The anticipation ahead of Mass Effect 3 led to plenty of theories about the shape of the trilogy’s endgame, with plenty of guesses about how the war with the Reapers would play out. After the eventual release was met with an infamously mixed reception by fans, plenty of these fan theories were thrown around as potential replacements for those arcs. While some (like the Indoctrination theory) have their fans, one notable one has basis in the initial designs for the ultimate nature of the Reapers.
Videos by ComicBook.com
While this concept didn’t end up being followed through on in Mass Effect 3, the lingering thread remains one the series could always pull on. Mass Effect 4 may not have received the same level of acclaim and sales as the trilogy, but the series is carrying on in the form of the reportedly in-development Mass Effect 5. Bringing back one underlying tease from the original Mass Effect trilogy to the forefront of the storyline Mass Effect 5 could be a useful connective tissue between the older games that also sets the stage for the future of the series.
What Dark Matter Is In Mass Effect 2
A recurring detail in Mass Effect 2’s lore was Dark Matter, a mysterious element that played a part in several missions (such as Tali’s sun-scorched recruitment mission). The lead writer on the first two Mass Effect games, Drew Karpyshyn, discussed how the Dark Energy factored into early plans for the trilogy, as reported by EuroGamer. The broad strokes were that Dark Energy would be a unique power source that only organic life could access. In harnessing this power, organic life would be drawing power from the universe itself, hastening the end of the universe.
As Karpyshyn explained, “Maybe the Reapers are looking at a way to stop this. Maybe there’s an inevitable descent into the opposite of the Big Bang (the Big Crunch), and the Reapers realise that the only way they can stop it is by using biotics, but since they can’t use biotics, they have to keep rebuilding society.” It would have been a wild reveal, keeping true to the apparent cycles of death and destruction caused by the Reapers but giving them a more understandable motivation.”
Karpyshyn was quick to emphasize this was just one of their concepts they toyed with. However, it remains an intriguing moral quandary and final challenge to root the story in. Giving the Reapers this higher purpose would have made for a compelling twist, adding a motivation that had the entire fate of existence in mind. It would have also made all the death and destruction tricky to overcome when accepting their eventual challenge, preventing the kind of final confrontation that closed out the trilogy. Because they went in a different direction Mass Effect 3, that Dark Energy thread could easily be revisited.
How Dark Energy Could Fuel Mass Effect 5
BioWare has periodically released teasers about Mass Effect 5‘s development, with teasers suggesting that it would be a return to the time period of the original games. On top of bringing back familiar faces like Liara T’Soni and real-life developers from the original trilogy, the game received a brief teaser in 2020 and 2023 that suggested it was in active development. It remains to be seen what the future holds for the franchise, however. BioWare’s parent company EA entering $20 billion in debt raised fears among fans that the sequel could be cut to reduce overhead. There’s also the question of the series’ future in light of EA entering a $55 billion buyout with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner’s investment firm Affinity Partners, whose political and cultural leanings might bristle against the more progressive elements of the series’ politics. In light of this, bringing back the iconic cast of characters from the original trilogy seems like a useful way to realign and reaffirm the core themes and heart of the Mass Effect series going forward.
Bringing back Dark Energy could be the best way to do that, retroactively expanding on the ending of Mass Effect 3 to incorporate elements of these earlier ideas. The potential destruction of the universe due to the player’s decisions would make for a truly compelling shade of the original trilogy’s moral dilemmas. Whereas previous games in the series would force players to make choices through quick-time events and actions, Mass Effect 5 could introduce the dangerous result of overuse on Dark Energy and bionic forces that over-harness it. It could be used to create tension in the world-building and map exploration, forcing more immersive planning in how to navigate a universe on the brink of collapse. It would also be a compelling upgrade of the stakes of Mass Effect 3, which had endings ranging from the destruction of civilization as we know it to the harmonious unification between synthetic and organic life.
Expanding the galaxy through this new motivation for the Reaper conflict could open the floodgates for the future of the series, similar to a concept floated by a fan on Reddit that would set up more adventures with the surviving crew members of the Normandy by utilizing the Reaper’s challenge as an excuse to explore the larger universe for other dangers and threats. It would give developers plenty of space to experiment with all sorts of new aliens, settings, and technologies by sending the Normandy crew to new worlds. It could potentially set the stage for a limitless future of the franchise
This would also be a useful way to ensure the legacy of the original game remains prevalent in the new title. The series has always been progressive in its approach to sexuality and gender, with romance options across both spectrums. Bringing back the original characters like Garrus, Liara, and Tali through an exploration of the larger setting could be a crucial way to ensure that element of the game’s core worldview remains central to the future of the series. Those characters can’t backslide away from the progress and arcs the players brought to their own adventures as Shephard, ensuring future entries of the series continue forward with a connection to the progressive roots of the original games.
Mass Effect 5 could easily build on the threads from the original series while setting up a potentially limitless future to explore. By bringing back Dark Energy, they retroactively create a thread to the past that can expand into a massive new future. It’s a natural way to expand the original lore and solidify the diverse legacy of the original, all while laying the foundation for Mass Effect 5 and beyond.
Most Viewed
-
Image courtesy of Paramount+ -
Courtesy of Comedy Central
