What should BioWare do now with Mass Effect?

I think Mass Effect should rebuild from what Andromeda did, but rebuilding the cultures left in the Milky Way: have at least part of the various races recreate their own society and culture, with a council-like organization to make mediation between the races. If there was one thing I missed about ME in Andromeda, is the lack of culture differences between races: no mention of Dalatrass for the Salarian, no militaristic culture for the Turian, just the Krogan had kept some tribal feeling to them.
Continue the story a few century later when big cities and different political organisms are developed, and societies can have their own problems, and having the Initiative be a new sort of Council, with Pathfinders being a new Spectre-like space agent.
Doesn't have to be all the same as in the Milky Way, but or new races and cultures are adeed, or the old ones need to return "alien" enought.

If BioWare want to hold onto the franchise rights but have no plans for future games they should consider entering a licensing agreement with a third party dev/publisher subject to interest... hopefully from Obsidian or Microsoft.

If an acceptable deal could be reached it's potentially an exciting business proposition for a third party looking for built-in audience, established brand recognition, game mechanics and highly detailed lore offering near unlimited storytelling and gameplay possibilities for potential suitors.

Fallout and Doom were considered dead franchises until Bethesda came along and the rest is history. Mass Effect and Deus Ex are easily as popular as the original Fallout series was so I have no doubt both will live on in some form... possibly as crowd funded spiritual successors in the absence of interest from AAA publishers.

No matter what Bioware choices to do with Mass Effect, if there is another game the one thing it needs most is a strong vision, a compelling reason to revisit the ME universe. I would rather that we never get another ME game again than play another half-baked reboot that doesn't seem to know why it exists.

Yeah either continue from where MEA leaves off for me and learn from the mistakes made with MEA or drop ME as a franchise altogether and create a new IP. Because I don't think I'd want a reboot.

I like ME3 the most, but I also find too much problematic (personal and otherwise) with it to call it the objective best.

If I had to, I'd put that to ME2. With some dispute, obviously stated by some on BSN (story, stripped gameplay, etc).

Maybe ME3 with all its patches and additional content and all that might be the best if you aren't still particularly ruined by the ending.

I personally think MEA at least succeeded in beating out ME1, but ME1 is still the best of the 4 games in terms of how much I enjoyed the unfolding core plot. All the later games have enough flaws with this aspect that none have beat ME1. The series always has Sovereign's speech both inspiring AND overshadowing it.

I think MEA would have been much better in core plot if it just had its months more refinement of writing and design. There's something beautiful there, but its covered in redundant repeats of old stuff and overwhelming focus on cheese instead of dramatic weight. ME will always have cheese and references and plotholes and worldbuilding vagueness.. but this went overboard.

Honestly I think Bioware just needs to not release a buggy unfinished unrefined bland mess.

I don't think MEA is totally that, but at least compared to the other games (Bioware, Mass Effect), its just dangerously leaning too close in that direction.

(The bugs are largely but not fixed enough, it will always feel unfinished due to unresolved DLC/sequel hooks, the framework will always seem somewhat unrefined, and you can't 'fix the writing'.)


Andromeda, Milky Way, elsewhere, elsetime, Shepard, Ryder, whatever. They already SHOULD know what makes Mass Effect work enough for a blockbuster reception. If the speculation is true, then they actually DID work off of what makes Mass Effect work, in the last up to couple of years of development. But the foundation was too unstable so its like trying to build a great gingerbread house with bad supports. You can tweak, add, polish, but its still the insufficient support.

That's the only thing that has me remotely forgiving them for no DLC. Perhaps - and I'm not asserting here AT ALL - we may see a new ME sooner (2020-2021) rather than later (2022-2025 if ever), from Bioware Edmonton, that gets what they need to do, has the tools and personnel to do it, and takes just a couple years to blow us away.

This is a weak argument they went in Andromeda precisely to avoid the controversies created by ME3 endings so they decided to move to another galaxy. So assuming you are right what they are going to do? Return to the MW and face the old controversy or stay in Andromeda and face the newer one? Either way they should man up and deal with the problems they created and move on. They couldn't possibly migrate to another galaxy for each game controversy they create. They should stand in Andromeda and make it work.

I am torn.

I was never hooked to the world of Andromeda, but continuing from there would be the logical direction. And that would respect all the fans who enjoyed the game.

But. I myself never finished playing the original trilogy, it is my favorite story, favorite series, like a second home where I can escape from the stress of everyday.

If I hade been in charge I would have finished Andromeda with a great DLC content and then moved back/ more close to the original. In this situation I would have accepted even the First Contact War game.




BUT DAMN.

Obsidian and Mass Effect? Yes PLEASE!

If BW has no ideas for this franchise that would be the best alternative. I prefer this franchise to live in somone else hands than to remain dead in its creators hands.

I really, really hope you're right but I honestly can't see it unless Anthem flops.

Why else would the Anthem or Dragon Age team make Mass Effect instead of Anthem or DA sequels? The only way I can see another Edmonton Mass Effect is in 7+ years time after EVERYBODY is sick to death of making any more Anthem and Dragon Age games.

I don't see necessarily back to back Anthems unless Anthem is the opposite of a flop (a huge success).

I don't think it fits Bioware, even with as far into this direction they seem to be going.

Yes yes EA, but I don't think the devs would go for it. I don't think MEA was outright thrown to the wolves but hoped to be enough of a success that Bioware can go from franchise to franchise without burning out on any particular one. And that means something like ME, A, DA, ME, A, DA (and as this goes on, consideration of opening more studios, starting new IPs, as any studio goes).

Sure an Anthem 2 would happen earlier 2020s, but I don't see it as necessarily 2020-2021. They can surely have a Year 1 of heavy support, Year 2 of light support, and Year 3 of little to nothing before a sequel release (aka 2022-2023).

Its not impossible to me if part of the reason for Anthem was to keep studios interested in something different instead of the likely burnout by the end of a chain of 3 MET games. Even Ubisoft shifts people around.

At this point if they aren't interested in carrying on andromeda universe they should let the series rest in its grave. Don't see the point in raking over the ashes of the original series or antagonising people by creation an official red blue or green canon.
Start working on a new single player IP i'd say.