Bioware explains why Mass Effect Andromeda drops the Paragon & Renegade system

The morality system in the Mass Effect trilogy - Paragon or Renegade - was one of the core components the defined the choices made in the series. Mass Effect Andromeda, however, is ditching the system for something a little less black and white (or should I say red and blue).

Speaking with Official Xbox Magazine, creative director Mac Walters describes the new choice system as "based more around agreeing and disagreeing". This way, players actually have to think about each choice individually, rather than - say - just selecting the Paragon option each and every time.

Walters explains that "With agree and disagree it changes by the circumstance and it changes by the character you’re talking to, so you have to actually be more engaged in what’s going on, to know if you’re going to do that."

As for why Paragon/Renegade was removed, Walters also describes how those types of choices were tied to Commander Shepard and may not fit with a new lead character. "They didn’t really make sense if we weren’t going to have Shepard as our protagonist".

Additionally, at times you will also have control over what 'tone of voice' your character responds in. "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", says Walters. It seems not only will 'what' you say have an effect on the game, but also 'how' you interact with the various characters. Walters says it comes down to  "'How do I want to express myself?'"

Personally, I felt that Renegade/Paragon was a sort of hold-over of the Light/Dark morality systems used in Knights of the Old Republic, and I'm looking forward to choices that hopefully don't have such a stark contrast between good and bad. 

Mass Effect Andromeda is set to release on March 21 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Origin.