Mass Effect 4: 10 Features That MUST Return

Mass Effect’s best gameplay moments are in linear set pieces. Virmire, the Suicide Mission, the final battle in London, the Collector ship among countless others.

Mass Effect 2 did such a great job at individual level design, with each loyalty and recruitment mission utilising a unique setting and having a different requirements. You could strategise efficiently with which crew members you bring; which areas of the level you utilise most for combat and get the satisfaction of mastering a particular mission.

Andromeda’s more sprawling focus on exploration is brilliant and should remain intact, but when it gets to linear levels, it‘s inconsistent. There’s fantastic fights through ships on Liam and Cora’s loyalty missions, but a lot of the fights involving the antagonists don’t stand out as much as your combat in open spaces.

While the moment to moment gameplay is more varied, there’s no real encounter in Andromeda that stands out as much as ones from the previous trilogy.

Implementing the skills from 2’s individual level design alongside Andromeda‘s open world direction would create a perfect new experience for Mass Effect, a game that would make the best of all that came before it.