Mass Effect 5 development is “progressing very well,” as BioWare releases new teasers

UPDATE 10.30pm UK: A Mass Effect fan has now decoded the audio message hidden in today’s short new video.

Fan-favorite character Liara T’soni – already confirmed to return in this sequel – can be heard conversing with a geth, whose machine-like sounds are instantly recognisable.

Liara’s speech – portrayed as always by Ali Hillis – was decoded by Soundcloud user Mosaic Horse. BioWare has since provided their own cleaned-up version:

“I can see that… How did we miss this?” Liara is heard saying. “Exactly, the council will be furious… though they should know by now not to underestimate human defiance.”

As you might expect, the teaser only raises further questions. Why is Liara working with the geth? What have those annoying people done now? And why hasn’t anyone chosen better advice yet, even centuries later? Some things never change.

Finally, Mass Effect project manager Mike Gamble has now tweeted a final piece of new artwork (showing silhouettes of the inn, mercenary and turian figures) and teased yet another fresh title for Liara in the upcoming game.

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ORIGINAL STORY 5pm UK:
BioWare has released a small teaser and brief update on the status of its next Mass Effect game, to celebrate the franchise’s annual N7 Day today, November 7th.

A blog update from BioWare says that “pre-production development has progressed very well” as Mass Effect franchise veterans and newcomers work together to create “characters and locations you’ll love, as well as visit many you’ll remember”.

That last line stood out to me, as fan speculation continues about what to expect from this new entry in the franchise. From the start, in BioWare’s 2020 reveal trailer for the project, fans were met with an older version of Liara — apparently centuries older than she appeared in the series’ original trilogy. But that teaser also hinted that we’d be hearing more about what’s been going on in Andromeda — the setting for the series’ latest entry — too.

Today, BioWare also showed off some strikingly fresh concept art for the game, which depicts the creation of a new Mass Relay – the devices used by the series’ starships to zip between different systems.

This image is an updated version of one that previously appeared in BioWare’s big 25th anniversary coffee table book that Eurogamer first reported on back in 2020 – although there are a number of fresh details here that have been added later.

A caption at the bottom left of the image says the following:

“Vacuum-dock relay construction Record / Monitoring Station operated by Green Dagger Ltd. property Deepspace Dhow SAV / Captain: Sub-Navarch Soa’Rhal Zhilian-Jones.

“For indoor use only. SA —–313—– /////11_07_90_000_1000-201.37.23 — File Bat.”

A neat looking starship with blue exhaust trails similar to the series’ Normandie and Tempest ships can be seen approaching the baton in the lower right. I had put a lot of money on this being our hero’s new spaceship from home.

Above the partially constructed relay ring, large ships can be seen airlifting fresh pieces into place. Now more than ever, it’s clear that this image shows a completely new Mass Relay build – rather than the repairs that were made to the existing Mass Relays right after the Reaper War ended at the end of Mass Effect 3.

So why are new relays being built? And more importantly, where do they lead – to new parts of the Milky Way, or to Andromeda?

As for that caption, I think Sub-Navarch Soa’Rhal Zhilian-Jones sounds like a first name with a human last name. If so, it’s nice to know that the mills survived in the Mass Effect canon after ME3!

An animated version of this artwork has also been published via Twitter with a little mysterious sound. Fans will no doubt be kept busy deciphering the audio clues on offer here.

A file name for a downloadable version of this video indicates that it shows the Satherium system. A quick check reveals that this star system is new to the Mass Effect franchise and appears to be named after the Latin genus of an extinct giant otter. (And now I really hope there’s a race of giant otters in the next Mass Effect game.) https://twitter.com/masseffect/status/1589656874416500739

Elsewhere, today’s blog features quotes from various senior team members working on the next Mass Effect. This includes Mary de Marle, who recently joined BioWare after working at Eidos Montreal on Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Guardians of the Galaxy.

“I spend my days dreaming up stories with a bunch of talented writers,” says de Marle, who now serves as Mass Effects’ senior narrative director. “Then I work closely with artists, game and level design experts, audiophiles and programmers to turn these stories into immersive player-driven experiences.”

Mass Effect franchise creative director and BioWare veteran Parrish Ley added that he worked with the game’s team to “deliver the game’s emotional, narrative and tonal elements, ensuring that the next, major chapter in the Mass Effect saga stays true to the franchise’s roots”.

And that’s about it for this year’s N7 Day celebration. A few crumbs, yes, but better than nothing. Here’s hoping that next year finally sees the launch of Dragon Age Dreadwolf, and BioWare has a better update to offer in late 2023.

Last year, BioWare celebrated N7 Day 2021 with a clue-filled Mass Effect 5 teaser image that we dissected in minute detail. The artwork hinted at a return for Mass Effect’s fan-favorite robotic geth art, as well as zoomed-out views of some of its characters and new starships.