Mass Effect: Andromeda patch 1.08 just added an entire romance option for male Ryder

It wasn't just the stiff and wonky animations that players lamented in Mass Effect: Andromeda - a lackluster character creation system, the shortage of same-sex romance options for male Ryder characters, plus some dialogue regarding a transgender character, were also criticized. But BioWare aims to change those (and quite a few other things) with patch 1.08.

First off, the romance situation: with the release of patch 1.08, Jaal will become a romance option available to male Ryder characters. it's not like the game just wasn't gay enough for some people; if you played as a male Ryder with strictly homosexual orientation, there were achievements you literally could not complete. Plus, datamining showed that early in development, Jaal was planned to be a M/M romance option anyway. So if anything, this is closer to the original creative vision than it is a pandering addition.

Another representation of LGBTQ characters that came under fire was that of Hainly Abrams. In the original version of the game, the transgender woman announces - without prompting - her birth name to Ryder, which some advocates of the trans community found disrespectful. The patch notes say that Abrams' dialogue has been "adjusted to change the flow of personal information she discusses with Ryder."

Story and dialogue aren't the only big tweaks coming in patch 1.08. Character customization has also been expanded, giving players more options and the ability to change appearance mid-game. There will be more complexions, hairstyles, and head shapes for both male and female Ryder characters.

There's also, as expected, the usual bug fixes and improvements to single-player and multiplayer. Check out the full patch notes for more info. And to see what else has changed since launch, check out the summary of patch 1.05 - which fixed the game's dead-looking eyes (though a certain someone's face is still tired).