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What we currently know about BioWare’s next game in the Mass Effect series could probably be written down on a very small napkin, with enough room left over to mop up a coffee spillage. Mass Effect 4 might be the working title in general use for the moment, but BioWare has already confirmed that it won’t be a direct sequel to the existing trilogy and also will not star Commander Shephard.
With literally a whole universe of possibilites on offer, it seems like just about everyone has their own personal wishlist for Mass Effect 4, but the one wish unifying all members of the series’ fandom is one for more information. Now that almost two years have passed since the release of Mass Effect 3, the time seems ripe for us to learn more.
Luckily, BioWare’s general manager Aaryn Flynn just can’t resist a good tease and today shared a boast on Twitter that’s bound to make a lot of people jealous. Along with a photo of one of the BioWare studio computer desktops (which unfortunately just has the company logo instead of any actual artowrk from the game), Flynn wrote of his fun times playing the in-development title.
"AaryN7 FlynN7 @AarynFlynn
Great time playing the next Mass Effect game in Montreal. Ambitious. Beautiful. Fresh but recognizable. And fun!"
The next Mass Effect game is definitely worthy of a nice long development cycle, so it’s encouraging to hear that there’s already a playable build of the game before BioWare has even released any plot details, let alone a trailer, to the public. Flynn recently said that more information about Mass Effect 4 will become available in 2014, which makes it likely that we could see the first trailer for the game at next year’s E3 – maybe even an early 2015 release date announced. Wishful thinking? Possibly, but that’s the most fun kind of thinking.
What we do know is that BioWare is designing the new Mass Effect game to be accessible to newcomers, which is probably why Flynn describes it as feeling “fresh.” The series already has an established and popular formula, however, with a good balance of combat sequences and character interaction, so Flynn’s comment on it still being “recognizable” suggests that this gameplay skeleton is going to remain intact. The game will be built using the Frostbite 3 engine.
The Mass Effect games are also known for being very meaty, containing a wealth of information of the universe’s various species and their politics, as well as extensive dialogue trees whose choices can have ramifications a long way down the line. Experience has taught that it’s almost always better to give a development team plenty of time to construct and test a game before release, rather than simply having it rushed out onto the market with bugs and glitches in tow. With any luck, BioWare’s next Mass Effect game is going to be worth the wait.
We’ll you bring you more updates on Mass Effect 4 as details become available.