The new and next Mass Effect game — tentatively dubbed Mass Effect 5 by many, and Mass Effect 4 by others who ignore the existence of Andromeda — may be darker in tone than previous games, based on a new post on social media from Michael Gamble. For those who do not know, Gamble is an executive producer at BioWare. That said, if this darker tone is the case, it would be a surprise, as the promotional material so far hasn’t suggested any change in tone, subtle or not.
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Over on social media platform X, a well-known Mass Effect YouTuber noted that they think they have cracked the case on the recent tease for the game released on N7 Day earlier this month. To this end, the YouTuber notes it’s “pretty dark.” Now, none of the theoretical speculation is noteworthy, but the reply from Gamble is, or at least the perception of it is. Responding to this, Gamble replied, “Go on,” implying there may be something to the theory and its conclusions. And this caught the attention of fans.
Fans Approve
It’s hard to know how much should be made of this, but when speculation is off the mark and out of control based on a Gamble post, he usually deletes it and clarifies. This did not happen this time, which may be noteworthy. Whatever the case, it has caught the attention of fans of the EA series, who are receptive to the idea of more mature, dark and mature themes and tone.
“I didn’t like how everything was shown ‘fixed’ in the ending,” writes one fan. “After a war that big, the Galaxy would definitely have centuries of struggles. The council would probably be abolished, citadel is a goner. Yeah I like the dark vibe.”
Another adds: “Good! Darkness is important for good stories. Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and so on.”
In fact, there isn’t a single reply to the tweet above not smitten by the idea and potential of Mass Effect leaning into being dark. The original trilogy struck a perfect balance between dark and mature, but also lighthearted and campy when needed. BioWare has not mastered this balance since Mass Effect 3, 13 years ago.
It would be fitting to see BioWare strike this balance again, but recent games from it don’t provide much hope of this happening. In particular, the studio has struggled in the moments it tries to be lighthearted, earnest, campy, and fun. It’s trite to say, but when it’s attempted this tone, it often comes up a tiny bit cringeworthy. To this end, it would be wise to lean more into the dark and mature content, lest it fumble the ball again.
All of that said, and as always, feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think, or join the conversation over on the ComicBook Forum.
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