Whether every famous video game franchise needs its own holiday is debatable. In any case, Bioware usually uses November 7th to wish all Mass Effect fans a happy N7 Day.
At least currently you should definitely take this day seriously. As is well known, the team is currently working on a new part of the space saga. Bioware used this day last year to share a new piece of artwork. There are a few announcements again this year in a blog entry – but they are sometimes even more cryptic than usual.
What is Bioware actually showing?
Of course, no Mass Effect holiday goes by without thanking the community. This time, Mike Gamble has the honor. He is the project director behind the current Mass Effect. So this is the man who currently has the captain’s hat on and is directing Mass Effect towards its next big sequel.
You can read his exact words in the blog, he mainly thanks the community for the cohesion and for their passion. Above all, towards the end, it leads to an intercepted message. This is about the following video:
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Mass Effect 5: A new video with strange noises provides puzzles
What are we supposed to do with this now? Well, at least the picture can be classified, even if it doesn’t give much at first glance. However, there is ultimately more to it than one might think. Here is a short analysis:
- What are we seeing here?
The picture shows a mass relay under construction. These ancient portals are necessary in the Mass Effect universe to travel throughout the galaxy. Without them, the Galactic Society would be unthinkable. - What does that mean?
For the relay to be set up, it must have been destroyed. Many fans interpret this fact as an indication that in Mass Effect 5 the red destruction ending will be official. Here, Shepard destroyed all synthetic life with the help of the relays, destroying the relays themselves in the process. It is unclear if the relay in the picture is being repaired or is brand new. But the latter is more likely because it has a new design. By the way, if the destruction ending is canon, then Shepard might have survived! That’s what the first trailer hinted at.
However, this artwork is by no means completely new and neither is the knowledge about it. This drawing is basically just a remastered version of an artwork that was printed in a book celebrating Bioware’s 25th anniversary two years ago and which Mark Gamble shared shortly afterwards on Twitter. Only the background is really new, as well as the small writing at the bottom left, which contains at least a note on the first portal 314 used by humans.
Meanwhile, colleague Peter has pretty clear ideas about how Mass Effect 5 can build on the success of the trilogy again. In his column, he advocates a return to the exploration of the first games in the series:
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Mass Effect 5 must not make the same mistake as Star Wars
What are those noises?
We can’t say what the ominous noises in the background are all about. Most likely, some fans will spin theories or even decipher the message very soon. Let us know your theories in the comments!
You can find out more about Mass Effect 5 in our overview:
more on the subject
First information about Mass Effect 5
What else is there
In addition to the artwork, a lot of other, but also rather small announcements were made. Here is a brief overview:
- There are now free N7 shirts in the Sims 4
- New Mass Effect merch is now available at the Bioware Gear Store, Sanshee, Dark Horse, and Volante Design
- The Legendary Edition is currently discounted on Steam and the EA App.
