Video Games

Mass Effect project director says Mass Effect 5 retains the sci-fi trilogy’s ‘mature tone’

Mass Effect 5 will look like Mass Effect and sound like Mass Effect, project director Michael Gamble said

Josh Broadwell

BioWare

Mass Effect 5 will look like Mass Effect and sound like Mass Effect, BioWare project director Michael Gamble said on Twitter. That might sound like an obvious state of affairs – of course Mass Effect 5 will be like Mass Effect – but Gamble said he’s been getting increasingly more questions about BioWare’s upcoming RPG now that Dragon Age Veilguard reviews are up.

“Both [games] are from the studio, but Mass Effect is Mass Effect,” Gamble said. “How you bring a Sci Fi [sic] RPG to life is different than other genres or IPs...and has to have different kinds of love.”

“Regarding tone questions: Mass Effect will maintain the mature tone of the original Trilogy [sic]. This is all I'm gonna say for now.”

What it won’t retain is some of the original trilogy’s writers, as several either left BioWare of their own accord, including Mac Walters, or were laid off. The trilogy's creative director and game director are on the project, though.

Gamble didn’t mention Andromeda by name, but specifically saying “the original trilogy” and its mature tone seems like a tactful way to say Mass Effect 4’s lighthearted approach to storytelling isn’t what BioWare has in mind for the next game. Not that most people in his replies were thinking of Andromeda. Dragon Age Veilguard’s quips and banter have been a hot topic for debate in the BioWare community since Veilguard’s first trailer appeared in 2023, and even though previous games featured plenty of similar lighthearted moments, the general consensus is that it’s too lighthearted now.

Well, Mass Effect 5 won’t be, so there you have it. Gamble also said the ME5 team is sticking to Mass Effect’s photorealism for the visual direction, in response to one user saying “please don’t Pixar ME like you guys did with DA.”

“I'm not sure I agree with the Pixar thing, but Mass Effect is photorealistic and will be as long as I'm running it,” Gamble said.

BioWare has been teasing Mass Effect 5 for a few years now, first with little audio clips, then with a brief video showing someone in a fantastically swanky coat walking along what looked like a ship’s corridor. What it actually is and when we’ll see more of it is anyone’s guess, though with Dragon Age Veilguard launching on October 31, 2024, perhaps BioWare will start revealing more of the next Mass Effect in the coming months.

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Josh Broadwell
JOSH BROADWELL

Josh is a freelance writer and reporter who specializes in guides, reviews, and whatever else he can convince someone to commission. You may have seen him on NPR, IGN, Polygon, or Rolling Stone shouting about RPGs. When he isn’t working, you’ll likely find him outside with his Belgian Malinois and Australian Shepherd or leveling yet another job in FFXIV.

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