BioWare may not be participating in Electronic Arts' planned EA Play event later this month, but that’s not going to stop fans from speculating aboutMass Effect 4. One major line of discourse continues to be just whoMass Effect 4’s protagonist will be, or more specifically whether or not Commander Shepard will reprise their role. One person currently playing through theMass Effect Legendary Editionbelieves they’ve discovered a way for Commander Shepard to return that’s already been hinted at in-game.
Reddit user BreadBrown shared a screenshot they took fromMass Effect 3on the unofficial subreddit for the franchise. The title of BreadBrown’s post read, “For the nextMass EffectI’m putting money on the Commander being in Cryogenic sleep at the start.” The screenshot they share with the post shows a quote from Garrus, down in his boiler room. Garrus tellsCommander Shepard, “If this war goes south, maybe we could freeze you for 50,000 years, Shepard. You could go from being merely famous to legendary.”
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The line of dialogue is surprisingly easy to miss, which may explain why it hasn’t been more of a topic of conversation in the years sinceMass Effect 3’s release. It’s apparently a part of theFrom Ashes DLC, found during the quests leading up to unlocking Javik as a party member. Being a part ofMass Effect 3’s DLC also means this line was added to the game after the main storyline had already been finished. In other words, BioWare may have been winking at the audience, so to speak.
Of course, those familiar withMass Effect 3’s endingsknow that preserving Commander Shepard isn’t so simple a thing to do. Only one ending teases the possibility of Shepard even surviving. In other words, BioWare would have to choose that ending as canon forMass Effect 4. That ending is unfortunately perhaps the most brutal, with Shepard ending all sentient synthetic life.
Just this one possible way for BioWare to bring back Commander Shepard has led to a massive discussion aboutMass Effect 4, however. At its base level, it’s not even about how Shepard could be brought back, but rather whether Shepard should be brought back at all. Many, if not the clear majority, believe Shepard shouldn’t be theprotagonist ofMass Effect 4, but rather entirely absent, a historical figure, or as a separate character somehow brought back due to the complexity ofMass Effect 3’s endings.
A lot ofMass Effect’s fans make a great point. It’s not just an issue regarding Commander Shepard, but also their crew. Would it be appropriate to bring back Commander Shepard if everyone in their crew isdead outside of Liara? Would it make sense or be appropriate to bring back more crewmates? These are questions that BioWare’s already heavily considered. It’s just a matter of being patient beforeMass Effectfans find out what the decision ended up being.
Mass Effect 4is in development.
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