Mass Effect: Legendary Editionlet fans relive the original trilogy with remastered graphics, quality of life changes, and fixes to common fan grievances from the Mako’s controls to Tali’s face reveal. It also helps re-establish the originalMass Effecttrilogy as the core of the franchise before the release ofMass Effect 4, which appears to pick up the story from bothMass Effect 3andMass Effect: Andromeda.
This poses a huge task forMass Effect 4. Although BioWare has hinted that both the original trilogy andAndromedawill have links to the next game, there may have to be some huge developments in theMass Effectuniverse to make that happen. Here’s all the evidence pointing to theMass Effect 4’s biggest challenges, and some of the ways BioWare may be hoping to make it work.
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Mass Effect 4’s Universe
There are a few key details that fans have already been able to glean from what little has been revealed aboutMass Effect 4so far. For a start, the game’s teaser trailer shows fan-favoritecompanion Liara T’Sonitraversing an unknown planet, walking over the huge husk of a dead Reaper, and finding a piece of N7 armor resembling Shepard’s.
This immediately suggests continuity with the original trilogy, with the next chapter picking up whereMass Effect 3left off. More specifically, the dead Reaper suggests that the nextMass Effectwill be set at least partially in the Milky Way afterMass Effect 3’s Destroy Ending: the only ending which killed the Reapers and had the potential to hint at Shepard’s survival with a high enough Effective Military Strength.
This is backed up by an image released by BioWare showing aMass Relaybeing rebuilt in the architectural style of the Systems Alliance - it was only the Destroy Ending that saw the Mass Relays destroyed. However, the trailer also opens with a shot of both the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxies, which BioWare Project Director Michael Gamble has stated is “intentional.” Not only that, but a piece of art for the upcoming game shows a silhouette which matches Jaal’s fromAndromeda, despite Jaal’s species only being found in the Andromeda galaxy.
Mass Effect 4’s Biggest Challenges
Connecting the events ofAndromedaand the original trilogy poses some hugechallenges forMass Effect 4. First, the events ofAndromedatake place around 600 years after the end ofMass Effect 3, lightyears away from the original trilogy’s setting. There are a few ways the presence of species and characters fromAndromedacould be explained, each with their own set of challenges. It is possible, for example, thatMass Effect 4could be set hundreds of years after the end of the original trilogy.
This would explain how the galactic community has had time to rebuild afterthe Reaper invasion, and the long lifespan of the Asari would explain why Liara is still alive. She’d be around 700, with many Asari living to be 1000 years old. It is possible thatMass Effect 4takes place after the Andromeda Initiative was able to set up a working Mass Relay connecting the Milky Way to the Heleus Cluster.
However, this would make explaining Shepard’s survival difficult if the game wants to bring back the hero of the original trilogy. Shepard’s unique biology after their resurrection might form the basis for an explanation, but a time jump would also likely mean fan-favorite companions likeGarrus Vakarianwould be dead. Living up to the originalMass Effectcompanions could be extremely difficult.
Mass Effect 4could somehow be set shortly afterMass Effect 3if the Andromeda Initiative has managed to travel backwards through space and time. If so it will be faced with the challenge of explaining how that happened without introducing time travel elements that would disrupt the entireMass Effectuniverse. Either way, the inclusion of elements fromAndromedaalso meansMass Effect 4will have to address some ofMass Effect: Andromeda’s biggest hanging plot-threads.
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Integrating Andromeda
Mass Effect: Andromedawas packed full of storylines which never got full resolution. The true nature ofthe Jardaanand their reasons for creating both the Remnants and the Angara remains a mystery. The Andromeda Initiative’s mysterious benefactor and the reasons behind Jien Garson’s murder also have yet to be revealed. The nature of the Scourge — a mysterious dark energy force found inAndromeda— also leavesMass Effect 4with some big questions to answer.
Some of these unresolved plot-points could be the key to connecting the events ofAndromedaback toMass Effect 4, however. The Scourge, for example, was extremely enigmatic inAndromeda, and was known to break many scientific rules believed to be doctrine by the species of the Milky Way. A cutdark energy plotline fromMass Effect 2would have seen dark energy connected to temporal phenomena, so the Scourge could be key to sending the characters and species fromAndromedaback through time and space.
Regardless,Mass Effect 4will face some ginormous challenges. It will need to play out the consequences of the Destroy Ending, likely including the destruction of sympathetic synthetics like AI characters and the Geth. It will need to explainShepard’s survivalif they’re returning as the main character. Plotlines fromAndromedawill need to be resolved or expanded upon, and though they could help kick off the next game they could equally bog down the plot with storylines originally intended for an entirely separateAndromedatrilogy.
After the release ofMass Effect: Legendary Edition,Mass Effect 4is also faced with a fanbase holding fond memories of the original trilogy fresh in their minds. That’s a huge legacy to live up to, and a high standardMass Effect: Andromedaalready struggled to meet.Mass Effect 4will have to perform a balancing act between elements fromAndromedaand the original trilogy, telling a new story that still acknowledges many of the decisions players made across both parts of the series so far.Mass Effect: Legendary Editionis a reminder of some of BioWare’s best work, and many fans will be curious to see if the studio can one-up itself inMass Effect 4.
Mass Effect 4is in development.
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