BioWare has finally started to roll out trailers for Dragon Age 4 and the next Mass Effect title, although the latter is currently still being kept vague as to what direction the new game is looking to take. Most notably, the question of whether this upcoming title will be Mass Effect 4 or Andromeda 2 is still up in the air, but it seems to have been answered by a last minute cameo in the latest trailer.
Players have been excited to see BioWare come out with a new Mass Effect ever since the troubled releases of both Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem, both of which reportedly hampered the development of the other. The company has been at an almost impressively low point when considering that the most recent title in the developer's other flagship series was Game of the Year back in 2014.
With the recent Mass Effect trailer at The Game Awards, along with an equally impressive one for Dragon Age 4, it looks like BioWare is gearing up to make good on the promise of its namesake. It might be the best move for the developer to look at previous successes instead of doubling down on recent failures, so taking the Mass Effect series back to its roots could help stabilize the foundation. This is looking even more likely now that a recognizable face has appeared alongside a familiar N7 patch in the first look players have been given of the new Mass Effect. On the other hand, it doesn't ignore Andromeda but it weakens the overall impressions from the first Andromeda.
Liara T'soni
One of the first characters that players meet in the original first game has not only become an icon for the series, but the face of Mass Effect's entire Asari race. Liara T'soni, the first alien that Commander Shepard was ever able to successfully romance, has long been a fan favorite, which made it all the more exciting to see her appear in the new Mass Effect trailer. However, her appearance essentially confirms that this next title is going to be an adventure within the Milky Way, meaning the series might be leaving Andromeda behind for the time being.
It should be noted that it isn't technically confirmed to be Liara at the time of this writing, and that players are really only assuming that this short profile shot is showing the familiar face. However, given that the Asari generally look fairly distinct from each other, the shape and freckles on the person shown in the trailer is unmistakably the same Liara from the original Mass Effect trilogy. This flash appearance of a familiar character isn't the first hint that this new game will be taking place in the Milky Way, with another obscured figure essentially confirming the setting.
One thing to note is how this all but confirms the Milky Way, yet Andromeda appears in the trailer two. One "intentional" shot early on shows both the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies; in other words, BioWare isn't ignoring Andromeda. But it may be diminishing the set-up from the first.
Broken Mass Effect Relay
As the cinematic takes players through the Milky Way and presumably past the Sun and Earth, it passes by a large piece of machinery that appears to be shrouded in darkness. The trailer isn't exactly hiding what this construct is, as the shot lingers on it for plenty of time for fans to recognize the Mass Effect Relay that first brought humans to the Citadel in Mass Effect. This, along with the quick swipe through the Solar System, effectively confirms that this next story will be following up on the events after the Reaper invasion. What this relay does is uncertain, but it may be key in connected the Milky Way to Andromeda some how.
Of course, The Mass Effect Relays shouldn't appear in Andromeda at all since they had been built by the Reapers, or at least by the organic lifeforms that created the synthetic exterminators. So there it is, all signs point to this taking place at some point after the end of the original Mass Effect trilogy within the Milky way. Perhaps the mysterious Remnant creators from Andromeda are the same who made the Reapers, making a potential connection to Andromeda make some sense. Of course, this still has the effect of just using Andromeda to tell an original ME trilogy story. However, that does still leave one huge question on the table regarding the previous decisions made by players throughout the series.
Which Ending is Canon?
The original ending to Mass Effect 3 is notoriously controversial, thanks in great part to the way that players felt cheated from having their choices at the end feel meaningless. Making it to the end of the game meant one of three options happens to the Reapers, either they leave, die, or are made into semi-organic/semi-synthetic lifeforms. No matter which choice the player picks, the Reaper invasion is stopped, the Mass Effect Relays are destroyed, and Shepard dies, which was underwhelming from a series that made it so clear that player choices would matter.
Eventually these endings got cleaned up a bit with more elaborate explanations of what happened to the many races of the galaxy after the Reaper Invasion, and the renegade option seemingly keeping Shepard alive. However, while the difference in the endings seems minimal on the surface and in the way they are presented, the special conditions brought onto the story by Mass Effect 3's multiplayer can determine the survival of Earth and the Normandy. So, there really are a lot of grey areas where the next game can pick up, possibly even using the new Mass Effect: Legendary edition to give players a chance to recreate their own story moving into the new title.
Andromeda's Hanging Threads
All of this being said, with where Mass Effect 4 (which might not even be the released title) will go, this still leads dozens of hanging threads from the most recent game in the series. With the last game attempting to set up for a sequel, Mass Effect: Andromeda intentionally left mysteries unanswered, expecting the next title to be able to pick up where it left off and work towards completing the new story. It's possible that this future title will retread on those hanging threads, but it seems likely that Andromeda won't be the focus.
Considering the relatively positive reception Mass Effect: Andromeda received on Steam, there is clearly a fanbase for the game now that the initial bugs have been addressed and players have had time with something closer than BioWare's original vision. So, as exciting as it was to see Liara make an appearance with a promise to a return to form for the series, the shaky ground the Andromeda left on is still something worth exploring. There was more to the early reception than bugs or bad animations, but given there might still be hope that the next game might still touch on what's been started if comments from BioWare's Michael Gamble are anything to go by.
Mass Effect 4 is reportedly in development by BioWare.