Despite being based on one of the most iconic RPG series of all time, there's something oddly dry about the upcoming board game Mass Effect: Priority Hagalaz. Set during the events of Mass Effect 3, the premise is basically a sidequest that never was—taking place over the course of a single night as Shepard and crew board and fight their way through a crashed Cerberus ship to recover research data.
Even for those who can still remember the specific story details of a game that came out 12 years ago, the stakes here feel low. Why does this pretty minor mission matter, when we already know how the wider story plays out? It's a serviceable excuse for a series of linked combat missions, but there's no drama to it or any hook to pull you in. And from what I've played so far of our review copy, that's the game's fatal flaw: It's completely lacking in the drama and narrative flair that define Mass Effect.
