The next Mass Effect might bring back the original morality system

By Patrick Hearn Published January 5, 2025 9:30 AM

mass effect andromeda performance guide review 0015 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Mass Effect is a sci-fi epic in video game form, currently stretching across four games, with the fifth one coming at some point in the future. And based on a few cryptic social media posts, fans believe the creator might restore the original morality system that set the first game apart.

Michael Gamble, director of the franchise, has referenced the Renegade/Paragon system of the original in recent posts on X, and that’s led many players to speculate that he intends to bring back the system for the next game in the series. Mass Effect: Andromeda was met with a lot of criticism, with many players holding the belief that it doesn’t fit into the overall franchise. Players have expressed a desire to recapture the magic of that first playthrough in the next title.

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If you didn’t play the original game, the morality system allowed players to work toward being a Paragon — a good player — or a Renegade, an evil player. Each choice had immediate consequences, and many party members would react poorly to Renegade choices. However, the further you went down either path, the more dialogue choices opened (including the option to kick a reporter through the window at one point).

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The renegade/paragon system is absolutely returning for Mass Effect 5 https://t.co/4OY9iUD2Cs pic.twitter.com/htjke2gz1C

— Kala Elizabeth (@kalaelizabeth) January 3, 2025

To be clear, this is all speculation and, for now, wishful thinking. Little detail has been provided about the next Mass Effect game aside from short teaser trailers and promo clips, and it might not even release until 2029 or beyond. No, that’s not a typo — we’re looking at Bethesda-level development time. However, as Gamble points out in his message, the team developing the next game is the same team that worked to make the original trilogy such a smash hit.

Yep, it’s been a long time. But, many of us who were leaders on the Shepard trilogy are leading this game. Mass effect runs in our blood.

— Michael Gamble (@GambleMike) December 31, 2024

We can’t say for sure when the next Mass Effect game will hit shelves (and by 2029, it might just be digital shelves), but after the success of Dragon Age: Veilguard, Bioware is in a prime position to release another mind-blowing RPG.

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