Unveiled in December 2020 in a trailer that rekindled the flame of fans, Mass Effect 5 is probably the most anticipated game from BioWare's side.
If we have still seen very little, since Dragon Age 4 monopolizes for the moment all the attention of the studio, BioWare nevertheless left us some crumbs of interesting information to compile for the continuation of our franchise action-RPG space Citadel's favorite opera.
What scenario?
If we don't know much about the story of this next Mass Effect game for the moment, the few elements shared by BioWare suggest that it will mix the intrigues of the original trilogy recently remastered in Legendary Edition and the controversial Andromeda.
In the trailer presented in 2020, we can indeed see on the same plane this very dear Liara T'Soni and a squad in the distance descending from a transport ship. Eagle-eyed fans noticed that said ship looked more like the ones used in Andromeda than those in the original trilogy.
Speculation as to the silhouettes of the squad tends to say that the only human form visible could be a member of the Ryder siblings, main protagonists of Andromeda. The Krogan that we see could meanwhile be Wrex or Grunt, depending on how BioWare decided how the story of the original trilogy will be canonized.
And no, it seems unlikely that we will be able to embody the legendary Commander Shepard again. A recent leak quickly denied has in any case for the moment showered our hopes on this subject.
Finally, the last question that arises is what threat BioWare will confront us with in this new opus. In the original trilogy, the Reapers were somehow subdued by Shepard. In Andromeda, the Kett threat has more or less been pushed out of the Heleus Cluster. On this point, the studio shared meaningful artwork during N7 Day.
The crater shown in the image is unmistakably in the shape of a Geth skull. The out-of-control mechanical life-form created by the Quarians could thus re-shake the galaxy. It remains to be seen if another, even bigger threat lurks behind and pulls the strings in the shadows…
On which engine will it be developed?
After the Andromeda course error managed by the small team originally in charge of Mass Effect 3's multiplayer, we bet that BioWare had to seriously revise its plans. Starting with the choice of engine.
Developed on Frostbite, originally used by DICE on the FPS Battlefield franchise, Andromeda proved to be a headache for the young team. Absolutely not suitable for an open world game, nor simply for an RPG, Electronic Arts' flagship engine had to be rewritten almost from scratch, and many sacrifices had to be made compared to the original project.
For all these reasons, BioWare would have posted a job offer a few months ago for a technical director specializing in the Unreal Engine. At this level, we do not get too wet by saying that, if this engine is well adopted, Mass Effect 5 will be developed on the Unreal Engine 5.
A much more logical choice, since many tenors of open world games like The Witcher 4 by CD Projekt RED will help develop the engine's capabilities in this direction. BioWare could thus give substance to these disappointed ambitions on Andromeda, like a galaxy system to visit in No Man's Sky.
Will Mass Effect 5 feature new gameplay?
Transition ready to talk about what we can expect in terms of gameplay for Mass Effect 5. On this point, Andromeda had shown itself to be a very good student. Much more nervous, aerial and dynamic than that of the original trilogy, this one has, so to speak, saved the game from a total fiasco.
It seems unthinkable for BioWare to go back on combat. As for the RPG part, however, the mystery remains intact. Over the games, the aspect of equipment and character development has gradually become much (too?) simplified.
Let's hope, however, that BioWare spoils us again with the quality of writing that we know, in a story where we will be faced with tough choices. It might also be time to give the dialogue wheel system a fresh lick of paint. If it was innovative in the first Mass Effect, such is certainly no longer the case today.
Finally, the idea of ​​a galaxy more open to Starfield would certainly not displease us, rather than the semi-open worlds to which the franchise has accustomed us. But we will have to wait to know more about this point before drawing hasty conclusions.
When and on what media will the game be released?
Because yes, fans of Mass Effect will unfortunately have to bite the brakes, or consider being cryopreserved, in order to return to the famous space opera of BioWare. The studio is currently in full swing for Dragon Age 4, expected within a year and a half.
Given the incredibly long development time of this title, it seems unlikely that Mass Effect 5 will show up before… at least three or four years, quite logically on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. But until the Reapers eradicate us all, hope remains... right?
