It seems very likely that Mass Effect 4, like Mass Effect: Andromeda, will do away with the binary Paragon-Renegade morality system seen in the first three games. The release of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition also saw the original trilogy's morality system tweaked to be less restrictive, suggesting that BioWare is unlikely to return to the morality system Mass Effect had when the series first launched.
Simply getting rid of a morality-measuring mechanic like the Paragon-Renegade system won't be enough, however. Mass Effect 4 needs to give players meaningful choices, ones where they have to choose whether or not they're going to prioritize their principles or the potential outcomes of their actions. In order to do this, Mass Effect 4 needs to overcome a major issue with the original trilogy's morality that cannot simply be solved by removing Paragon and Renegade points.
The History Of Mass Effect's Morality
BioWare has kept most of its cards close to its chest when it comes to Mass Effect 4, but a few details are clear. First, the game will see players return to the Milky Way. The trailer begins with a shot of both Andromeda and the Milky Way, which BioWare's project manager Michael Gamble has described as "intentional." This suggests that Andromeda and the Milky Way will be linked in some way, and that players may get to travel to areas of both galaxies in the next game. The trailer also makes it clear that Liara T'Soni is returning, and the fact that she recovers a piece of Shepard's N7 armor even hints that the original trilogy's iconic player character may be making a comeback.
The next chapter in the Mass Effect series seems determined to leave the disappointments of Mass Effect: Andromeda largely in the past, returning to a more familiar setting and cast of characters. Fans might also expect the morality system from the original trilogy to return as a result, but there are some good reasons the Paragon-Renegade system should be left behind.
The Paragon-Renegade morality system encouraged players to stick almost exclusively to a single path in order to unlock more dialogue options down the line. Many of the game's most important Paragon and Renegade dialogue options could only be unlocked by players who had chosen only Paragon or Renegade options up until that point. Those restrictions were loosened significantly in the Legendary Edition, suggesting BioWare also sees them as too restrictive in retrospect. The original system led the vast majority of players to mostly pick Paragon options throughout the original trilogy, suggesting that it led to less engagement with the story and in-game choices. The "right" choice was usually clear, if not in one particular circumstance then at least within the context of the broader goal of accumulating more Paragon points.
Getting rid of Mass Effect's morality system in Mass Effect: Andromeda was a good move, but it will not be sufficient if BioWare wants to make players more immersed in the choices they'll be presented with in Mass Effect 4. The point system in the original trilogy was restrictive, but there was a more fundamental problem with the way Mass Effect 1 through 3 set up its major choices.
The Problem With Mass Effect's Morality
The Paragon-Renegade binary is set up as a choice between principles and pragmatism. Paragon options tend to prioritize doing the right thing in the moment even if there's a risk that it will cause more problems in the future. A Paragon Shepard, for example, lets a Batarian terrorist go free in the first game in order to save some hostages, which allows him to return in a later game and do more damage. In contrast, Renegade options are set up as consequence-focused. In the same Mass Effect 1 quest, players can go after the Batarian terrorist, killing him but losing the hostages in the process.
The bargain seems clear - Renegades are practical at the cost of principles, Paragons are principled at the cost of pragmatism. Aside from a handful of Mass Effect missions, however, that bargain just doesn't hold through throughout the original trilogy. In many cases, Paragons get to have their cake and eat it too. Despite not knowing whether acting on principle will lead to better outcomes, Paragon players can rely on that generally being the case across the trilogy.
Saving the Rachni queen, for example, has no negative consequences that don't also apply for Renegade players. The Reapers either capture the queen in Mass Effect 3 or begin synthesizing their own Rachni using a fake queen fulfilling the same role. There aren't many cases where Shepard picking Paragon options is punished, and in the few cases where putting principles first leads to bad outcomes, Shepard can often resolve those negative consequences by taking the Paragon path as well.
Changing Morality In Mass Effect 4
Even if there isn't a morality point system of any kind in Mass Effect 4, the game needs to work far harder to detach Mass Effect 4's player character's principles from the outcomes of their actions. Doing the "right" thing should not reliably lead to the better outcome. If it does, the choices players get to make are far more obvious than they should be, with players relying on the knowledge that good generally begets good in the Mass Effect universe.
Mass Effect 4 appears to be set after Mass Effect 3's Destroy Ending, where Shepard destroys the Mass Relays and all synthetic life in the Milky Way in order to end the Reapers' cycle of extinction once and for all. Exploring the galaxy in the aftermath of that choice could be a great way to establish just how morally complicated Mass Effect's decisions can be at their best. It will be important, however, that Mass Effect 4 maintains that level of moral complexity. Not only should players not have a point system to hold their hand and incentivize certain choices, but they should also not be able to rely on their good intentions leading to good outcomes. Mass Effect 4 may be returning to the same galaxy, but if it makes its decisions more morally complicated, it could add a whole new dimension to the series.
Mass Effect 4 is in development.