Summary
Open-world games have become synonymous with content-rich, story-driven games that players can enjoy for ages to come. In recent years, franchises that were not traditionally open-world have ventured into new territory to immerse players in the game’s universe in a way not previously possible. This has been done to varying degrees of success depending on the game. The most recent release in theMass Effectfranchise,Mass Effect: Andromeda,saw the series incorporating more open-world elements than any game before it. Although not the only factor in that game’s poor reception, the open-world elements did little to add to the experience.Mass Effect 4has an opportunity to remedy this.
Mass Effecthas always been an immersive RPG experience that rivals any large open-world game. Due to the expert writing and world-building by the team at BioWare,Mass Effectfelt almost like a first-hand experience that was built with each subsequent release. The games were generally pretty linear, essentially having specific hubs to explore connected via branching pathways. But the usage of the star map to access various worlds and the high level of detail in each planet made the Milky Way galaxy feel right at the player’s fingertips. All of this paired with an epic storyline and a plethora of NPCs to interact with, ensuring that theMass Effectuniverse didn’t necessarily need to go fully open-worldin order to draw players in.
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Mass Effect 4’s Return To Form
If recent leaks are to be believed, the upcoming fifth installment in theMass Effectfranchise will steer away from the semi-open-world format thatMass Effect: Andromedaincorporated. Though it wasn’t entirely free-roam,Andromedafeatured many wide-open areas that didn’t offer much to do. Although some fans praise the game’s combat among other aspects, the large environments made the game feel more empty and arduous to explore than previous games in the series. This paired with a story that many found to be a letdown and some strange graphical issues meant thatAndromedawas the weakest game in the series for many fans.
Mass Effect 4now has an opportunity to see a return to form for the franchise. Many fans of the originalMass Effecttrilogy would no doubt prefer a next-gen title that focuses primarily on developing an engaging story and characters rather than having massive open environments to explore.Mass Effect 1-3did provide a satisfying degree of exploration, providing many secret areas to discover, but it was the design of the environments themselves and the context of each that gave them a well-crafted flow. When considering the scope of a modern AAA open-world title and the sacrifices it sometimes requires, an expertly designed classic-styleMass Effectgame seems like a good move.
Open-world games have been popular for a very long time, and for good reason. They offer an opportunity to have absolute freedom within a game world and the choice to progress however one sees fit.Franchises that have taken the leap into open-worldformats likeThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildhave been able to maintain elements of the past while making the experience fresh, while other franchises likeMetal Gear Solidbenefited more from having a tighter, linear experience.Mass Effectis an action RPG that relies heavily on its story, and is at its best when embracing elements that service that narrative.
Although there is not much information presently,it has been confirmed thatMass Effect 4is in development. Fans have been eagerly awaiting information since the announcement of the game, but there are no confirmations currently. It seems as though the release of the game is still a ways off, so unfortunately players may have to wait a bit longer.
