Mass Effect Andromeda Isn't Bound By The End Of ME 3
To infinity...
There is a lot of questions floating around the big black hole of Mass Effect: Andromeda [official site]. Who is the lead character, Ryder? How did they get to a whole other galaxy? Can I romance the Mako? But perhaps an equally important question is what kind of impact the final decision of Mass Effect 3 might have on the story. According to an interview with Eurogamer, the answer is not a whole lot.
"We acknowledged it in the endings of Mass Effect 3 and I think that's where we want to leave it for now," says Bioware's Edmonton studio general manager Aaryn Flynn. "We want this to be a new story and it would be very hard to say it's a new story but also that you need to understand how [the past trilogy] ended."
If you haven't played Mass Effect 3, the final moments culminate in a galaxy-wide choice whether or not to control the big bad Reapers, wipe out all synthetic life, or assimilate with it and make your skin look all weird. But no matter which choice you make, all of them have massive repercussions on life in the Milky Way.
By escaping to the Andromeda galaxy, Mass Effect: Andromeda can effectively put the final choices of Mass Effect 3 behind it—maybe even waaay behind it if you consider "how long it takes to travel between galaxies," as suggested by creative director Mac Walters in the interview.
That said, Andromeda won't do away with the lore of Mass Effect entirely. "We've done it in such a way that allows all of those decisions you made to remain intact in the canon of the universe, but also allows a new story to begin," Flynn says. Still, whether that also means having to choose one of the three endings to officially become canon is also something up for debate. But one thing is definitely for sure, you won't be running into any synthetic hybrids: "There are no green-skinned people," says Flynn. "To be clear."
Mass Effect: Andromeda has been in development since 2012, but aside from a smattering of teaser trailers, we haven't had much to chew on. That will hopefully change later this year, as Bioware has confirmed to Eurogamer that we won't see more of Andromeda until this November. You should read the full interview, but I for one am excited to embrace a whole new story without feeling needlessly chained down by the previous games. More than that, I'm excited by the prospect of one character making a return in Andromeda. Oh, Mako, don't ever leave me again...