Summary
BioWare hasn’t had the most successful run in the last several years.Dragon Age: Inquisitionis almost 10 years old,Mass Effect: Andromedawas plagued with issues,Anthemshut down after only two years, andBioWare recently faced significant layoffs. However,Dragon Age: DreadwolfandMass Effect 4still allow BioWare to get things back on track.
While BioWare hasn’t given fans a complete picture ofDragon Age: Dreadwolf, various leaks give fans some idea of what to expect. This includes the controversial decision to potentially drop the remaining CRPG trappings in favor of action combat. Given this possible radical change in combat style, it might suggest that BioWare also has significant changes in store forMass Effect 4.
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BioWare May Have Big Changes in Store for Mass Effect 4
Dragon Agehas gone through some significant changes from game to game.Dragon Age: Originswas closer to BioWare’s roots, with gameplay reminiscent ofKnights of the Old Republic.Dragon Age 2had a smaller scope and was more action-oriented, but the gameplay was broadly similar to its predecessor.Dragon Age: Inquisitionrestored the epic scale and introduced an open world to the mostlyDA2-style gameplay. The nextDragon Ageis reportedly dropping the open world, but the most significant change is rumored to be the combat, withsome comparingDreadwolftoGod of War.
Dragon Age’s inconsistent combatmay have to do with the fact that the games weren’t planned from the beginning, at least not to the same degree asMass Effect.Originswas developed as a standalone game, and each title more-or-less does its own thing. Still, there is no denying thatDreadwolf’s rumored action combat is a major shift for theDragon Ageseries.
Meanwhile, BioWare intended forMass Effectto be a trilogy from the start, and as a result, it feels more consistent than its sister series. The second and third games had simplified RPG mechanics and different exploration, but third-person cover shooting was a core part of all three games. That didn’t change untilAndromeda, which emphasized mobility over the trilogy’s more static cover-based shooting.
AfterAndromeda’s blunder andMass Effect: Legendary Edition’s success,Mass Effect 4might double down on recreating the classicMass Effectexperience. However, an action-orientedDragon Age: Dreadwolfcould signal that BioWare is open to radically changing its tentpole franchises. It’s unclear what this could mean forMass Effect 4, but there are many ways that BioWare could overhaul the game’s combat.
On the more extreme end of things, BioWare could makeMass Effect 4a first-person shooter. There is no evidence BioWare will do that, and this is probably one of the least likely possibilities. Rather, if developers really want to emphasize the action side of things, a change in camera perspective could be a way to accomplish that. Of course, this would have the side effect of encouraging morecomparisons betweenMass Effect 4andStarfield, which BioWare may or may not want.
Alternatively, BioWare could lean into the advantages of a third-person camera perspective byexpanding onMass Effect 4’s melee combat. That doesn’t mean turningMass Effect 4into a full sci-fi hack-and-slash game, but it would be a good way to shake things up. Even in the much more likely scenario thatMass Effect 4is still a third-person shooter, moving away from cover shooting might be the way to go. The game’s lore could simply explain the change as a new shield and armor technology making cover less important.
Another option might be to take some inspiration fromAnthem’s flying mechanics. Despite the game’s many problems, flight was one thing many people loved aboutAnthem, and it would be a great addition to the newMass Effect. Even if none of these happen, the point is that anything is possible in the new game.
Dragon Age: Dreadwolfis in development.
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