After a lukewarm reaction toMass Effect: Andromeda, fans of theMass Effectgames were worried that it spelled the end for the series. But at The Game Awards 2020, BioWare released a tantalizing teaser that assured gamers that it was far from done with the world of Commander Shepard and their diverse range of lovable allies. With development on the fifth installment in theMass Effectseries confirmed, players were still left with plenty of questions about how the upcoming game would take shape.
With two galaxy locations established in the series so far, fans wondered where the next game would take place, or even if it might span both regions in some way. There’s no doubt that the events of theMass Effecttrilogy greatly affected the Milky Way and changed its fate forever, butMass Effect: Andromedahad just as much of an impact on the state of its own galactic setting.Details ofMass Effect 4’s setting, plot, and major characters are still sparse, but fans are able to recap on where the last game left off to try to work out where the nextMass Effectadventure might take them.
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Introducing The Andromeda Galaxy
Making the decision to move away from the Milky Way and all of the beloved characters contained within was a bold choice from BioWare, and was met with trepidation by some fans. While arguably this risky path didn’t actually pay off in the way the developers wanted, it did present players with lots of new content, with a whole other galaxy to explore and characters to get to know. Thefluidity of the combat system inMass Effect: Andromedawas also met with praise from gamers and critics, and there were elements of the game that proved to be popular even if on the whole fans were left disappointed.
After humanity along with the three other Citadel Council races executes its plan to populate a new galaxy as part of the Andromeda Initiative, players travel on sleeper ships known as Arks to Andromeda. Although the game initially starts in 2185, between the events ofMass Effect 2andMass Effect 3, the majority ofMass Effect: Andromedatakes place in 2819 after a 634-year journey aboard the human Ark. Andromeda is a vast and unknown galaxy when the small contingent of humanity arrives, and players are confronted with many challenges in the search to find their new home, includingan antagonistic alien race called the Kett.
Many of the planets in the Andromeda galaxy are uninhabitable, and along with these new dangerous environments, the protagonist Ryder and their crew are thrust into the midst of a war between the menacing Kett and the beleaguered Angara. Although the number of new species inMass Effect: Andromedawas disappointingly small in comparison to the intriguing and diverse inhabitants of the Milky Way, theAngara were an interesting new addition to the Mass Effect franchise, and by tying humanity’s fate to this race of aliens and having an angara on Ryder’s crew integrated the galaxy’s newcomers into their adopted home in an interesting way.
How The Events Of Mass Effect: Andromeda Shaped The Galaxy
Just asShepard was a key figure in shaping the fate of the Milky Way in theMass Effecttrilogy, the Ryder twins are instrumental in the outcome of the Andromeda Initiative undertaken by the four main races of the Citadel Council. During the events ofMass Effect: Andromeda,Ryder not only defeats the Kett and stops them in their mission of galactic dominance, but they also activate the Remnant Vaults on several planets — ancient synthetic technology that terraforms previously uninhabitable planets into livable ones. As a result, the galaxy that players see at the end ofMass Effect: Andromedais vastly different from the one they first encounter.
Not only have Ryder’s efforts allowed the Milky Way races to finally disembark fully from their Arks and begin to claim their new planetary homes, but the Council races have new allies in the Angara. The ability to harness the Remnant technology and affect ecosystems so drastically could mean other new technological advancements are on the horizon for humanity and their allies, just as the sentient races of the Milky Way were able touse Prothean technology to their advantage in theMass Effecttrilogy.
By the end ofMass Effect: Andromeda, Ryder and their crew have removed the major threat that plagued the galaxy, created multiple inhabitable worlds, and figured out the key to unlocking useful alien tech left behind by the mysterious race known as the Jardaan. Although many mysteries still remain by the time the game concludes, likethe fate of a Quarian Ark and the true origin of the Scourge, the loose ends in the Ryder storyline are mostly tied up. However, players have wondered what part Andromeda will play in the nextMass Effectinstallment, and if any of the characters they were introduced to will make an appearance.
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What This Could Mean For Mass Effect 4
While fans of the series have been left desperately searching for clues in the teaser trailer, and hunting for hints in images released since the nextMass Effectgame’s announcement, details are still sparse. Towards the end of 2021,it was strongly hinted thatMass Effect 4will use Unreal Engine 5— great news for gamers hoping for a good-looking sci-fi experience, particularly after the controversy surroundingMass Effect: Andromeda’s graphics and animations. Other than this and a few other meager details, fans don’t know much about the upcoming game.
The timeline forMass Effect 4has been hotly debated. AlthoughLiara, a fan-favorite character from the originalMass Effecttrilogy, featured briefly in the teaser trailer, this does not necessarily confirm that other well-known characters will make an appearance. When players meet Liara in the firstMass Effectgame, she is just over a century old — practically a teenager in Asari years.
As a typical Asari reaches their Matriarch phase at around 700 years old, gamers could be seeing a Liara that is several centuries old rather than the age she is at the end ofMass Effect 3. This would tie in nicely withMass Effect: Andromeda’s timeline, as the journey to the new galaxy was over 600 years long, meaning this could potentially be a glimpse of a Liara in 2819 or afterward, concurrent with the events of the last game in the franchise.
An image released by BioWare also has interesting implications for the setting of the nextMass Effectinstallment, as it seems to show the silhouette of several key figures. Although not confirmed,the image appears to show the outline of a Salarian, a Drell, and an Angara. As the Quarian Ark, which carried with it 4,500 Drell passengers, never made it to the Andromeda galaxy in the events ofMass Effect: Andromeda, this casts doubt on whether this group of characters is in fact in that galaxy, even though an angara appears to be featured.
However, along with the hint from BioWare Project Director Michael Gamble that thetwo galaxies featured in the opening shot of the teaser trailer forMass Effect 4was very intentional, it seems BioWare is intent on including elements from both theMass Effecttrilogy andMass Effect: Andromeda. As the “Destroy” ending inMass Effect 3is apparently now considered canon, it could be that races in the Milky Way have found a way to utilize left behind Reaper technology to enable faster intergalactic travel.
Additionally, the Andromeda residents are perhaps simultaneously undergoing their own rapid technological advancement thanks to Remnant tech. This would explain how the two galaxies could come together, allowing BioWare to use the stories established in both branches ofMass Effectlore to create the basis for the next game.
