New Mass Effect Will Have Nods to The Original Trilogy
BioWare GM Aaryn Flynn has reiterated that the new, as-of-yet-untitled Mass Effect game is an "all-new journey" that doesn't involve Commander Shepard and his or her story, but that it will still have nods towards the original trilogy.
"It's exciting because Montreal is really killing it with Frostbite--they're working really hard on that stuff," he said. "Casey and the Mass Effect leads are really working well with them, making sure everyone's learning stuff, getting the fundamental tenets of the IP down. And they're just going for it; they're doing a lot of really cool stuff right now."
When he was asked if the new game takes place before or after the existing games, Flynn said he "can't get into that much." He did offer up some hope for fans who don't want to see everything they know about Mass Effect abandoned though: "We've got a pretty cool idea for how we're going to carry on, keep the trilogy story separate, but at the same time, give a bunch of nods to fans who've really enjoyed the trilogy in the past," Flynn said. "That's all going to come out soon."
Flynn avoided discussing the idea of returning characters but did acknowledge there are "definitely returning races. It's Mass Effect, so it wouldn't be a Mass Effect game without the Krogans. The technology that makes the Krogans look so good, it's just off the charts, it's amazing," he said.