Being at an immediate disadvantage has made previous companies more inclined to take big risks, and Mass Effect 4 needs to be calculated in the way it brings players back into the ecosystem. The Reapers were more than sufficient in ensuring the stakes were always high, but bringing them back wouldn’t put enough distance between the fourth game and the three before it. Commander Shepard can fall and rise again without it feeling too outlandish. However, Shepard’s presence in Mass Effect 4 would be unwise as a change is certainly needed, but it would be more plausible than the Reapers suddenly making a reappearance.
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Old Characters are a Slippery Slope for Mass Effect
The fundamental game design of Mass Effect lends itself beautifully to character-driven storytelling, as returning to the Normandy to rendezvous with the crew makes for some of the best scenes in the trilogy. The formula is arguably more important to Mass Effect than the threat of the Reapers, as the all-encompassing enemy is interesting in premise, but ultimately replaceable as they never truly offered anything revolutionary. They were so large and scale that it was hard to relate to them, unlike villains like Saren and The Illusive Man, and as such their narrative potential ends at the close of Mass Effect 3.
Reintroducing old enemies in sci-fi franchises can be done well, but it’s easy for the decision to feel forced. Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was an odd choice, and it felt ham-fisted in approach, appealing to fan nostalgia rather than being the best choice for the story at hand. Conversely, Star Trek: Into Darkness wonderfully recreates Khan to provide a compelling antagonist for the film, and felt like a natural progression for the rebooted franchise. Both of these films were directed by JJ Abrams, yet they’re radically different in execution. In terms of Mass Effect, though, the Reapers simply don’t have enough character and personality for BioWare to take that risk in Mass Effect 4.
Commander Shepard has Risen Before
The opening of Mass Effect 2 was both a huge payoff for existing fans and a smart way to bring new people in. Killing Shepard, only to have him revived by the human-prioritizing Cerberus set the tone of Mass Effect 2’s tale, as the uneasy alliance made meandering around the Normandy feel less safe and more mysterious. Mass Effect 3 gave Shepard a somewhat conclusive ending, save for a cryptic, throw-away scene that only a few players saw. Bringing Shepard back would surely be a mistake, as the series could go in so many interesting directions with its protagonist, but the second Mass Effect game showed that Shepard’s death and revival can be used for narrative gain in a pinch.
Mass Effect 4 is likely still a while away, but whenever it arrives, the impact of the trilogy will still be felt among gamers everywhere. It’s a series that wears its story and characters firmly on its sleeve; the magic of BioWare’s Mass Effect is in the conversations and the way the tale unfolds. The Reapers work wonders as a menacing threat to the entire galaxy, but there isn’t enough justification to use them again, given their lack of depth as well as the notorious difficulty of bringing back famous characters whose stories have ended.
Mass Effect 4 is in development.
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