Highlights
- Mass Effect 4 needs amazing companions to steal the spotlight, as the hero is usually a blank slate for players to shape.
- Player choices heavily influence Mass Effect's protagonists, while NPC squadmates like Liara and Garrus have defined personalities.
- Whether Shepard returns or a new hero takes the lead, the supporting cast will likely be the highlight of Mass Effect 4.
It might be one of EA and BioWare's most highly anticipated games, but virtually nothing is known about Mass Effect 4 other than the fact that it will probably take place in the Milky Way and include Liara T'Soni. If there's one thing that Mass Effect 4 needs to get right, though, it's the perfectly tuned team dynamics that the series has almost always managed to deliver, and well-written, interesting companions are crucial to achieving this end.
Mass Effect's rich tapestry of companion NPCs is a major selling point, especially in the original trilogy. While Commander Shepard is an iconic gaming hero in many ways, they are mostly shaped by the player's choices, with little in the way of consistent, strong personality traits. Shepard's teammates, on the other hand, are colorful, unique, and unforgettable, with supporting characters like Liara, Jack, Garrus, and Tali effectively serving as the heart and soul of the series. Whoever winds up being the protagonist of Mass Effect 4, they will most likely have to play second fiddle to the game's supporting cast.
Why Mass Effect 4's Antagonists Will Always Be on the Heels of the Reapers
The Reapers are one of the most memorable parts of Mass Effect's lore, and the next game might have some trouble living up to their legacy.
Mass Effect 4 Needs Strong Companions More Than It Needs a Strong Hero
Mass Effect Has a Specific Protagonist-NPC Dynamic
Although Commander Shepard has many iconic moments, they are more of a blank slate for the player to project themselves onto. This is evidenced by the fact that players can not only shape Shepard's characterization through their in-game choices, but also rigidly define his backstory during the character-creation process. This makes Shepard a far more fluid and loosely defined character than RPG stars like Geralt or Cloud Strife who, while still molded by player agency, are much more consistent in terms of canonical personality traits and backstory.
Shepard's squadmates, on the other hand, are far more vibrant due to their strict and bespoke characterization, even if their stories can still be influenced by Mass Effect's player choice system. These characters outshine the star, but this winds up working in the series' favor: players can easily fit into Shepard's shoes due to their flexible characterization, then spend time 'socializing' with the game's supporting characters, engaging with them without the influence of a predetermined protagonist persona.
They can also choose whether they want to build a bond with a character or neglect them, as Shepard is (generally speaking) not partial to any specific squad member by default. This balance between a vaguely defined hero and a richly characterized supporting cast forms the backbone of the Mass Effect experience.
Bringing Shepard Back Could Force BioWare's Hand
In the original trilogy, Shepard is a blank slate that doesn't even come close to outshining the games' side characters, but the hero will have to be retooled a bit if they are coming back in Mass Effect 4. Assuming that the upcoming game takes place after Mass Effect 3, it will need to cement one of ME3's endings as the canon one. By extension, this would require the game to canonize a specific version of Shepard, as Shepard's decisions, the same decisions that are informed by each individual player's vision of the character, determine how the trilogy ends. Mass Effect 3's Destroy ending is the only one that suggests Shepard's survival, so the Destroy version of Shepard is the only one who could return in Mass Effect 4.
But whether Mass Effect 4 stars Destroy Shepard or a brand-new protagonist, the game's side characters should still steal the show. Mass Effect's supporting cast has always been the portal through which players can engage with the series' world, so they will have to, and most likely will be, far more interesting and memorable than ME4's hero.
Mass Effect
- Created by
- Casey Hudson
- Video Game(s)
- Mass Effect , Mass Effect 2 , Mass Effect 3 , Mass Effect: Andromeda , Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
- Creation Year
- 2007
- Developer(s)
- BioWare , Edge of Reality , Demiurge Studios , Straight Right
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts , Microsoft Game Studios
