Most of the time, I don’t keep up on development of the next Mass Effect game or any speculation around it. I don’t want to get my hopes up after the complete and utter pooch-screw that was Mass Effect 3. Granted, I initially felt the same way about Mass Effect: Andromeda, but the marketing around it gradually won me over and I was surprised to find that I actually liked it despite its many flaws. Maybe the same will happen with the next entry in the series … but I don’t want to set my mind on it and end up feeling like I’ve been burned again.
Still, every now and then, I’m overcome by curiosity and decide to check out a video that pops up in my recommended feed. This one actually turned out to be fairly interesting.
Most of the original team leaving the company before development really got rolling could be a bad sign, but I’m okay with it. Sure, they started it all and we wouldn’t have the series without them … but they also completely screwed up the final chapter of the trilogy. A lot of the stuff in ME3 felt like they’d forgotten what they’d written in the previous two games, so much of it was so half-assed and nonsensical and, in many cases, forced. It had a few bits of genuinely good character moments, but they were few and far between. The rest …
So getting a mostly new team working on the new one could actually be a good sign. Maybe they’ll bring some genuine passion for storytelling to the project along with fresh perspectives and new ideas. If they keep in mind the mistakes Mac Walters admitted to in the above interview — and that admission was refreshing after BioWare’s initial reaction to the backlash, which was to lecture fans about their “artistic integrity” — there’s a good chance that they’ll put in a real effort to tell a good story.
I want a sequel to Andromeda, too, damn it. I liked most of the characters enough to want to see their story continue, and being set in a whole other galaxy opens up all kinds of possibilities for storytelling. The game had its share of issues, but those could’ve been fixed in a sequel. For instance, continuing exploration could’ve revealed multiple sapient species wiped out by the kett and given us a deeper look at the galaxy’s history and the civilizations that were lost over the centuries. Which would’ve also shown us more reasons for the Heleus Cluster being so empty — it’s not that the kett and the angara were the only two species in the Cluster, it’s that the angara are the only civilization that is still hanging on after the kett absorbed all the others.
That could’ve been added in a sequel, building on what we’ve already seen. Exploring outside the Heleus Cluster would’ve made for a nice contrast between the empty “wild frontier” of the Cluster and a huge number of advanced alien species in the rest of the Andromeda galaxy. That galaxy is more than twice the size of the Milky Way and it didn’t have the Reapers wiping everyone out every fifty thousand years, so it should be absolutely teeming with spacefaring civilizations. The Heleus Cluster could simply be a zone where the kett were able to overwhelm everyone else.
There are so many fascinating places the story could go. I just want it to have a chance to reach its potential.
Anyway, back to Mass Effect … 4? Or would it be 5? Whichever. I was talking about this stuff with a friend and an idea popped into my head. Just completely out of the blue. So I figured I’d toss it up here. If they handed me the keys to the car, this is the story I’d use for the game — the basic framework of it, at least …
The Crucible and what it did was so completely nonsensical anyway, why not just run with it? The entire concept is one of the stupidest and most poorly-executed ideas I’ve ever run across, and early on in the writing of Freelancers I decided to eject it and the Catalyst in their entirety and see if I could come up with an ending that might actually make a lick of fucking sense. But an actual canon sequel to the trilogy means we’re stuck with it.
So. What if … when the Crucible was activated and did its thing, the Space Magic Bullshit Beam actually broke spacetime. Afterward, the universe started to gradually fold in on itself and snap back into its proper place, then the holes/cracks/rifts/whatever you want to call them started lasting longer and happening more frequently. The Crucible was a last-ditch effort used out of pure desperation, and it released such a tremendous amount of energy and the people using it didn’t have any clue how it worked or what it did in the first damn place, so they’re only now becoming aware of its after-effects years after the Reapers were stopped.
They discover, to their horror, that the universe appears to be breaking down … literally coming apart at the seams. Locations in distant parts of space are overlapping each other, the rifts/cracks/whatever also sometimes let things from the distant past or the distant future cross over into “present-day” Milky Way (and vice versa) … which would let the Andromeda characters and our Milky Way crew travel back and forth and assist each other in both galaxies. This would be a cool way to continue the story of Ryder and his/her team in addition to making a direct sequel to the trilogy.
But those studying the phenomenon realize that, if it continues, it could tear all of spacetime apart, to the point where the universe may never have existed at all. So the game would be all about figuring out how to stop it while at the same time continuing to rebuild civilization after the absolute goddamn mess the end of ME3 left us with. No evil villain to fight, at least not on the scale of the Reapers. There would probably be battles with hostile aliens emerging from some of the “overlap” points that would have to be fought off, but no vast armies that would threaten the whole galaxy. Just an attempt to stop a natural disaster that was kicked off by the act of desperation at the end of Mass Effect 3.
Most of the focus would be on exploring ancient ruins, searching for advanced tech that might help save the universe, maybe even encountering a Type II or Type III civilization thanks to the overlaps. Making contact and not screwing it up, allying with them and working together with their insanely advanced tech to repair the damage the Crucible caused. One of the mission sets could also have the main characters meeting a version of the geth and quarians from the far future, giving us a look at how they’ve coexisted for hundreds or even thousands of years … which would also serve as a nice little middle finger to the BS the Catalyst spewed about how synthetics will always destroy their creators despite having already been proven completely wrong earlier in the game.
Anyway. One thing I’d probably put in the story at the very end, after they figure out how to stop what’s happening: They’re able to leave a handful of the rifts open. At least the one between the Milky Way in the 2180s (or whenever the story is set) and Andromeda in 2819. That would open up the possibility of Andromeda sequels in addition to more sequels to the main trilogy, as well as crossovers between the two, without causing a paradox or retconning the 634-year journey of the Arks. Maybe even additional overlaps connecting multiple galaxies, with the overlaps being stabilized by the Type III civilization before all the random ones are closed, which could open up the entire universe for the series.
Now that the idea is in my head, I’m thinking about throwing it into Freelancers. I’d have to make some alterations because I planned specifically not to even bring up the Crucible. Maybe I’ll tweak it so that plans for something similar to the Crucible are found, someone builds it and the first test-firing of it is what breaks spacetime. The effects aren’t noticeable until some time after the Reapers are dealt with, then they start happening with increasing frequency. It’d set up a sequel and it’d also work as another little “fuck you” aimed at the absolute dumpster fire of a plot that was the Crucible. “Not only did that piece of shit not even do anything that could take out the Reapers, later on we discovered it might actually tear the whole universe apart!”
And since Freelancers is at least a deviation from canon, if not a full-on alternate universe, I’m thinking about tweaking a few things in Andromeda as well. I’ve talked before about how much I dislike the trope of the protagonist’s parents either being dead before the story starts or killed off early in the story, especially when the protagonist is still quite young. Every once in a while it works well for the story, but more often than not, I feel like it casts an unnecessary pall over the main character. And when the character has to go through a lot of stuff as the story plays out, it can even seem like the writer is just piling it on for its own sake.
So I’d keep the idea of Ryder’s mother Ellen being presumed dead but revealed later to be in stasis to save her life from an incurable neurological disorder. The thing I’d change is Alec Ryder‘s death. I’d either have him injured seriously enough on Habitat 7 to put him out of commission for most of the story, leading to either his son or daughter taking on the job of Pathfinder more or less as it happened in the game … or I’d add into the story something about Habitat 7’s atmosphere that didn’t quite kill him, but instead put him into a state of … I guess we could call it “metabolic shutdown.” Or maybe a piece of tech he’s exposed to keeps him barely alive. He would have to be placed in stasis like Ellen was, in hopes that he could be revived later.
That could even be when Ryder finds out that their mother is also alive and in stasis, rather than a throw-it-in moment at the end. It could at least give Ryder some hope to sustain them through the rest of the story. A way to save both parents and revive them could be found near the end of the game, or possibly in the epilogue. Which would be a massive relief to Ryder … and would also have the added benefit of what could be a truly adorable scene — Ryder introducing their girlfriend Vetra to their parents in the sequel. I know, it could also happen with any of the romance options … but for me, it’ll always be Vetra. ❤
Although … I’d probably make Kesh another option. Just because she’s awesome. Maybe even a poly romance with her and Vetra, which could make for an interesting dynamic since they’d always be going off on adventures and saving the day while Kesh, as the Nexus Superintendent, has to stay behind to oversee repairs and routine maintenance. I’m thinking one of their dates could involve convincing her to take a day off and go on an adventure with them. They’d set it up ahead of time through some of Vetra’s wheeling-and-dealing to give Kesh ample opportunities to build gadgets to solve problems and also blow some shit up here and there …
Of course, they’d have to be derailed by a kett attack, or some other obstacle … but either way, it’d be a major bonding experience for the three of them.
Heh. A fun way to start the romance would be for the three of them to start riffing on Jarun Tann after he pissed one of them off for the fiftieth time in one day. Like, Ryder pops off with, “I hope that guy falls face-first into a clogged toilet,” and Vetra and Kesh burst into laughter and start coming up with their own zingers …
I’d keep a variation on Kesh and Vorn having kids, though in this case it’d be just an arrangement to produce more krogan children. Vorn’s a cool character, though, and I’d give him a larger role than what we saw in the game. He’d be more involved in the story than just one set of missions and would develop more of a “best buds” relationship with Kesh, and would likely end up hooking up with someone else as the story played out. I have a few ideas that could be a hell of a lot of fun … but I’ll save those for later.
Oh, and I’d also actually show the scene of Kesh kicking William Spender‘s ass, rather than just having someone tell Ryder about it later.
Something else I’d change is what’s happening with the quarian Ark. A post-credits scene in the game had our heroes receiving a distress call from the Keelah Si’yah, which arrived in Andromeda a short time after the rest of the Arks. Something catastrophic has happened and the captain sending the message doesn’t say what, but she warns everyone who hears it not to approach the Ark. According to spoilers I saw a few years back, the emergency is a plague that’s tearing through the quarian Ark’s population. Also, if I’m not misunderstanding, the situation with the quarians and geth is mostly the same as it was in the trilogy … which I don’t find all that interesting.
So. I’d change up the situation with the Keelah Si’yah from a rampant disease to arriving slightly late to the party but everything’s going by the numbers. They drop out of FTL far enough away from the Scourge to see it in the distance and avoid it, unlike the Ark Hyperion … but they happen to find themselves surrounded by a kett fleet and are attacked immediately. If the quarians and others aboard the ark used the same spaceframe as the other arks, then they’d have no weapons and would quickly get their asses handed to them. If they decided to arm their ship before departure, it still wouldn’t be enough to fight off a large fleet, so … same results. By the time the captain sends the distress signal, all primary systems have been knocked out, their drive core is offline, and so is their mass effect field generator. Boarding pods are approaching and everyone on the ship knows it’s almost over.
Then the geth suddenly arrive in their own ark, having departed after the quarians. The geth weren’t part of the Andromeda Initiative, but they learned how bad the coming Reaper invasion would be after receiving reports from Legion and decided to build their own ark to preserve their civilization just in case. They waited for all the other arks to launch to avoid being noticed, then they set off on their own voyage across the big empty. They could’ve gone alone, though I’m considering the idea that they might’ve brought a few thousand organics who trusted them or were desperate enough to leave before the Reapers attacked to jump on the last ride out of the galaxy. Either way, the geth themselves wouldn’t need to hibernate during the following six hundred thirty-four years, so they remained operational the whole time and didn’t have the organic disadvantages such as grogginess after coming out of stasis.
Which means they saw the Keelah Si’yah under attack the instant they dropped out of FTL, assessed the situation in barely a second, and decided to intervene. When the crew of the quarian ark saw a gigantic geth ship arrive, they pretty much collectively shat their pants … but then they watched the “enemy” ship maneuver itself between them and the kett, shielding them from incoming fire, and then launching fighters and a few larger ships to fight off the kett. Some of the quarians might be relieved at the unexpected rescue and curious as to what it might mean in the longer term, while others would probably remain suspicious and afraid … but the geth’s reasoning would be that everyone in the expedition joined because they wanted to start over, so let’s not bring old baggage into it …
One other thing I’d tweak is a couple of themes that ran through Andromeda … colonialism and the Mighty Whitey trope. Those bits of business made me really uncomfortable. For the former, I’d make the very first step in arriving at each of the proposed Habitats a survey to make sure no one else is already living there. Even though the Kholas Array could see into distant galaxies almost in real time, more than six centuries have passed between the expedition’s launch and arrival. So the first procedure would be to ask, “Is someone already here/has this place already been claimed?” And if a civilization has evolved there or was established long ago, the expedition would have to move on to another planet. Making contact and asking the locals if they know of a planet that nobody else is using could become a big part of multiple missions. “We’re settlers, not conquerors.”
The latter … well, first I’d put more emphasis on Ryder’s ability to use Remnant technology having a lot to do with their interface with SAM. I’d also have a fair number of angara who are also able to use some Remnant tech to varying degrees of success. And if more extinct species are unearthed, one of the discoveries could be that they had the same ability, some of them possibly being much more adept at it. Also, when the kett wiped them out by turning them into more kett, that ability was lost.
I’d also have Ryder and co. exploring for the sake of learning as much as to find ways to stop the kett. The fight against the kett would be more about “we see people suffering because of them and we can’t just stand here and do nothing” than about “the kett attacked us and now we’re pissed.” Ryder’s team wouldn’t be the only one exploring the Remnant vaults and activating the planet-engineering devices, there would be other teams made up of angara with the ability to use Remnant tech doing the same thing on other worlds, so it wouldn’t be Ryder just waltzing in and taking control. And when Ryder ends up in charge when going into battle at Meridian, it’s because the friends and allies they’ve made genuinely trust them to pull it off.
And after the battle, the human settlement is placed on Meridian because the Hyperion has crash-landed there … but I’d lean way into that. Like, Ryder asks if it’s okay to put down roots there because we’re the guests in someone else’s house, and the answer is, “Well, your ark can’t lift off again, so you’re kinda stuck here. We’re not going to tell you to leave when you literally can’t. Besides, this place is big enough for all of us.” That’d probably go over better than, “You get to put your colony here and take charge of everything because you saved us all!”
Having said that, there’s more about Andromeda that I like than dislike, and the final battle is at the top of the list. It’s the exact opposite of how I felt during the final twenty minutes or so of Mass Effect 3. With ME3, I started off wondering what the hell was even happening after Shepard got beamed up to the Citadel, then recoiling at the completely unnecessary body horror Shep had to limp past, then seeing the Illusive Man appear out of nowhere and realizing the final confrontation with him was a beginning-to-end copy of the final conversation with Saren way back in the first game …
The feeling of “What the actual fuck?!” cranked up to eleven when that little shit appeared, mixed with a long, continuous sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach because everything that was happening was just completely and utterly wrong. It felt like the end of a completely different story — in a completely different genre — had been tacked onto the end of the Mass Effect saga. And even if it had been left on that other story, it still would’ve been one of the worst pieces of writing to ever earn someone a paycheck.
The ending of Andromeda didn’t leave me feeling that way at all. It was fun, tense in a good way, compelling, and filled me with joy. And when it was over, I wanted to stand up and cheer. It was everything that the ending of Mass Effect 3 should’ve been, and could’ve been in the hands of someone who could actually write their way out of a wet paper bag. The ending of Andromeda left me wanting more.
If a few of its issues had been fixed, it could’ve matched the first couple of games in quality, and a sequel could’ve been a course correction that made the game a truly fantastic story. I still hope Andromeda gets that chance.
Because I want more.
Fred T. Kerns, Sci-fi Writer 