Mass Effect 4 Should Make the Player Rethink The Reaper Invasion

gamerant.com:

The Mass Effect trilogy was an epic adventure throughout the Milky Way, with Commander Shepard leading a motley crew of amazing characters who all save the galaxy. Although each game had its own array of enemies like the misguided Illusive Man or the indoctrinated Saren, the Reapers were the overarching antagonists that tied the first three Mass Effect games together. Their ominous presence in dark space was felt throughout each game as Shepard desperately tried to convince the frustratingly oblivious Council of the threat they posed, and their eventual final confrontation and defeat was the perfect culmination of Shepard's story arc.

Now a new game is in development, and Mass Effect 4 may present a whole new threat for players to deal with. Not much is known about the focus or story of the upcoming entry or even which galaxy it will be set in (although there is some suggestion the story could combine both Andromeda and the Milky Way into one story). As a result, player speculation is rife regarding potential returning characters, how the next game will fit into the timeline, and if new alien races will feature. But even if the Reapers don't make a comeback, Mass Effect 4 has the potential to reframe the antagonistic race and their actions throughout the original trilogy.

Mass Effect 4: What Happens After ME3's Destroy Ending

The Reapers are introduced early in the first Mass Effect, although the full danger they possess and the damage they're capable of inflicting are explored more slowly here than throughout the trilogy. Players learn about their terrifying fifty-thousand-year cycle that sees the sentient synthetic-organic starships emerge from hibernation in dark space to wreak havoc among space-faring societies.