November and December 2020 were big months for Mass Effect fans, as they got the news that Mass Effect: Legendary Edition would be releasing in the coming months, with confirmation that a new game dubbed Mass Effect 4 was in development. In the months since the announcement, players have returned to the Milky Way with Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, playing through the original trilogy with better graphics and improved gameplay mechanics. Players have enjoyed getting to jump back into Mass Effect, but there hasn’t been much information about the upcoming Mass Effect 4.
The teaser trailer for Mass Effect 4 premiered at The Game Awards 2020, fueling players with excitement for future Mass Effect content. At the time, they already had Mass Effect: Legendary Edition to look forward to, so Mass Effect 4 news was the icing on the cake. Now, many players have already flown through their copies of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, leaving the hype for Mass Effect 4Â higher than ever.
What Mass Effect: Legendary Edition Means for Mass Effect 4
A remastered edition of the original Mass Effect trilogy, alongside hours of DLC, gives players a chance to do a brand-new playthrough of the games. The Mass Effect trilogy is long, especially for completionists, but its storytelling is still a standout feature for players. Mass Effect: Legendary Edition lets fans relive the entire trilogy again, bringing all the events of the original games to the forefront of players’ minds. It’s also a great lead-up to Mass Effect 4.
Though there’s no official title or premise for Mass Effect 4 yet, the teaser trailer showed two different galaxies, indicating it will merge the trilogy with its follow-up Mass Effect: Andromeda. Combining both galaxies will be interesting, but having players go through the events of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition prior to Mass Effect 4 should help keep the events fresh in their minds. It might also give some indication of what is and isn’t possible for the upcoming installment in the franchise. For example, many fan-favorite Mass Effect characters probably won’t return in Mass Effect 4, but the teaser did reveal that Liara comes back. There might be some subtle nod to how this is possible, besides the asari lifespan, in Mass Effect: Legendary Edition.
Players Want More Mass Effect
Getting to the end of a trilogy, especially one as long as the Mass Effect series, takes time and dedication, and that doesn’t come without some attachment to the game itself. Many Mass Effect fans have their favorite characters, favorite missions, and even favorite entries in the trilogy. Lots of players have not only played through the games, but done multiple playthroughs with different romance options and renegade versus paragon choices. This dedication to the games not only shows how packed full of content they are, but that players want more Mass Effect.
Even the announcement of Mass Effect: Andromeda had a lot of fans excited for the next steps in the Mass Effect universe. It wasn’t until after its release that people were overwhelmingly disappointed with what the game turned out to be. Even then, Mass Effect: Andromeda got decent ratings on Steam after its initial launch, and that may be part of the reason Mass Effect 4 is happening at all. The combination of the Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies will hopefully keep players satisfied by incorporating the new and old Mass Effect games together in a meaningful way.
There’s no telling when Mass Effect 4 will release, but the amount of players either diving into Mass Effect for the first time or the tenth time is enough to see that the fanbase of Mass Effect is always ready for more. Mass Effect: Legendary Edition has only reignited the spark that keeps players engaged in the franchise, and will hopefully be a great leadup to Mass Effect 4.
Mass Effect 4 is currently in development.