Mass Effect 4’s announcement was unexpected in the wake of the end of support forMass Effect: Andromeda. The announcement trailer forMass Effect 4showcased information from both theMass Effect TrilogyandMass Effect: Andromeda, culminating in a moment that revealed Liara. The content in the trailer implies that it takes place some centuries in the future, with possibly only the long-lived companions making an appearance, but the connection to the main trilogy and the setting in the Milky Way is made clear.
Thetrailer connectsMass Effect 4to the main series, but bold moves such as the concept forMass Effect: Andromedashouldn’t be abandoned. Spin-offs are a great way to expand the story world and bring in new characters and settings that enrich lore, which is difficult to do in a main series that needs to be more focused or reliant on legacy characters. Despite the pushback toAndromeda, aMass Effectspin-off that has thought, care, and resources put into it has the potential to be a major success.
Why a Spin-Off Should Work, Even For Mass Effect
Liara’s appearance solidifies a continuation of theMass Effect Trilogy, but BioWare shouldn’t shy away from creating spin-off games likeAndromedathat are set in theMass Effectuniverse. While some vocal players were disappointed that theyweren’t able to play as ShepardinMass Effect: Andromeda, its nature as a spin-off wasn’t the sole or main reason it didn’t do as well as the main trilogy.
Other factors worked againstAndromeda’s success, such as its animations, dearth of post-launch support, and internal issues happening at BioWare at the time.
TheMass Effectuniverse is massive and brimming with potential that cannot be realized across a single trilogy, and so it would be a pity if the idea of spin-off games set in theMass Effectworld were dropped because of afear of repeatingAndromeda’s reception. A well-made game set in theMass Effectuniverse with a compelling story and a group of compelling characters would do very well as a game.
The Advantages of Spin-Offs For Mass Effect
Spin-Offs Make For a Rich Story World
Having the same group of characters appear over and over, as in a trilogy, also has the unintended effect of making an entire galaxy feel small.Star Warsruns into this problem with many characters onscreen being acquainted with one another for no reason, andMass Effectneeds to avoid developing this problem before it entrenches itself. It can avoid this by creating spin-off games of different genres, with different factions, goals, and motivations. These spin-offs could even be set in different eras ofMass Effect, depicting important periods inMass Effect’s history, such as the First Contact War, when humanity encountered its first alien species, the turians.
Spin-Offs Would Cut the Wait Time in Half
Setting the spin-offs in the Milky Way wouldground anyMass Effectspin-offs in a familiar settingwhile giving the series room to grow creatively. Another advantage is that fans won’t have to wait ten years between games, as it now takes much longer to create video games than it did in the past. If BioWare dedicated two different teams toMass Effect’s main series, and another to creating smaller, but quality spin-offs, there would be a shorter waiting period betweenMass Effectgames.
