As any fan of the Mass Effect games can attest, one of the most endearing features of the series is the assortment of beloved and quirky squad-mates that you pick up along your journey. Over the years we have seen many lovable characters come and go throughout the span of Commander Shepard’s heroic Journey. Mass Effect provides the players a unique opportunity to become invested not just in the main character, but also in the relationships that the main character forms along their journey. From the justice driven rants and calibrations of our favorite Turian vigilante Garrus, to the awkward mumblings of the adorkabley shy Quarian engineer Tali, the sidesplitting musical masterpiece of Mordin’s ‘Scientist Salarian’ interpretation of Gilbert and Sullivan, to the one word conversations of our favorite tank baby/ killing machine Grunt. Each and every character that you come across has a story, a story that if you’re lucky and ask the right questions, they just might share with you.

BioWare has so successfully created an atmosphere of companionship amongst the non player characters of the Mass Effect games that it really does feel like a family.

With Mass Effect Andromeda we the players will receive the opportunity to start a new chapter in the Mass Effect “Family album” if you will, and with that new chapter comes new friends and allies. Mass Effect Andromeda brings to the table a theme of new exploration and unknown territory, and we’re not just talking about a new galaxy. The team members of the new Mass Effect game are younger and less experienced than the team of highly trained military specialists, engineers and mercenaries that we may have gotten used to from the previous games. They have more of a “Leap before you think” mentality which allows the opportunity to create some potentially hilarious interactions as well as some extremely intense moments.

I think [the younger cast] provides a new energy and allows you to have a slightly lighter tone

At this point BioWare has allowed us the opportunity to take a closer look at two of the new squad-mates available in Mass Effect Andromeda. They have not specified how many squad-mates are to be available yet and they also have not given us much backstory as to the reasoning for these two getting involved with the Andromeda Initiative but we do get to take a look at their general personalities.

The first squad-mate is a former police officer who joins the Pathfinder team in exploring Andromeda. Liam, along with the Pathfinder team, arrives in Andromeda aboard the Hyperion. Liam takes a role as part of the security team for Pathfinder and you can bet he takes his duties quite seriously. Liam is an upbeat go getter as it were. He brings levity to situations and is also very passionate. Liam can be quick to react and show anger, but he is also a loyal follower who you can count on to have your back. He’ll be there for support when it counts and holds out a great deal of hope for humanities future. Essentially, if you have played the previous Mass Effect Games, Liam seems a bit like a combination of all the best qualities of Ashley Williams, Kaiden Alenko, and Jacob Taylor. Focused, passionate, quick to react, hopeful, loyal, and there when you need him.

Liam is the youthful, enthusiastic, and in some cases, the idealistic follower that you get.

Next up for future squad-mates is an Asari adventurer, and lone-wolf, the blissfully inquisitive PeeBee. PeeBee may seem at first glance like an homage the the inquisitive Asari archeologist turned information broker from the first series, Liara T’Soni. Well you’d be partly correct in supposing that but the desire for knowledge seems to be where the similarities end with Liara and PeeBee.

In contrast to the elegant, stoic and very proper attitude of most Asari we have seen in the Mass Effect universe so far, with the exception of our favorite bartender Matriarch Aethyta who’d just as soon (and as apathetically) break your neck as serve you a drink, PeeBee is a bit more of an oddity. She is more of a quick and to the point with no regard for tact or etiquette kind of person.

While she’s super smart, she isn’t so keen on formalities or social niceties, which can make her come off as very blunt and forward. “Her mind goes quickly as does her mouth, it’s hard keeping up with her.”

As proper and formal as most Asari seem to be, PeeBee is not. PeeBee is very “Bubbly,” pays little to no regard to social rules or culture, and sometimes even may even disregard the concept of teamwork entirely. Unlike Liam, PeeBee did not come to Andromeda as part of the Pathfinder team, she came with a different group aboard the Nexus but being the lone-wolf that she is, didn’t stick around to long after arriving. Given these facts why would such an independent and free spirit tie herself down to a team? Well PeeBee knows that a single person can only get so far, and since she seems to be all about learning anything and everything about any new alien tech she can find it only makes sense to join up with someone who can lead where she couldn’t previously go alone. She seems to be somewhat of an “end justifies the means” kind of character with a growing fondness for alien tech. One can’t help but wonder if maybe PeeBee might possibly have just a pinch of Salarian in her.

As with all past present and future cast members of the Mass Effect games, BioWare wanted to make sure that the characters are fresh, unique and memorable. The attention to detail and the development of each character that BioWare creates is what gives us as players the chance to invest in the story of each individual and in a way form a somewhat of a quirky little family.

Sometimes writers focus on the quirks or specific nuances of the character thinking that’s what’s going to make this character interesting. Honestly, it’s a combination of a whole bunch of things, and what I say is rather than trying to make a really unique or memorable character through your writing, take a character who’s relatable and put them in a really unique situation and see how they react. That’s actually how I think you get the most interesting character development happening.

Well I think I can safely say I speak for all of us at Don’t Feed the Gamers when I say we are ecstatically awaiting the chance to get to know these characters in more depth as we experience the galaxy of Mass Effect Andromeda. We’d love to hear about your experiences with past squad-mates and what you hope to see with future ones. Stay tuned for more Mass Effect Andromeda news, and while we wait check out some more awesome Mass Effect goodness!

• Mass Effect: Andromeda Director Teases More Stories to Tell
• Mass Effect Andromeda, Preorders, Box Art, and Details Announced
• Meet The Family The Voices Behind the Characters of BioWare’s Mass Effect: Andromeda