I'm finally ready to share my thoughts on the Mass Effect teasers we got on N7 day. I was just having so much fun hearing and reading theories from other fans to actually focus and record my own theory. Plus, I wanted to wait until after The Game Awards just in case there was another teaser.
I recorded a podcast episode of my theories in 2021. And since my thoughts have not changed after knowing all these extra clues of what's in the next Mass Effect game, I'm just going to add more details to my theory in this blog post.
I want a new and improved story
The new picture teaser of the N7 character's silhouette, shows a bar or club.
People kept saying that it could be Omega or the Citadel but there seems to be an Angara so I'm thinking it's a bar in Andromeda or a new club in the Milky Way that we haven't seen yet. I'm just getting frustrated with the fans that want everything recycled.
I find it exciting thinking of stuff that weren't in any of the other games before. I want new things more than I want cameos of all the old characters.
It reminds me when fans would complain about the Mass Effect novels for having the information in those books not being fully in the games. And that it's "unfair" or "a bad choice" to force fans to buy books or to miss out completely because not everyone is a reader. I disagree with that bullshit.
If reading hurts your head, just listen to the audio version. If you like podcasts then you can listen to audio books. The novels would be pointless if it added nothing new to the Mass Effect series and only reused the information fans already know.
I love all the novels. They were fun to read and to experience another side of the characters we meet in the games. Shepard and Ryder don't need to know everything. Some things can be just for the fans.
It's good story telling to not let the main hero know everyone's business. That is the shit anime does that I hate. Anime will have all the important characters hiding behind a wall or something while spying on another character having a moment to themselves. A moment that could've been just between them and the viewers. I love stories where characters will NEVER find out about something so, it only hits harder for the viewers during rewatches.
Walter Jr. (Flynn) will never know that his dad thought of Jesse as a second son. That type of bittersweet drama is so delicious.
I want more Mass Effect novels and comics, please!
I want Andromeda 2
Making the game be based in Andromeda is easier when wanting to respect Mass Effect 3's endings. I would be fine with only seeing Shepard in ME5 on screens and audios. Bring Shepard's voice actors back just to record voice lines Shepard might have said before they died, that fans never heard before. Make Shepard feel legendary after their death. It would give fans such a intense, happy feeling hearing Shepard's voice and their name being mentioned in the next game. But don't actually bring Shepard back!
Having Liara tell our new character stories about Shepard would be more exciting than having Shepard be there in person. Just for them to not be impressed by a new threat because nothing can top the Reapers. Or worse, the story tries to create a bigger and stronger enemy than the Reapers...
Please don't. Dragon Ball Z and Hunter x Hunter (Ant arc) does this and it's annoying. Stories don't need to weaken past villains to make new villains exciting.
Different enemies > Over-powered enemies
(In the main Mass Effect subreddit, there was so much hate and anger about the Angara. Fuck those fans. I really hope they get nothing they want in ME5. It's like the people who still shit on Dragon Age 2 and Cyberpunk 2077. Move on and accept that all three of those games have always had a good story but now it's easier to see that after the game graphic hotfix and updates.)
The extreme happiness I felt was so instant after seeing that the face reveal was just a helmet. I was so glad to not see Shepard. If it was Shepard, they would know what helmet to use. That's not the helmet.
It's a new mystery character! I'm so happy! The pettiness side of my thoughts were saying, "Ha! Fuck anyone who wanted it to be Shepard so bad that they didn't care HOW it made sense." (They could still be right that Shepard really is back but for now, they're wrong!)
"Endings be damned...I want Shepard back, idc how" No! That's not how we should think. We should care about the "how" very much. We should demand good writing because for Mass Effect, I'm here for the story. Not the gameplay. This series isn't Halo and Doom. (I love those games but they zoom through the story to get back to the gameplay as quickly as possible.)
Please don't bring Shepard back, they already came back once and it was exciting. Don't ruin replays of ME2 and ME3!
This is why I wanted a Mass Effect remake more than a remaster. They could've made the ending be more simple where all Shepard has to do is activate the crucible and sit down with Anderson and watch the war end. That's the remake we needed for them to have more freedom in ME5 for Shepard's character. Why rerelease the games and not change the endings just to have ME5 say, "Shepard and their friends are back!"
I hope people who said they don't care how Shepard comes back, all take a breath, calm down and listen to what they are asking for. We don't want Mass Effect to be burned like Star Wars was, just to sell more merch. Please be careful what you wish for!
So, here's why I think all three endings can be canon and not ignored:
-With destroy, Liara being over 600, they had lots of time to rebuild the relays and new Geth. (Goodbye to EDI though.)
-With control, that would be the easiest ending to continue the story from. Shepard's copy controlling the Reapers to rebuild and advance the galaxy.
-With synthesis, I don't think they need to glow green all the time. I think the glowing was just for players to see something has changed inside the characters. Otherwise, the only clue that something was different is if characters all looked down at their hands and arms to make it obvious they feel different. So, the glow could've just been visual for players to quickly know the change worked.
Or the glow is canon but the glow was bright when it's fresh but fades (like, skin being red after a fresh tattoo) and that's why it's not showing up on Liara in the teaser.
Or it's just Bioware being sneaky to not spoil anything and just has her not glowing as default. Just like male Shepard was in the trailers but Shepard could also be a woman but she's not shown in the ME1 and ME2 trailers.
Male Shepard isn't the only canon. Just like the destroy ending isn't the only canon.
I'm excited thinking about a very long game! Not because of how long it takes to beat it in one sitting. Long because replaying it, you get a different story by choosing which ending you want to be canon in Mass Effect 5. Three possible story paths. Like, in Cyberpunk 2077 but not just for a different intro but a whole different game feel!
Like, choosing to be a mage or not in the Dragon Age series. (Or choosing to be a human, elf, dwarf, or qunari.) The game treats you differently base on what your character is. That's what Mass Effect was missing. If ME5 isn't open world, then I could see it having enough room for three story settings in one game!
Also, seeing the character that looks like Garrus, I thought maybe this could literally be the afterlife. That all these characters in the picture are dead. I thought of, "Meet me at the bar. I'm buying." The thought of him being there waiting for Shepard either because he died during the Reaper war or after but of old age, is so sweet and sad to think about. I love it!
But I don't see how that would work because where are the Quarians? So, if it's not the afterlife then why no Quarians in this bar? There can't STILL be racism towards Quarians in the Milky Way. Not after that war. So, maybe this bar is taking place in Andromeda and the Quarians are still looked down upon? Because their ark has to have gotten there already, there's a Hanar in the picture.
If it is in the Milky Way why wouldn't they be there? They eat the same food as Turians.
Can't wait to find out!
Do the Jardaan show up in the Milky Way with their Angara creations?
I hope we find out where the Kett came from and who are the Jardaan's enemies. Maybe we fight two wars in the next game? (A really long game like, The Witcher 3!) One war with the Kett then the next with Jardaan's enemies? The Kett seems to not care about the Jardaan's tech so, at least we know they are not connected. And they could come together in ME5.
Maybe the Jardaan are enemies with their own race? One side doesn't like that they created the Angara but the other side thinks it's important science?
Maybe the Geth made their own ark in private (if the game is in Andromeda)? It could work because it wouldn't need to be as big as the arks for organics. Geth do not use escape pods. Just a few physical Geth would be needed.
Either they made it before the Reaper war starts and followed the organics to Andromeda without them knowing. Just hoping for a future with them because they got that hope while teaming up with Shepard against the collectors.
Or they started on the ark after Legion gives them the upgrades and it sets out before Shepard picks an ending. Like I said, the ark doesn't need to be big so maybe they made it quickly and quietly. They don't need rest so I can really see this happening. (If we want them to not be affected by the endings.)
Like, how some choose to follow the Reapers in the first game while the rest refused. Maybe some Geth choose to give up on the Milky Way and try for Andromeda?
Or this fun theory I found on Reddit!
And this one from Twitter is fun too!
Sixth ark? Never mentioned in MEA. But it sounded official with them announcing it for the recording. So, I don't think it's shady maybe just a last minute rich person who wanted to go? Or higher ups who knew the Reapers were about to attack? Because the recording is before the war.
Or it could be backup for the benefactor. We know the benefactor is on the nexus because they kill Jien Garson. So, maybe the sixth ark is just their extra backup made to seem official? Geth? Maybe this benefactor is an A.I. in a body like Eva's (EDI's body) to appear human when Ryder and SAM scan the room Jien Garson was murdered in.
Maybe this benefactor has other A.I. who want to join it. And that's what is in the sixth ark? If so, this benefactor is so exciting! I feel like a big nerd right now, this is so fun!
I love that some people think the masked character could be the benefactor and that this year's teaser trailer takes place in Andromeda. It could be a flashback before they go to Andromeda because the benefactor does contact Alec when he was working on SAM.
Maybe the benefactor is human. Another cool villain like TIM but a woman? I like it. Plus, people are saying that the character in the teaser seems like a villain. Wont show their face in what could be a clear helmet. Because with Shepard's helmet, you could see their eyes.
I love the thought of a renegade hero being advertised than a paragon one again.
It seems the air is going to be toxic in Mass Effect 5.
From the old teaser picture:
LinkTo this year's teaser trailer:
"Human defiance." We are seeing the new N7 character or "the villain" in the 2023 teaser looking at a private recording of Liara talking to the Geth? (You can see their arm with the red and white stripe reflection in the bottom left corner of the video. And the effect makes it look like a screen.) It's possible we aren't playing as this character but seeing what could be Liara's enemy.
And our player character will choose who to help? Like, how we got to choose to help Reyes or Slone. "The villain" might not be a main enemy but a smaller scale one. Have to deal with choosing who to team up with first before going after the bigger enemy? The bigger enemy later in that same game or in ME6.
But if it turns out that IS our player character then I'm so hyped to have our character have a set goal of spying on Liara. Like, how Shepard's set goal is military. They join the military no matter what you choose as a background. Maybe our background is a spy?
Liara could be talking to the Geth with Glyph's (her personal VI assistant) help. Maybe she knows how SAM was made? After the war she has all the time in the world to dive deep into A.I. research. My point is, she could have Glyph translating for her in an implant like the pathfinders use when talking to their SAMs.
Lady Insanity explains it better in her video.
I still feel like Liara walking on a dead Reaper and finding a N7 piece is just a random soldier's piece of armor. She smiles because it makes her think of Shepard. I just don't think she's looking for Shepard. Shepard's body wouldn't be in a snowy area. It would be in space, near or in the destroyed Citadel.
Maybe she's revisiting a dead Reaper to take one last look before leaving to Andromeda? To remember what they faced and fought for? Or old tech that is still useful? Clues to "the villain" that could be following Liara so, she's trying retrace "the villain's" steps?
I just don't think it's Shepard's because Shepard isn't the only one with N7 armor. Red, white and black are not really Shepard's colors. It's the N7 colors. That piece Liara picks up could be from any dead N7 soldier. She looks at it like it's a cool rock she found. Not like she's so happy to have finally found a clue towards Shepard's body. I feel like she would be more excited than how she was.
Feels like just a sweet moment for Liara to be reminded of Shepard.
The teaser photo that looks like a Geth's head is too big to actually be that. It must be a destroyed mass relay. Like, other fans have pointed out. There are Geth corpses in the dirt next to it through so the Mass Effect team knows what their doing by confusing fans with it's shape.
Dead Geth doesn't mean the next game will make destroy canon through, just like showing male Shepard doesn't mean male Shepard is canon. Geth were fighting along side everyone else so, Geth corpses can be a thing in any ending.
Maybe Liara and what seems to be her crew, (maybe the Krogan is Grunt?) are trying to find clues to the N7 masked character? Or she is just looking at an old war field from the Reaper war to reminisce before leaving to Andromeda?
I did a "No Commentary" playthough of Mass Effect Andromeda if you don't feel like playing it. Just sit back and accept the story. It's going to be apart of the next game. Let Shepard go. Andromeda is something new and it's about fresh starts with characters who didn't signup to be in a war but are forced into one.
I also have a "No Commentary" of the trilogy for the few of you who played MEA but haven't played the older games. Or would like to refresh on the story without replaying it.
Can't wait for Mass Effect 5 to do something new that both the trilogy and Andromeda hasn't done!
I don't want Andromeda to be a guilty pleasure
"Andromeda isn't perfect but..."
"Despite it's flaws..."
The trilogy has flaws and isn't perfect either. Just like every other game. If you like Mass Effect Andromeda just say that you like it without the "but."
If you don't like it then just say you don't. But don't delude yourself into thinking that the trilogy is perfect.
Here are some plot holes in the Mass Effect trilogy:
-Quarian faces being mysterious in a futuristic, advance tech series. No past videos or pictures? Really?
-Being told that there are only three Ardat-Yakshi in existence in ME2 but we find out there's a whole school of them in ME3.
-Was A.I. research illegal before or after the Quarians made the Geth? The trilogy can't make up it's mind on what came first.
-Shepard is never seen using biotics in cutscenes but Bioware does a good job with the Dragon Age series if your character is a mage or not. But for Shepard, they went cheap. Them using biotics would have made them win so many fights with certain characters without the help of their companions.
-All the companions still wear the same outfits they wore in ME2. Even Miranda and Jacob and they are supposed to be in hiding!
-A version of the Rachni queen lives no matter what you choose in the first game. It's a lazy way to do Grunt's quest in ME3.
-Only 2 out of 12 companions from ME2, will join your ship again. Some have good reasons but others are just lazily written reasons.
-Renegade is not balanced well in the first two games. It's just there to be a bully most times. While ME3 perfects it! It's there to be a hardass but not an asshole.
It's the "tough love" personality. Love where a Renegade Shepard cares about their friends but wont let it get in the way of winning the war. (I love that Garrus' character in the game is for him to always understand a Renegade Shepard.)
Again, a remake would've been better than a remaster. Going full renegade isn't fun in the first two games but going full renegade in ME3 is easy. It fits right into what a commander should be.
-There's not many black characters. Yes, this is a problem. MEA is better with showing different skin tones. In the novel, it explain that humans are a mixture of race by this point BUT it should still show darker skin tones anyway. Don't be lazy with this.
-There's no female versions of the other alien races other than Quarians. MEA fixes this problem! I loved seeing female Turians, Krogans and Salarians everywhere. Another reason I wanted a remake instead of a remaster. Would love to have seen female alien NPCs in the backgrounds, at the very least.
-There is no Geth or Leviathan shown joining the battle on earth. Not even Aria's pirates are shown in the final battle. Players know all our allies are there fighting but it would've been nice to see it.
All the allies you made in MEA show up for the final battle. It made the "point of no return" more satisfying hearing all the allies come help distract the enemies so that my small team can slip through to the main boss. I really wish that same feeling was in ME3.
-Ashley and Miranda are sexualized characters for no reason. (For male players, obviously but you know what I mean.)
The creators "tried" to give a reason for Miranda's looks with her being the "perfect" human. And even has a character point out her outfit during her personal quest but it still doesn't cut it as necessary to her character. She's in a professional setting most of the time. Makes no sense unless it's in the DLC where everyone is on shore leave and she wears a dress.
Characters can look and act sexy, just put in the work to make it make sense. There needs to be a "right place, right time."
-And lastly, EDI knows everything that goes on around the ship so, why isn't there a conversation with her if you choose to sabotage the cure? Only Garrus talks to you about it.
I would love to see someone who played Mass Effect Andromeda first then played the trilogy, utter the words, "Despites the trilogy's flaws, I really enjoyed it."
You don't need to add that unless you're talking about a broken game. Like, the first year Cyberpunk 2077 came out. The statement, "despite it's flaws, I really enjoyed it" would THEN make sense. MEA wasn't broken just because people didn't like the new character designs.
Fallout 4 had so many glitches and bugs and people still loved it. But when MEA has them, it's broken? All open world games will always have glitches. Which is why I really hope ME5 isn't open world! (And DA4!)
It's okay to express you love a game without trying to make the haters tolerate your statement.
Anyway, this is the first series that I've kept up with seeing it's development and waiting for clues on it's story. But once we get a full trailer, I will not watch it. I will bookmark it to watch after I played the game but not before. And yes, it will be hard to not look at it but I know I can do it!
I don't like spoiling myself on stories if I know I'm going to buy it anyway. I love discovering what the story is going to be about in games, movies and shows by letting it tell me. Instead of a trailer showing me all the best parts.
The Last Of Us 2 and Cyberpunk 2077's trailers completely spoil character deaths. I'm so glad I don't watch trailers before playing games. All I need is a summary of the story to know if I'm interested in that world.
And I want the Mass Effect team to know that if ME5's story has nothing I listed then I'll still be happy with getting the game. I have faith that the people working on it will treat the story right, no matter what. It's fun to be picky while we can but Shepard or no Shepard, Andromeda or no Andromeda, I'm excited!
