One of the main draws ofMass Effectare the many mysteries in the Milky Way. From planets with disturbing, billion-year discoveries that hadn’t been solved, to ruins and artifacts from long-dead civilizations, theMass Effectuniverse is filled with mysteries that were left unsolved at the conclusion of the trilogy. Players were delighted to see the continuation of theMass Effectseries announced with the hope that some of these questions will be answered.
Some of these mysteries have more mundane answers; for example, anything relating to dark energy was explained by the developer to be a part of a plot thread that was ultimately cut from the game. Despite this, they’re still compelling mysteries that the story could circle back to inMass Effect 4, and have potential to become some of the most interesting plot points inMass Effect 4.
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Mass Effect’s Question of Dark Energy
Tali’s recruitment mission inMass Effect 2happens on the planet of Haestrom within Geth space, where she’s been sent by the Fleet to retrieve readings of the planet’s sun. The star is cooling far too quickly, and the Quarians believe the sun is dying before its time because of dark energy. This won’t be the last time dark energy is mentioned; Mordin’s Loyalty Mission also brings up dark energy when encountering a dead human test subject.Dark energy is dropped inMass Effect 3, which leaves the question of why Haestrom’s sun is dying prematurely unanswered, as well as leaving sinister implications for dark energy in the galaxy going forward, especially considering the Scourge in Andromeda.
The ending ofMass Effect 3will be important going intoMass Effect 4, and the question at the front of every player’s mind is Shepard’s survival. It’s made clear in the Control and Synthesis endings that Shepard either dies or their consciousness is absorbed into the Citadel; it’s only in theDestroy ending with a high Galactic Readiness score that they live. While this doesn’t bode well for the hero, it isn’t the first time Shepard survived a death experience, and theMass Effect 4teaser trailer hints at their survival. How Shepard could have survived the ending is a mystery, along with the implications of the continuation of the galaxy after something like the Synthesis ending.
The Threat In Mass Effect That Spans Galaxies
Mass Effect 3: Leviathanintroduced the Leviathans, an all-powerful species of squid-like aliens who were also the creators of the Intelligence connected to the Reapers. Unable to control their synthetic creation, the Leviathans decided to hide to escape the Reapers' unrelenting harvest of organic life. Shepard finds them and convinces them to join the fight against the Reapers, but it is unclear what the Leviathans will do once their only threat is gone.
The Citadel was badly damaged in The Battle for Earth, and Shepard’s brief trip on the space station didn’t give any indication of life. However, it’s unlikely the Reapers killed the millions of people on the Citadel instead of harvesting them, and it’s more likely they were kept alive during the transit to the Sol system. Fans have theorizedwhat happened to the people onMass Effect’s Citadel, both before and after it was used as the Crucible, and if there’s any chance the people on board the space station survived the experience.
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Mass Effect Has Some Shady Businesses
Shepard runs into various shady organizations over the course of the trilogy, the worst of them operate as businesses that are fronts for experimentation on people. One of these organizations is ExoGeni, the business that funds Zhu’s Hope, a colony that settled on a former Prothean world and, unintentionally, right above the home of the Thorian. Rather than moving the colony, ExoGeni used the colonists totest the capabilities of the Thorian. Later inMass Effect, Shepard runs into other Thorian slaves inside Cerberus bases on other planets. This has some worrying implications about ExoGeni and their true intentions, and some fans have theorized the organization had always been a front for Cerberus.
Anothermystery involvesMass Effect: Andromeda, which was mentioned in the teaser forMass Effect 4with the appearance of the Andromeda Galaxy and the mention of the departure of the Arks. One of the biggest mysteries that was introduced inMass Effect: Andromedawas the Benefactor, someone who funded the Andromeda Initiative because of the Reaper threat years before the Reapers appeared inMass Effect. The Benefactor supported Shepard’s claims about the threat, was incredibly wealthy, and wanted all civilizations in the galaxy to live on in Andromeda.
Theories about whom this person was range fromThe Illusive Manto the Shadow Broker, but neither candidate quite fits the description. Whether the Benefactor accompanied the Arks to Andromeda or remained in the Milky Way is a mystery, but it’s likely there’ll be an answer as to who they were inMass Effect 4,how they knew the Reaper threat was coming, and why they supported Shepard.
Mass Effect 4is in development.
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