BioWare celebrated N7 Day this past weekend with an unexpected surprise - a new poster which teases the future of Mass Effect. Given that Andromeda crashed and burned despite being better than you remember, the studio has decided that the future of the series will see it return to familiar ground, although exactly what form that revival will take remains unclear.
Last year’s reveal trailer saw Liara T’Soni and a small crew of explorers land upon a snowy planet, uncovering wreckage seemingly linked to the passing of Commander Shepard following the original trilogy’s ending. Exactly what events are considered canon in the grand scheme of things are yet to be unveiled, but this new poster provides a number of clues as to the future of Mass Effect.
Destroy is one of the three major endings to be found in Mass Effect 3. It saw Shepard opening fire on the Citadel’s power conduit to halt the Reaper invasion and save humanity, sacrificing himself in the process. However, this approach came with consequences and saw all synthetic life in the galaxy being completely wiped out. This included Reapers, Geth, EDI, and any other form of life occupying such a definition. It was seen as a necessary evil, and the one of the only feasible ways to bring this bloodshed to a close. The other options are Control, which sees Shepard attempt to take control of the Reapers, and Synthesis, which sees organic and synthetic life merge, with the Reapers becoming allies, not enemies.
Under the Destroy ending, the Citadel and the Mass Effect relays suffer massive damage, splintering the galaxy apart in a way that will likely drag civilization back thousands of years. The new poster revealed as part of N7 Day features a quartet of characters walking towards a wreckage on yet another snowy planet, hinting that the poster and trailer are connected in some way. Our own Cian Maher did some further research and it seems the characters seen in the poster could be none other than Liara, Garrus, Tali, and Wrex. Take that with a pinch of salt.
These are four of the series’ most iconic personalities, and the OG Normandy crew along with Ashley and Kaidan, so if BioWare intends to return to the original trilogy, having them lead the charge in some manner would make perfect sense. They’re walking away from their ship towards geth-shaped crater, the colour and general shape being immediately distinctive to anyone who has dabbled in Mass Effect before. This seems to be hinting towards the Destroy ending being made canon - that a geth corpse lies nearby solidifies this idea. Liara and company are scouting the galaxy following the Reaper’s defeat, picking up the pieces and figuring out exactly what happened when Shepard bit the dust. Think about it, they weren’t privy to the wider ramifications of this decision, they’d be finding out alongside everyone that alongside their victory came an unparalleled sacrifice. A cost like this can’t just be brushed aside.
Entire races and connections to the wider galaxy were wiped out in an instant, and each species will need to deal with that bitter truth and move forward. People are likely separated from their home planets forever, while billions of corpses occupy places that were torn asunder by the Reaper’s endless onslaught - not to mention every AI or synthetic life form is now dead. Everyone thought that life itself was over, so they fought until the bitter end without thinking about what might be left behind in the small likelihood they emerge victorious. But here we are - the Reapers are gone, humanity has survived, and now we need to start piecing the fragments back together.
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Whatever form Mass Effect ends up taking with its next entry, I’m sure a new galactic threat will eventually rear its head and force our heroes to spring into action, but given the series’ history, I’d love a new game to revisit the original trilogy’s ending and delve into the aftermath, and how a broken galaxy was left to recover in the wake of devestation. We know and love all of these characters, but BioWare will need to acknowledge a single, definitive direction for Mass Effect’s future that will inevitably override some of the choices we made in the past. Either that, or the opening moments set the stage in a way that curates each player’s experience - but given the fact one ending sees you destroy synthetic life and the other sees you become synthetic life, I’m not sure that’s possible.
Choosing one ending would be a confident stride into the unknown as opposed to appealing to everyone it possibly can. Stories are always stronger when sticking to their guns, and given that Mass Effect is a series that has defined itself on a binary morality system, it will likely face backlash regardless of what the end result is. So BioWare should go hard and be unafraid of the consequences, even more so after Andromeda tried so much to expand upon this universe and was punished as a result.
Speaking of, Destroy being made canon also opens up a number of complications surrounding that game’s storyline. The Ark departed the Milky Way before the ending of Mass Effect 3, and thus theoretically wouldn’t have been influenced by the ending. But with Destroy, it can no longer return, either giving BioWare an opportunity to tie that game into the wider canon or perhaps write it out of the mythos altogether. Have the confidence to at least acknowledge Andromeda, even if the majority of fans would rather it remain dead and buried. Its characters and plot deserve another chance in the spotlight. Someone in the game, likely Liara, will need to acknowledge that some technology escaped the devastation, and it could even be the key to their salvation if some form of contact can be made. Also what about that damn Quarian Ark? I need answers!
Destroy would force BioWare to explore these ideas from a fresh perspective. I didn’t expect to care this much, but here I am excited about the prospect of returning to this universe with a keen familiarity of its world and characters. Commander Shepard should absolutely stay dead, since their revival would be an act of narrative cowardice, and instead they should act as a figurehead - a bastion of heroism that will help our crew progress through their personal struggle with grief and the ultimate realisation that their leader is never coming back. We all go through moments like that in life, coming to terms with the fact that someone we look up to is gone forever, and given the loyalty Mass Effect has tied to Shepard’s presence, exploring their passing has so much potential.
If BioWare really wants to shape the story behind us, it could even make Liara the canon romance and have her be the main focus, either as a playable character or a companion to the new protagonist. You can help them grieve, and understand the importance of rebuilding the galaxy and uncovering a new threat. Life goes on, even in the farthest reaches of the galaxy, and contending with these emotions on an intimate level while seeking to become an all-encompassing saviour all over again sounds amazing.
The N7 Day returns to where Mass Effect began, a small crew of people investigating the geth, failing to realise the path they are about to set themselves on and the impact it will have on the entire galaxy. Humble beginnings blossomed into one of the greatest stories in gaming history, and BioWare is obviously set to expand upon that legacy in ways that none of us can predict. The Destroy ending would be the ideal foundation for this new tale, imbuing the universe with a level of character depth and narrative consequence that both hardcore fans and curious newcomers can empathise with. It could all go terribly wrong, but with a mindset like this, Mass Effect could return to the glory days it longs to relive.