the setup.
However, after laying for a few more hours, some interesting things started to happen. And some other characters were introduced. So my interest level is rising.
I'm sticking to main missions and the companion quests (loyalty missions), disregarding pretty much the rest of the game. Hopefully I won't be too underleveled.