Fans have been tirelessly picking apart the teaser trailer and promotional images for Mass Effect 4 as BioWare releases new information to find out what they can about the upcoming space adventure. From what’s been gathered so far, it seems like Mass Effect 4 is gearing up for a return to the Milky Way. If this is true, it shouldn’t mean that the story and setting of Mass Effect: Andromeda are left behind. If anything, it would be interesting to see how BioWare could combine the two galaxies.
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How the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies Could Connect in Mass Effect 4
Between the events of Mass Effect 2 and the kickoff of the galactic warfare in Mass Effect 3, the Milky Way is preparing for the worst and so it sends Arks filled with the various races of the Mass Effect universe and sends them to the Andromeda galaxy so that should the Reapers win, there’s a chance for survival somewhere else. The journey to Andromeda isn’t a quick one, though, and even with Mass Effect’s advanced technology it still takes 600 years for the Arks to arrive at their destination.
This means that for the characters from Mass Effect: Andromeda to appear, the new game in the series would need to be set hundreds of years in the future from Mass Effect 3. Considering that the trailer for Mass Effect 4 seems to show off an older Liara, a lot of fans are already pointing to a story set in the fairly distant future for the upcoming title. This allows there to have been enough time for the events of Andromeda to take place.
However, this doesn’t necessarily explain how there could be an ease of travel between the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies by the time Mass Effect 4 rolls around. If the game were to allow both galaxies, it wouldn’t really make sense that there should be a 600-year journey every time they want to travel between them. Mass Effect 4 does have a potential answer to this, and it is Mass Effect Relays. This technology allows for incredibly quick space travel in the main Mass Effect trilogy, and the latest teaser for Mass Effect 4 has shown what appears to be a new Relay being built. The Mass Effect Relays were destroyed in every ending in Mass Effect 3, but considering how vital they are in the universe, it makes sense they would be rebuilt over time, with the potential for a few being dropped in other galaxies as well.
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Why It Makes Sense for the Andromeda and Milky Way Galaxies to Appear in Mass Effect 4
There are a few ways that Mass Effect 4 could better connect the galaxies the series has established so far. A lot of fans would love to see a return to the Milky Way in Mass Effect 4, as they still have a fondness for the original trilogy and the characters within it. But, with most of the most beloved squad mates from the Mass Effect trilogy unlikely to be alive by the time the new game rolls around, this means that despite the hype, it isn’t likely there will be many familiar faces within Mass Effect 4.
This marks untrodden and somewhat scary territory for Mass Effect, but by following a dual-galaxy approach, fans could get a lot more content in the upcoming game. Even if Mass Effect 4 is set far into the future, some of the characters from Mass Effect: Andromeda are likely to be around, and they could act as an anchor to the Andromeda galaxy in the same way as Liara could set the groundwork for the events of the Milky Way.
If Mass Effect 4 does adopt this dual-galaxy approach, there is more to add than just familiar faces making a return. With the Reapers gone and the potential of a canon Destroy ending from Mass Effect 3 becoming more and more likely, this means that a new threat will have to roll around by the time Mass Effect 4 releases. To have this enemy or force be a threat to both Andromeda and the Milky Way would allow Mass Effect to ramp up its scale even past the war against the Reapers.
Connecting the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies appears difficult at first due to the time gap in between the trilogy and its spin-off. However, with the Mass Effect Relays being constructed again and Liara appearing significantly older, there’s a chance that the two could be tied to one another in Mass Effect 4. This would allow BioWare to be the most ambitious it could be with its latest game, giving players the chance to explore more space than ever before without abandoning either of its two major settings.
Mass Effect 4 is in development.
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