Mass Effect: Andromedahas a notable lack of new alien species, despite taking place in a totally new galaxy. All in all there was only one companion from an alien species not introduced in the original trilogy, Jaal the Angara. The fact that players knew so little about Jaal and his species helped make him one ofAndromeda’s most popular squadmates, encouraging players to get to know him as a window into the series' brand new setting.Mass Effect 4can learn from Jaal’s success.
Although in the endAndromedaintroduced just two new organic alien species - at least, two that actually made an appearance in the game in-person - there were originally plans for far more. In fact,Andromedacould have had up to 10 new alien races, but many were cut for budgetary and cosplay reasons before the game’s release.Mass Effect 4should bring some of those cut concepts back.
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Mass Effect’s Aliens
Mass Effect 1was able to take advantage of its setting’s species in a way none of the games have been able to replicate since. In the first game, each alien companion was a window into their own respective species, and by learning about their species the player also ended up learning far more about that character as an individual at the same time. Even the player’s human companions give them a window into the history of humanity in theMass Effecttimeline, making it worthwhile to get to know them to learn more about the galaxy.
Mass Effect 4’s trailer implies that Andromeda and the Milky Way will be connected in some way, with the next game taking on species and plotlines from bothMass Effect:Andromedaand the original trilogy. In the background of the trailer’s final shot, the Mudskipper ship previously seen in an image released by BioWare can be seen in the background, behind Liara. In the original image the Muskipper appears to have an Angara crewmember, implying that the Andromeda Initiative somehow made it home. This is also implied by the inclusion of a shot of boththe Milky Way and Andromedaat the start of the trailer.
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Mass Effect 4’s Opportunity
If the Andromeda Initiative somehow managed to set up a link between the Heleus Cluster and the Milky Way - perhaps by building aMass Relay- BioWare has an opportunity to introduce more alien species from Andromeda which were not featured in the lastMass Effect.Mass Effect: Andromedaonly takes place in a small part of the galaxy unlike the original trilogy’s relationship with the Milky Way.Andromedasticks almost exclusively to the Heleus Cluster, but creating a link between the two galaxies the next game could see inhabitants from all across Andromeda suddenly start appearing in the Milky Way.
In many ways, it seems likeMass Effect 4will be turning back to the series' past, bringing backLiaraand possibly Shepard. However, it can’t just rely on nostalgia.Mass Effect 4needs to inspire the same sense of wonder, creating a universe full of unknown species who feel worth meeting just like the aliens in the first game. If nothing else, the next game could start exploring some of the Milky Way species that never really got their time in the spotlight or as companions during the first three games, like the Batarians, Vorcha, Elchor, and Volus.
Mass Effect 4may be bringing together elements from both the original trilogy andAndromeda, but it will need to be more than the sum of its parts if it’s going to get the series back on top. New alien species could be a huge part of that, and hopefully some of thealiens cut fromMass Effect: Andreomdawill finally get to make their debuts in the next game.
