Summary
Mass Effect 4will ditch the open-world elements ofMass Effect: Andromeda, according to a newly emerged leak. Even though the last installment in the franchise wasn’t an entirely free-roaming experience, many fans still criticizedMass Effect: Andromedaas an example ofsemi-open-world games that would have been better if they were more linear.
WhileAndromedamarked the lowest point of the series in terms of critical and fan reception, BioWare still pledged to start developing its fifth entry, tentatively dubbedMass Effect 4, in 2020. The companyshared quite a bit ofMass Effect 4teasers since then, but the upcoming RPG has yet to be treated to a gameplay reveal, so it is still unclear how far along its development actually progressed.
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Whatever the current state of the project is, the game itself might not double down on the open-world elements fromAndromeda, according to Windows Central’s Jez Corden. Speaking during the latest episode ofThe Xbox Two Podcast, Corden relayed a rumor that the nextMass Effecttitle will ditch the polarizingAndromedafeature in favor of returning to the franchise’s “classic format.”
As a reminder, the originalMass Effecttrilogy mostly consisted of hub areas connected to linear corridors, allowing players to choose the order in which to undertake missions. The action segments themselves were largely linear, but with a healthy dose of hidden areas that still rewarded exploration, with the end result being a handcrafted universe full of memorable set pieces that appeared larger than it actually is. In contrast,Andromedaadopted the semi-open-world design ofDragon Age: Inquisition, which released three years earlier. The game hence spanned a handful of fairly vast regions filled with quests and points of interest, which received a lukewarm response from the fandom.
Ditching that design philosophy in favor of the classic format would plausibly help BioWare tackle the seemingly massive scope of the next entry in the franchise. Namely, while the past four titles each took place in a single star system, the developer previously teased thatMass Effect 4will have a dual-galaxy approach.
Making an open-world space-faring RPG spanning dozens of galaxies and thousands of planets is nowadays very much within the realm of possibility with procedural generation, as demonstrated by the recently releasedStarfield. However, theMass Effectseries largely owes its cult following to the exact opposite of that approach, as do most of BioWare’s other greatest hits. Open-world titles also tend to be among the most demanding types of AAA games to develop, which currently makes such projects a challenging fit for the Canadian studio, not least becauseBioWare was just hit with some significant layoffs.
Mass Effect 4is in development.
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