The next Mass Effect welcomes back a number of BioWare veterans onto the project, including the original art director, cinematic director, and narrative designer.
As well as the announcement of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, a remaster of the trilogy for last-gen and current-gen consoles which will bring the glittering glory of the sci-fi soap opera to the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, we also were treated to the reveal of an all new Mass Effect game. For ease, let's call it Mass Effect 5 for now. Its trailer premiered during The Game Awards 2020, and while it doesn't show its hand regarding the story or setting, it's enough to revive long standing love for the series and spark the curiosity of those who skipped over the original games.
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"We can't wait to continue our adventure together - revisiting our favorite memories in the Mass Effect universe, and creating brand new ones!" said series director Casey Hudson in the announcement. However, Hudson recently resigned from his role at the studio, accompanied by the executive producer of Dragon Age, Mark Darrah. Losing big names like these threw the future of both IPs into doubt, but this list of additions from Mass Effect 5 project director Mike Gamble assures us the game is in safe hands.
So, BioWare has got Derek Watts on board, who is the original art director for the series. That sleekness of a Star Trek set combined with the starkness of the Alien movies, you've got Derek to thank for that, and their input into the fifth game will not go unnoticed. Parrish Ley has also returned, and they were the cinematic director on the three games. Cue lots of moments where you go "ooo" and "aaa" when your ship cuts through the swirling darkness of storm clouds on an uninhabited (?) planet.
Mass Effect 5 will benefit from Brenon Holmes' "ingenuity" from his experience on the Mass Effect series, Dragon Age Origins and Inquisition, and even back to Baldur's Gate 2. It was their brains that brought "amazing gameplay systems to the Mass Effect Universe," so we'll definitely be looking forward to a lot in the next game. And, last but not least, Dusty Everman is back after departing the studio five years ago. Their vision of the Normandy ensured it would become an iconic ship in gaming, and in the sci-fi genre itself. All in all, it's very exciting news for fans.
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Dragon Age 4 (again, not its actual title, but one that we've chosen for simplicity) is also in development at BioWare, and its latest trailer affirmed that turbulent times are in the past. A report from Kotaku revealed that the poor performance of Mass Effect Andromeda and Anthem caused the first iteration of the game to be binned not long into its production. "We were working towards something very cool, a hugely reactive game, smaller in scope than Dragon Age: Inquisition but much larger in player choice, followers, reactivity, and depth," said an anonymous employee. "I'm sad that game will never get made."
Featured Image Credit: BioWareTopics: News, Mass Effect