With the release of a teaser poster for the next entry in the Mass Effect series, speculations are bound to start up again. We’ve even over-analyzed and compiled the Mass Effect 4 poster in an article here. In this post, though, we focus on Mass Effect 4 characters we hope return from the original trilogy.
While there’s still very sparse details on what the upcoming Mass Effect game will have in store, we’ve started making our wish-list for squadmates already, some characters that will probably give us a new perspective on the places and peoples of the Mass Effect universe.
We’ll preface this by saying that before squadmates even come into the equation, we’re hoping that the next Mass Effect goes down a bit of a Dragon Age route and gives us the option to play as a non-human, with your species and background affecting the story a little bit more.
Mass Effect 4 Original Trilogy Characters
A Female Krogan Squadmate
Perhaps one of the most intriguing options for the next Mass Effect crew is a female Krogan. Having one as a major character will offer a valuable viewpoint regarding the player’s past decisions in Shepard’s trilogy. A player that decided to end the genophage might have a very different experience with this potential squadmate compared to a player whose Shepard chose to sabotage the cure.
Having them be a female also offers a unique perspective, as females occupy a very important place in the Krogan culture – which might have evolved quite differently depending on Shepard’s past decisions.
Krogan also live quite long lives, so a potential Krogan squadmate might’ve even lived through the Reaper invasion itself, offering a veteran perspective if the next Mass Effect is set several hundred years in the future of the original Trilogy.
Also, they’re just pretty badass.
A New Quarian Squadmate
The involvement of the Geth is all but confirmed for the next Mass Effect game thanks to all the easter-eggs in their recently-released teaser poster, and we can’t have geth involvement without a Quarian squadmate to provide a first-hand, more involved perspective on the Geth conflict.
The player’s past decisions during the Shepard trilogy might also affect this potential squadmate to a great degree – did they manage to reclaim their homeworld of Rannoch, or were they doomed to forever roam the galaxy in the Migrant Fleet? Were they able to reach an amenable peace with their Geth creations? What if the next Mass Effect is set in a far-flung future where they’ve evolved to actually survive space without the suits?
However, the writers will have to take care to not make the new Quarian squadmate unique, and try to tread paths that haven’t already been walked by fan-favorite squadmate Tali.
New Alien Squadmates
One of the disappointments levied at Mass Effect: Andromeda was having only one new race as a squadmate – treading a new galaxy with the same-old aliens we’ve already come to know.
Whether the upcoming Mass Effect is set in the future of the Milky Way, just after Andromeda, or a new galaxy altogether, I think everyone would be pretty excited to see something completely new out of BioWare. Perhaps we can also get some squadmate representation from the Batarians and the Vorcha, who haven’t shown up as anything other than enemy mercenary muscle. Maybe we can even get some Hanar squadmates? Elcor anyone?
The next entry in the Mass Effect franchise is still probably a long way off, especially with Dragon Age 4 keeping BioWare busy these days, but it’s always fun to speculate on what the franchise might offer us next.