That's something I just can't stand in hollywood and western scifi. There's always a planet-wide or galaxy-wide threat, and we always follow a kind of "chosen-one" protagonist, the one who will save the planet/galaxy. There always has to be some kind of big "baddie". to fight against. What if instead, the conflict were not a big baddie but just the conflicts that arise through the exploring and colonizing of a new galaxy.
We could imagine a story of the Milky Way species coming together in the wake of the Reaper threat, and sending large groups of representatives of each species out to Andromeda on a sort of Noah's Ark as a last hope, in case the Reapers reap all the intelligent Milky Way species. These representatives know it's a one-way trip, no matter the outcome of the fight with the reapers in the Milky Way. Once in Andromeda, we follow these colonists as they explore and seek to colonize and establish themselves in Andromeda. Their encounters with local species, their search for resources, conflicts arising amongst the colonists (Do we stay here or do we keep searching) or between the colonists and the local species.
We could deal with heart-wrenching goodbyes as certain of the colonists decide to establish themselves on habitable planets, while the rest continue their trip, not really knowing where they're heading or where they'll stop. The protagonist, your character, could just be a leader, one tasked with doing everything to ensure the survival of the Milky Way species and the colonists. But just one amongst many.
Maybe I've watched too much Star Trek, Star Gate, or other episodic scifi where each episodes deal with just those things (exploring and stuff), but not every story need be against a huge threat. Small stories, those that as a whole end up constituting the story of a entire species or of an entire galaxy, can make for such powerful storylines. I tire of the sort of planet-wide or galaxy-wide conflicts or baddies. I think a more intimate, smaller scale story, would be so much more effective. Localized conflicts, emphasis on character and character development, on exploration and on meeting others, and simply on the most important - life. First contacts, first awkward steps, a seemingless limitless galaxy to explore.
The gameplay (since we're most likely going to get a third-party shooter) could revolve around fighting renegade groups of colonists who believe that they are free to take whatever they want, including planets on which intelligent but primitive species live. Or fighting against Andromeda species hostile to the arrival of the Milky Way galaxy species.
There is no need for a galaxy-wide baddie, such as the Reapers, the borg, the wraith, or any of the galaxy wide baddies of modern scifi. I guess, I would like a game more on exploring and less on combat and fighting a big baddie. Maybe that makes for boring gameplay, I don't know. But I know I dream of coming across such a game.
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