Fans have spent years hoping that aMass Effecttrilogy remaster is in the works at BioWare, and it’s only recently that those hopes have seemed remotely likely to come to pass. Not only that, but bothMass Effect 3andMass Effect: Andromedahave recently come to Steam - and the response for both of those games has been surprising, to say the least.
Contrary to its original release,Andromedahas done quite well for itself on Steam, and that in itself spells good news for a possible remaster of the original trilogy. How? Well, let’s look at the possibility of a remaster already in the works, and just what a positive Steam response could mean for the future of theMass Effectfranchise.
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Is There a Remaster Coming?
There’s been a lot of speculation over whether or not BioWare will release aremaster of its originalMass Effecttrilogy, and right now, there’s been no confirmation from BioWare or Electronic Arts either way. However, we can still read between the lines of EA’s current release schedule and the fact that, during a recent earnings call, the company revealed that it had plans to release 14 new games and Switch ports before March of 2021. Quite the hefty number, to be sure, but if some of those games are remasters then it’d make a little more sense. Remasters are quicker to produce, and it’s not like aMass Effectremaster wouldn’t sell.
The fact is, aMass Effecttrilogy remaster would be an insanely safe bet for EA and BioWare, even compared tomaking aMass Effect 5, which we know is in early production and probably won’t be out for years. What better way to win back fans' hearts than with a remaster of the trilogy that won them in the first place? It could be especially useful if the company wants to build up hype forMass Effect 5despite the lackluster release of the previous game and BioWare’s following title,Anthem. TheMass Effecttrilogy is already hotly anticipated, and has been for years now; BioWare and EA really can’t go wrong by releasing one.
Andromeda’s Steam Release
Mass Effect: Andromeda’s release in 2017 didn’t go nearly as well as BioWare had hoped, bogged down by a troubled development cycle and criticized for its facial animations and overabundance of bugs. So, uponAndromeda’s re-release for Steam, it wasn’t expected to get much more of a positive response, but that turned out not to be the case.AndromedaandMass Effect 3were both released on Steam at the same time, and funnily enough, it’sMass Effect 3that currently has a “Mixed” rating on the gaming platform due to numerous performance issues.Andromeda, meanwhile, is sitting pretty with a “Very Positive” rating, its percentage hovering around 80% positivity.
Speaking ofMass Effect3’s Steam issues, that’d be another good reason to give the game a remaster; clearly, the original trilogy could benefit from being brought up to today’s standard of technology, and properly adapted for the platforms that most people are currently using. In a roundabout way, bothMass Effect 3’s mixed rating andAndromeda’s positive one are good signs for a full-on original trilogy remaster.
Mass Effect: Andromeda’sSteam successproves a couple of different things: for one, it reminds people (or proves to a new batch of players) thatAndromedaisn’t actually a “bad” game. It had its flaws - plenty of them, to be sure - but BioWare’s rigorous patching after its initial release did a lot to help the bugs and the facial animations, and those were some of the biggest criticisms at the time. Clearly, the Steam release (which has the benefit of those many improvements already made and wrapped up inside the game) isn’t suffering the same way the game’s initial release did, and it’s looking like more players are able to appreciateAndromeda’s virtues rather than getting caught up in its flaws.
Plenty of Steam reviews forAndromedaactually praise its story and gameplay; many still believe that the game’s story isn’t quite on par with original trilogy’s, but that’s not to say it can’t still be entertaining. It’s a shame that thegame’s planned expansionshad to be canceled over many problems that turned out to be fixable, butAndromeda’s postive response on Steam could at least build up some of the goodwill that the game has been missing.
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What That Means for a Possible Remaster
No doubtMass Effect: Andromeda’s successful Steam launch will build up even more hype for a remaster of the game, patricularly one that will better cooperate with Steam - as if there wasn’t enough hype for a remaster already. If BioWare and EA are paying attention to fans (and hopefully they are, as most successful developers do), they’ll recognize that hopes foraMass Effecttrilogy remasterare already running high, andAndromeda’s Steam release brings that hope even higher. If the remaster was completed and came to Steam itself, that could be the first step in a real comeback for BioWare, something the company could really use right about now.
Altogether, everything seems to be lining up perfectly for aMass Effecttrilogy remaster release; the only question is whether BioWare and EA will seize the opportunity presented to them. Hopefully they will, as the glory days ofMass Effectcould very well see a resurgence in the days ahead.
