Mass Effect 3's 10-Year Anniversary is a Reminder That Shepard Should Remain Dead
On March 6, 2012, Mass Effect 3 released to the world, meaning many players began the last leg of their war against the Reapers ten years ago. It’s very rare that a franchise, particularly even just a franchise entry, remains popular for such a long period of time, but Mass Effect is one of the exceptions. Indeed, while this particular game is ten years old, Mass Effect: Andromeda was released in the following years, and now, Mass Effect 4—or whatever BioWare is calling it—is in development.
Mass Effect 4 appears to somehow combine the events of Mass Effect: Andromeda with events in the Mass Effect Trilogy, making a unique sequel to both. It’ll be interesting to see how BioWare pulls this off, narratively speaking, but it’s also worth mentioning that Mass Effect 4 canonizes the Destroy Ending. This is bad considering that this ending could bring Shepard back, undermining all the events of Mass Effect 3, and its anniversary is a reminder that Shepard’s anniversary should not be undercut.
Next Mass Effect Game in Prototype Phase
In ending the war with the Reaper, it seems safe to say that Shepard changes so many aspects of the galaxy—or, at least, could based on player choice. Aside from the many small choices, Shepard plays a big role in ending the Genophage (or not), brings the situation with Ashley or Kaidan to an end one way or another, ends the war between the Geth and the Quarians one way or another, and more. All in all, Shepard’s impact on the galaxy is immediately felt in the aftermath of Mass Effect 3.
Mass Effect 3’s ending is also based on Shepard’s choices, and it makes sense to canonize the Destroy Ending out of all of them—as it’s the only ending that could be continued from without making the Milky Way
Read more on gamerant.com
