Disclaimer: This is all opinion-based. I didn't read a single review before the game came out because I wanted to experience everything for myself. This is all just raw Sar-ness speaking.
Honestly? I loved it. Loved every second of it. Sure, the animations were a little weird and sometimes the dialog had some odd pauses in it, but for what it was, I absolutely loved it. (I've been informed that some major fixes for bugs and weird animations are coming on 4/6/2017 so hopefully that's not too much of a turn off for anyone interested in buying). I think the game was definitely worth the $60 USD I paid for it.
Characters?
They were good. Definitely not on the Mass Effect 3 level, (because no one can come close to Garrus, Legion, Tali, etc) but I didn't expect them to be. This is the first game in a new trilogy after all. Introductions. We get the teasing basics of their inner selves, and you get to see more of it if you choose to interact with them. I am SO EXCITED to see where these narratives go. Comparing them to ME3 characters is unfair because we had two previous games to set them up. I'm optimistic. The characters in Andromeda were really, really good and I felt like I actually had to work to get the know them. I'd talk specifics about what I loved about each of them, but I don't want to venture into spoiler territory. I didn't hate any of them like I hated crew members in the previous trilogy. (Ugh, Miranda. Ugh, Ashley. Ugh, Kaiden.)
Combat?
Fantastic. Cover system CAN be a bit glitchy at times (but I heard they're going to patch that soon) but once I understood that there's a dodge button I didn't have problems. (Dodging is really fun and fast). Guns felt very satisfying. I stuck mostly with assault rifles and sniper rifles. Focused on combos for my abilities. Pull / Concussive Shot / Overload. COMBOS EVERYWHERE. Boss battles were exciting.
If there were things I had to complain about it'd be the inability to control my squadmate's actions other than directing them where to go and which targets to attack. What abilities they use are up to their AI, and that differs from the previous trilogy. (In the previous Mass Effect games you could hold the spacebar to "freeze time" and allow you to select which targets your squadmate should attack and which weapon and ability they should use to do so.) I see that this was sacrificed for a more mobile combat system, and I think that it works rather well. It feels less clunky.
The only other thing that I think is worth mentioning is you can only have three active abilities... so don't go spending points on abilities that you won't be able to use. Passives are great though!
Story?
Parts of it were predictable. I won't say which parts, but I think giving it a good playthrough would reveal what I mean. Still, the story was managed in a unique and "awesome" way. I was drawn in instantly. I was up at night thinking about what I had to do next to advance the story. I was invested in the characters' unique struggles. Most of all though, the end of the game left me with so many questions! It's such a tease for the next installment, and I can't wait for it. I'm so excited to see what else Andromeda has to offer in later games! There is a massive opening for more story, and I think for the first game it ends remarkably well. It's satisfying, yet leaves one wanting to go on.
Environments?
Beautiful. The Frostbite engine is glorious. Cruising around in the Nomad was fun. Exploring different planets was exciting! It's a very believable universe and dang it I want to get more involved in it!
There's a FAST TRAVEL SYSTEM and you WILL use it!
The time it takes you to go from one planet to another is like 20 something seconds and it's tOO DANG LONG. But, that is also being patched in the same patch I mentioned above.
For those who are interested, I played as Sarah Ryder. She definitely has personality and it's more malleable than Shepard's in terms of what you want her to be. Wanna be that sarcastic jerk? Go for it.
Started out as a Vanguard.
Took me 79 hours to play the game from start to finish. I did all the quests I could find. (Except boring ones like "scan this many rocks" or "scan this many plants", but there were only like two or three missions like that and the reward is like a few credits, so you won't miss out on much if you don't do them either.)
I was more than satisfied with the romance option I chose. Cute. <3 I will explore the other options in other playthroughs, probably.
I guess that's about all I wanted to say. Might edit this later if I think of anything else, but its late, and I've spent the last two days going through the entire game in my head on x10 speed.
Ciao!