Mass Effect has seen a great revival in interest lately thanks in no part to the announcement of not only a remaster of the original trilogy, but also a teaser for the next game that hopes to continue the series going forward. With this in mind, there is no better time to revisit the series and review important aspects that fans would like to see make a return, while also taking note of aspects that could undergo some form of change.
As the series moves forward, fans have their own ideas and expectations on what they want. Over the years, the Mass Effect franchise experimented with different features, many of which deserve to star in the latest installment of the franchise.
10 STAY: Exploration
The future setting of Mass Effect has always ignited the imagination of players. Being able to explore distant worlds, participate in various alien cultures, fighting across landscapes both beautiful and completely foreign. Exploration has always been at the heart of Mass Effect, whether fans knew it or not. While there is certainly disagreement between fans over whether the open area exploration of Andromeda was worse/better than the handcrafted levels of the original trilogy, it may be best for BioWare to try and find a happy medium between the two. Open spaces can be grand and beautiful, but they should be filled with interesting and meaningful experiences.
9 CHANGE: Paragon/Renegade
Certainly another divisive topic within the community, the Paragon/Renegade “morality” system within the original trilogy is the foundation for some of Shepard’s most iconic, funny, and infamous moments. That being said though, it’s hard to disagree that it is rather limiting. The two only cemented Shepard’s personality type as to whether he was more empathetic or more ruthless. BioWare’s ventures beyond the Mass Effect trilogy (Dragon Age: Inquisition and Mass Effect: Andromeda) have experimented with a more varied personality system within dialogue options. Players could usually opt to be more emotional, logical, casual, or professional given the situation and the various combinations helped to create arguably more rich protagonists.
8 STAY: Class Fluidity
Despite Mass Effect: Andromeda‘s poor reception overall, the majority of fans who did play the game could agree that combat had been taken to another level not previously seen. This was in part due to Ryder’s increased mobility with the jump pack and the design implementation of “Pathfinder Profiles”. This system was a kind of buffet of abilities where the options available stemmed from the pre-existing Mass Effect classes that fans knew and loved.
This allowed for the blurring of lines between classes, making combinations like a Soldier-Engineer or Infiltrator-Biotic possible. Or even something completely new. If BioWare builds on this system for the next game, it will be a welcomed feature and continue the evolving trend of Mass Effect‘s combat.
7 CHANGE: Human Exclusive Player Characters
No feature on this list has probably been requested more than for a Mass Effect game to allow players to create a character using any one of the plethoras of species they have created for this universe. Sure, being a human is totally relatable and grounding when experiencing the wonders of the galaxy, but if the other species were not designed to be so fascinating, then the desire to play as them would not be as fervent as it is now. If the next game does include this feature, that particular entry could potentially have the greatest replayability value based on the number of species available for character creation alone.
6 STAY: Multiplayer
In 2012, with the release of Mass Effect 3, fans were given the option to play multiplayer with their friends for the first time in the series’s history. Little did anyone knew just how successful the wave-based PvE multiplayer would be. Much of the appeal to fans came from not only getting to experience more of Mass Effect 3’s adrenaline-fueled combat, (the best in the series at the time) but also from the chance to now be able to play as characters besides Commander Shepard, especially aliens. The DLC characters became especially popular from being able to play as Volus, Vorcha, Quarians, and even the Geth eventually. The next Mass Effect would not need to change much if they continued having multiplayer, just keep the combat fun and the progression worth playing for.
5 CHANGE: Less Impactful Endings
Mass Effect is a series filled with hopes and desires – hopes and desires for things that could and could have been. It is no secret the trilogy’s finale left a majority of fans underwhelmed, and it is by far the franchise’s biggest critique. If there was any feature BioWare was going to tackle the hardest, it would be fabricating an ending that leaves players feeling fulfilled, whether they performed only the main story beats or they invested all they could into the game and everything in between. It might mean players have to wait longer than usual, but the final product, if crafted right, has the potential to be completely worth it.
4 STAY: Meaningful Choices
Going along with the previous entry, the series’ famous reputation for making soul clenching choices must stay in any projects that continue forward.
The gratification or despair fans would feel in making choices like saving/killing the Rachni Queen, surviving or failing the suicide mission, resolving the conflict between the Quarians and the Geth, and curing/spreading the Genophage is something that few other mediums of entertainment have totally replicated. It was sad to see a lack of these memorable events in Andromeda, so fans hope BioWare will fall into its stride once again.
3 CHANGE: PvE Exclusive Multiplayer
One possible change that could be fun to experiment with is adding a PvP mode on top of the already excellent PvE multiplayer. The variety of playstyles in Mass Effect combat could lead to a frenetic and action-packed, competitive multiplayer unlike the gaming community has ever seen. The main issue would certainly be balancing given the number of possible playstyles, classes, and races but it is something to consider at least.
2 STAY: Exemplar Character Development
It has been said before, but characters are a field that BioWare excels at playing on. Across all four games in the series, companions and other NPCs never fail to make an impression of some kind on players. The developers of the next Mass Effect game need to ensure that the spirit of this particular craft of theirs remains as potent and inspired as needed to maintain the same level of quality they have shown the gaming community for at least a decade.
1 CHANGE: Utility Of Player Backgrounds
One last change that would be exciting to see is the use of player backgrounds playing more of a role within both the gameplay and the story. In the past, Shepard could choose from three different, if rather banal, backgrounds that only added a small number of character moments across the first three games. Ryder was even more of a blank slate, being a kind of scientist with excellent combat training. It would be wonderful to see the idea of a player character being a “War Hero” for example affect things like dialogue options, story beats, and even combat or exclusive “background abilities”.
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