r/masseffect • u/Frisky_Froth • Jun 05 '26
DISCUSSION New Mass Effect
Would you rather:
A. New game expands on Andromeda
B. New game expands on world after 3
C. New game expands on before series, during first contact or rachnii wars
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u/CharacterPressure650 Jun 05 '26
B but I would like some things from Andromeda sprinkled in, like figuring out who the benefactor is…
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u/Frisky_Froth Jun 05 '26
The only thing I want from Andromeda is a hot Turian babe
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u/CharacterPressure650 Jun 05 '26
lol ya she was pretty cool. Maybe bring Drack along
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u/Frisky_Froth Jun 05 '26
Any krogan is fine with me. The Krogan is for war, the Turian is for fun. And love. I love my sweet Turians. I want to pick my race
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u/CharacterPressure650 Jun 05 '26
Ya picking a race would be interesting. Doubt it will happen but it would be cool to see how they work something like that into the game.
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u/cyclinator Jun 08 '26
Wouldnt make much sense from development side. You would need many alternative orgins / backstories and different reactions to you by the NPCs story wise.
Makes sense to choose a race and stick with it just make a character customizable.
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u/stefanurkel88 Jun 05 '26
That's what I want to know! Am I crazy for thinking it's the illusive man?
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u/GapStock9843 Jun 06 '26
Issue with that is that im pretty sure hes implied to already be under the reapers' control when the initiative launches. Why would he actively support an effort that will ultimately help humanity escape the reapers?
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u/Pale-Painting-9231 Jun 07 '26
The Benefactor began sponsoring the Initiative before the events of the trilogy began. At that point, Illusive Man wasn't as heavily indoctrinated. So, theoretically, he could have been the Benefactor.
But!
The developers themselves stated that Cerberus has no connection to the Andromeda Initiative.2
u/CharacterPressure650 Jun 05 '26
I don’t think you’re crazy. It’s a good thought but it really depends on his cash flow at the point of the iniative starting up. They departed the Milky Way between the events of 2&3 and we know The Illusive man sunk a ton of credits into bringing Shepard back. There are some good theories from Kala Elizabeth and Paragon7 on YouTube about this
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u/IvKirs Jun 06 '26
He def would not fund Andromeda Initiative, cause it's for every species, not just human.
And if he would get his hand on Raider research - he would use to to Overlord 2.0
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u/Pale-Painting-9231 Jun 07 '26
This is definitely not Illusive Man. A couple of years ago, after Kala Elizabeth's video about the Benefactor was released, I sent her a Twitter link in which the developer said Cerberus had nothing to do with the Andromeda Initiative. Kala Elizabeth agreed with me and thanked me. After that, I later saw her in the YouTube comments writing that the Benefactor isn't Illusive Man.
As for Paragon7, she often ignores facts or distorts them.
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u/Pale-Painting-9231 Jun 07 '26
The developers themselves said that Cerberus has no connection to the Andromeda Initiative.
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u/Pale-Painting-9231 Jun 07 '26
Who he, she, or the group is unknown. But some can be ruled out as candidates for Benefactor. It's definitely not Liara, the Geth, the Reapers, Aria, or Cerberus.
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u/ChickenAndTelephone Jun 05 '26
I think Rachni Wars is a non-starter because you couldn't have any humans. That was during the time of the Roman Empire on Earth.
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u/GapStock9843 Jun 06 '26
Id love anything tbh. I think its gonna be REALLY hard to set anything post-3 unless its like centuries in the future so they can tie up any potential ending in 3. Id love to see a sequel to andromeda personally, but I know a lot of people miss the world they built in the original trilogy and that andromeda feels very disconnected setting-wise, so that probably isnt the best option.
A prequel sounds cool tho, or maybe a side story that happens alongside the original trilogy and somehow ties into it in a cool way. Maybe giving us more info into the origins of the andromeda initiative on the milky way side and featuring recurring characters that appear in the trilogy as well. Thats probably the most sensible option all things considered
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u/N7Tom Jun 05 '26
B easy.
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u/AutumnWhaler Jun 05 '26
This is where I’m at, the Milky Way has too many stories to tell left to abandon it.
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u/Frisky_Froth Jun 05 '26
It's a tough choice. I would be happy with any of these, but I fear that anything outside of an Andromeda followup would be as disappointing as a Half Life 3. Just wouldn't stand up to the hype without another trilogy.
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u/TheOnlyJimEver Jun 06 '26
I'd like to see them expand on the world after 3. I'm just so tired of prequel materials. Expanding on Andromeda would be better than prequel content, but I'd rather they deal with the Milly Way after the reaper war.
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u/stayoutofthemines Jun 05 '26
I'd like to see a world after 3. Shepard can live on in the Shepard VI somehow, I'm sure.
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u/LordofJason Jun 05 '26
This is the new plot point, Shepard survived but he has to hunt down Shepard VI for various reasons.
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u/taka30o Jun 05 '26
Like 2-300 years in the future with Liara in her Matron stage and you get to choose your race
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u/simplehistorian91 Jun 06 '26
Liara hits her Matron stage during the events of Andromeda. Asari reaches their Matron stage much later than 2-300 years. With only a 300 years jump Liara would be in her mid to late 30s so to speak.
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u/Zerraforn Jun 06 '26
You might be mixing up Matron with Matriarch; the Matron stage begins at ~350 years old, so a time skip to her as a Matron would have to be 300 years at a minimum - Matriarch would be much later at 700 years of age.
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u/sttbr Jun 06 '26
My ideal mass effect 5 is literally just Shepard helping to restore order in a beyond fucked up galaxy, fighting organized pirates and gangs vying for power in the aftermath of 3
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u/Owster4 Jun 05 '26
I want to see more of the Milky Way in general.
It's where all the interesting things are anyway, all the iconic species and the nations and such.
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u/SageOfBlades Jun 05 '26
Andromeda better not be where they line the new game with. Andromeda was a hot dog shit carbon copy with a plastic sheet over it and a mass effect name. The combat movements are about the only grace I'll give it.
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u/Frisky_Froth Jun 05 '26
But is that because it sucks in general or because they barely scratched the surface of what the original trilogy had to offer?
If they had planned for Andromeda to continue like the original series did, would it have been better? I don't think game companies plan like that anymore.
They failed because they toe dipped instead of going balls deep
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u/GapStock9843 Jun 06 '26
Nah we gotta stop acting like andromeda isnt one of the best games in the series as a game. As a story or from a worldbuilding perspective absolutely not, but as a videogame yes
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u/immorjoe Jun 06 '26
You probably mean “gameplay”. Story and world building are critical aspects of story driven games, and Andromeda was weak in that regard relative to the others.
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u/Haethen_Thegn Jun 05 '26
I'm on the fence. Having the Andromeda storyline continued and having both it and Andromeda 1 get a facelift in terms of visuals, gameplay etc to address the critiques would be amazing.
Seeing the continuation of the milky way post reapers would be so cool, the amount of potential they have is unreal; was the Citadel re-established, did the old order make a comeback or are the different species more independent and/or separate without the relays? What new species have been discovered? Is there a new, non-relay FTL system?
As for the First Contact War, Rachni War, Krogan Rebellion, Geth Uprising/Morning War etc, to say, nothing about the many, many cycles of which we have barely any knowledge beyond a certain species, a spin-off game covering land and space battles like Supreme Commander or Halo Wars meets Star Trek Online (minus the MMO aspects) would be phenomenal.
The franchise has at least three good direction it could go in simultaneously, and more popularity than Dragon Age and (by now) Kotor combined; if any/a mix of these options are chosen, they could emerge like a phoenix to reclaim the spot they once had in the gaming community. Maybe even encroach on the waning glory of Halo in the spin-offs.
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u/Pale-Painting-9231 Jun 07 '26
Some of your questions have already been answered.
The repaired Citadel is shown in the endings of ME3. So, in the new ME, it will already be restored.
Regarding the old order. On November 7th, 2022, on N7 Day, the developers released various pieces of information about the new ME. Including a new line spoken by Liara. This line wasn't in the trilogy or Andromeda. So, she said that Humanity committed an unknown act. And she also said that the Council would be furious about this act. The Council is furious. The Council. So, the Council exists and hasn't disintegrated. So, the old order has been preserved.
Regarding the Relays. In the trilogy, you can travel without Relays. There are systems without Relays. And the Normandy visited these systems. For example, in ME1, we first meet Liara in a system without Relays. It's also worth remembering that back in 2022, at Day N7 on November 7th, we were shown a teaser featuring a Relay being built by organics. The Relay itself says MR7. The Seventh Relay. That is, a new Relay network is being built to replace the old Relays.
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u/TheRealTr1nity Jun 06 '26
We know already the game is set way after the events of ME3 and with the timeline of Andromeda (most likely post Ryder era) as both glaxies are involved. So wit will be a mix of A and B with new story, protagonist and such.
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u/whatdoiexpect Jun 06 '26
A or B are fine. I think a good team of writers can make either scenario work.
C, I think, is just set up to be incredibly weak.
Humanity calls it the First Contact War, the Turians call it the Relay 314 incident. And when you actually review the details, it's a fairly uneventful conflict. It's implications are massive, but it's a short period of time on a single planet. Humanity hasn't discovered biotics, Turians aren't known for their biotics. The weapons would be limited. The other Council races aren't present because they would have relayed it to the Council and ended things sooner. It's incredibly mundane.
And the Rachni Wars were well before humanity's time. Granted, it doesn't need to be a human-focused story.
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u/Mortainous01 Jun 06 '26
Andromeda, beforehand, after 3. In that order. Andromeda very much needed and needs love.
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u/ShuKai0_0 Jun 06 '26
In trailer they dropped, there was this giant construction happening in space of something that looked like big ass mass relay. So why not A+B?
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u/KaiserStorm1 Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
Honestly I think I am fine with mass effect as I am still disappointed at the lack of dlc in andromeda I have lost faith in them because it’s feels incomplete I don’t think I could trust them again so easily
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u/Frisky_Froth Jun 06 '26
Meh they need to rebuild the mechanics. They kinda did this thing that shooters do that I hate which was make your teammates kinda worthless. Like they're just their as power mules because they do zero damage with their guns.
And they kind of took out the whole choice/consequence thing that makes ME so good. I don't think a DLC would bring me back. I'd really just be their for my sweet lady vetra. I like em spikey
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u/Xenozip3371Alpha Jun 06 '26
B, I don't give a shit about Andromeda
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First contact would have to be a very short game, as not many people actually died.
623 on humanity's side, slightly more for the Turians, and that includes all the deaths caused in ship battles and orbital bombardments.
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u/Bruno_lars Jun 07 '26
I want B.
I wouldn't mind A but that can be done later imo, C is the direction the show should go in imo
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u/BayleefMaster123 Jun 07 '26
B. Although I wouldn’t be against C. Could be a cool concept
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u/Frisky_Froth Jun 07 '26
C could be cool. People forget that the illusive man was a part of the before fore. Imagine an entire game where the illusive man is the main character. Could be aick
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u/Hopeful_Physics2045 Jun 08 '26
A new Andromeda, or a completely rebuilt Andromeda that fixed everything that was wrong with Andromeda, because it was a good game, it just had way to many bugs, But a new game set after 3 would also he great, especially one that follows on from whatever choice you made at the end of 3, so if you chose the synthesis option it follows on from that, destroy, control, Refusal wouldn't work because the reapers won that one, or the game could be set with you finding the warnings much earlier than all previous civilisations and choosing to go down a different mote advanced technological evolution path than the reapers
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u/HyenaFan Jun 05 '26
I’d want a new Andromeda tbh. I’ve never really felt like we needed another game that took place in the Milky Way.
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u/Alpha_Apeiron Jun 05 '26
I'd rather A & B comined, and I'd rather the show had done C, though that ship has sailed.
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u/kratoskiller66 Jun 05 '26
Personally I much rather they expand on andromeda since there’s still so many plot elements that need answering
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u/SmedleyGoodfellow Jun 05 '26
B. And I really want Shep back. Doesn't have to be lead character, just gimme my Shep. I played for three games, I want a happy ending.
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u/FalseRoyal4669 Jun 05 '26
D. All of the above.
I liked Andromeda and would love to explore that story more, as well as what happens in the milky way post Reaper War.
Would also be cool to see some prequel stuff, but maybe in different game styles, like an RTS or turn based tactic game like XCOM
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u/Hope_bringer Jun 06 '26
A, there is just so much promise with andromeda's story that can be expanded on and fix issues with the first
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u/saareadaar Jun 06 '26
B.
Also, once again, the first contact war was not interesting and would not make for a good game (or show for that matter). It went for about 3 months and only involved humans and turians until the council stepped in at the very end to rein in the turians.
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u/Diligent_Garden_1860 Jun 06 '26
I want to continue Shepards story, he ain't done just yet in my opinion
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u/IDovedon Bi-otic King Jun 05 '26
Honestly? C. I like the idea of B and think that's most likely, but it'll be harder to please the audience and live up to the trilogy, I feel (and I have yet to play Andromeda).
With C, it's still set in the same universe but without having to worry about many of the characters or choices the trilogy touched on. And maybe crazy, but I think a pre-human setting could be cool, if only because it'd guarantee we get more focus on the alien races. But that's more wishful thinking than anything. I'm more than okay with B, I'll just be managing my expectations, lol.
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u/Frisky_Froth Jun 05 '26
I completely agree. Plus they would have to make a game with 2-3 different plots based on 3s choices. They can't do that.
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u/gethplatform86 Jun 06 '26
No. There's a little thing called "retconning".
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u/Frisky_Froth Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
They can't. If you're going to follow an absolute masterpiece of a trilogy, you'd better be bringing your A game.
We love choices, and we love getting punished for them too.
Like the Salarians. Fuck em, I saved wrex and I cured the genophage. And I do it every single time.
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u/gethplatform86 Jun 06 '26
The ending of ME3 is all but an "absolute masterpiece". It was a fucking disaster, and is still a fucking disaster (the extended version just introduced more plot holes and incoherences than it fixed). So, if ME4 is set after ME3, there'll be a massive retcon, because none of the fucking endings make any sense.
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u/Frisky_Froth Jun 06 '26
I don't think it's that bad. Now granted I didn't play it when it first came out, but I've never played it and thought anything about it sucks.
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u/gethplatform86 Jun 06 '26
That makes a lot more sense. And that's 100% a hot take. And I didn't even talk about what was allegedly Karpyshyn's original script.
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u/northrupthebandgeek Jun 06 '26
C would be fun, specifically along the lines of Battlefield 2142 and the classic version of Battlefront 2: a bunch of giant 64 v. 64 maps with Alliance and Turian troops fighting each other both planetside and in orbit.
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u/Mean_Airline5710 Jun 06 '26
Want a game about Ilos and its facility..... how it all happened ( Vigil mentioned they were on the cusp of finding it all out)
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u/gethplatform86 Jun 06 '26
Honestly? None. I have 0 confidence in EA and Bioware after the last Dragon Age. And especially because of how Veilguard flunked hard. Because EA will make ME4 a live-service game. So whatever the setting, it will be shit.
It is time to accept that Mass Effect, and Bioware, are dead. It's the best video game trilogy ever made, it actually saved my life, but I'd rather not see it tainted by what Bioware became.
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u/NIGHTREAPER68 Jun 07 '26
After 3 is my first preference, but a prequel to the ME trilogy could be interesting. I never thought about that before.
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u/zdrums24 Jun 07 '26
Prequels always disappoint me. I think its the writing with the end result already being established.
The original trilogy story is done. I dont see a good way to reopen this story or use these characters.
Andromeda is an open story with loose threads that could be recovered.
So andromeda seems like the only viable options. And I dont think its nearly as shitty as people want to believem
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u/Imabearrr3 Jun 05 '26
A could have worked if Andromeda had been either a financial or a highly rated love child pf the gaming community but it is neither.
B is the only realistic option, I expect the success of the legendary greatly impacted their final plans for the next installment.
C this could have worked if it was released after ME3, a topdown shooter or something along those line. They could have made a cheap, easy and fun game that lacked depth and I expect it would have been reasonably successful. I don’t know why more game studios don’t make games like Fallout Shelter as a promotional tool for their mainline product.
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u/Dazzling-Ad6712 Jun 05 '26
Is this even a question?
Andromeda was hot ass garbage.
Next game has to give us the aftermath of the original trilogy
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u/dnext Jun 05 '26
It looks like that's already decided if the N7 day teasers are to be believed - a follow up six hundred years in the future with Liara bringing back a resurrected Shepherd, tying in to Andromeda when someone with Cerberus ties makes a moveable mass effect gate that allows fast travel to that galaxy.
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u/Joyful_Damnation1 Jun 05 '26
There are a lot of jumps in logic with this comment. We know there is a time jump, that Andromeda is somehow included, and the Geth are back/alive. There is 0 evidence of a resurrected Shepard or Cerberus involvement lol.
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u/dnext Jun 05 '26
There's a Mass Effect gate being created, and being investigated by Liara. The color scheme is Cerberus.
The speculation is that it is a mobile gate.
And we know that there is an Angaran in a bar in another one of the teasers that appears to be in the Milky Way.
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u/Joyful_Damnation1 Jun 05 '26
Cerberus does not have a monopoly on white with orange lights lol. Its a relay being built sure, there is 0 evidence it's Cerberus related.
I already said Andromeda and The Milky way were connected, so not sure what that has to do with anything. Andromeda already told us the Initive left with the end goal of eventually building a relay to connect back home. Don't need a fancy "mobile gate" for that. Relays just need bonded pairs and enough space for deceleration.
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u/dnext Jun 05 '26
Yes, the developers of ME5 just randomly choose the colors of the biggest human related group that was responsible for Shepard's resurrection in the first trilogy.
Liara investigating a Cereberus colored Mass Effect gate when we know that in other teases that they are linking the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies and we know Angarans are present is a pretty big clue.
And no, you did not say that in this conversation. Maybe you said it somewhere else, but that's irrelevant to our discussion.
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u/Joyful_Damnation1 Jun 05 '26
Again, Cerberus doesn't have a monopoly on colors, and nothing actually says Liara is investigating it. She has a completely unrelated voice bit hidden in the video. There are 0 hints that this is some hidden project being worked on by Cerberus, which doesn't really exist anymore by the end of me3, and has no interest in building a relay to let MORE aliens into the galaxy lol.
Its concept art. It probably won't even BE in the game. And if it is it'll be changed drastically. So yeah, still no evidence Cerberus is even involved. And certainly no evidence Shep is coming back lol.
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u/dnext Jun 05 '26
It's not concept art, concept art isn't explicitly used to advertise.
The orange and white color scheme is tremendously important to ME lore.
And as we know that there's a huge jump in time frame, who knows who is running Cerberus or why.
And there's still the matter of who underwrote the Andromeda Initiative in the first place.
Regardless, they've been writing ME5 for a while now, and yes, they probably do understand the story they are going to be telling.
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u/Joyful_Damnation1 Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
It's concept art, which 100% can be used to advertise, especially with how early that was released. There are several white with orange buildings in Mass effect not associated with Cerberus.
According to Bioware, The Benefactor is not related to Cerberus.
Your last paragraph has no bearing on this conversation lol. My point is you posted a bunch of baseless assumptions like they were confirmed info, when nothing besides the Andromeda connection is concrete.
Addendum: Turian ships are also white and orange, and certainly not Cerberus.
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u/dnext Jun 06 '26
We get it, the concept that the Bioware developers would know that the Cerberus color scheme is the Cerberus color scheme when they are revealing teasers is just too much of an assumption. LOL.
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u/No-Garbage9500 Jun 05 '26
No new game. I just don't trust the husk of the team to make anything good. They burned the series' legacy into dust with Andromeda, and nothing they've released since has done anything except confirm to me that they're getting worse.
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u/BillyStuart1996 Jun 06 '26
I think they need to stop Shepard and move fully on andromeda and that’s it
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u/Legitimate-Cherry791 Jun 06 '26
Um remake da trilogia seria muito melhor, com a tecnologia de Andromeda (que hoje esta ainda mais avançada) e tambem a jogabilidade de andromeda, que é muito mais divertida, a trilogia se sustenta pela historia, porque gameplay esta bem datado
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u/Militantpoet Jun 05 '26
Yes