Topic: The next Mass Effect

@FuriousMachine Thanks for the recs. I haven’t watched any of the Secret Level episodes. I guess I was put off of it when I found out there was Concord content in it. 😂

I have tried The Expanse TV show and liked it but I didn’t stick with it past the first 4 or 5 episodes and so never really got into the meat of the lore. Now you’ve piqued my interest a little and perhaps the mood will strike for me to give it a go again. Or is it better to just read the books?

And thanks for sharing thoughts on Hamilton. I have a mate who’s been pressuring me to try his books and that’s where Night’s Dawn came from. I think I have another one of his books in my library. Fallen Dragon maybe? I figured I might want to try something less vast first. So the if the Exodus novel is standalone I might need to consider that.

@Th3solution If you're not put out by the fact that the Expanse spans 9 solid novels (and some tangential novellas and short stories, should the interest take you), I'd say the books are by far the superior experience. I enjoyed the TV show and was so well cast (particularly with the brilliant Shohreh Aghdashloo) that I think reading the novels with the TV cast in mind would be the ultimate Expanse experience

Hamilton's "Exodus" story is a two-parter, with the second and final part scheduled for a June 2026 publication, so that is worth keeping in mind. Feel free to drop by the Books thread if you'd like to chat more about various sci-fi books; sounds like we may have similar tastes in the genre

EDIT: To clarify: The "Exodus" novel is definitely vast in terms of scope, lore and characters, but I found it infinitely more approachable and accessible than "Night's Dawn". I'm not familiar with any of his other works, though, but "Fallen Dragon" looks to be completely standalone.

@FuriousMachine @Th3solution

I would suggest that Futurama adapted The Time Machine pretty well, too! Maybe one of their best episodes if I remember rightly 😛 (it genuinely does capture the soul of it, too. Futurama writers were always really clued in on adapting core ideas from sci-fi and fantasy)

Weirdly some of your comments made me think of Cloud Atlas. It doesnt have time dilation or time travel (I don't think) but it does deal with the changing of humanity across generations. But it has been many moons and I can't recall much about it. But I agree, i'd love to see some of these topics done well in a good game, as it really expands the narrative opportunities.

I'm going to have to screen Interstellar soon, too. A 4K i've been looking foreward to having on for a while.

I might have to audible Exodus at some point before this game arrives and absorb some of the lore and see what it is all about. Is the game an adaption or something akin to the Witcher that kind of follows on but with its own ideas? (You might have already mentioned, but it is quite a meaty thread and i've only skimmed some of it) I do need to ramp up my research of it, beyond "it was the one with Matthew McConaughey" and is being made by great devs.

Is it mad that 2 spacebound sci-fi novels/series of novels are getting game adaptions/expansions at the same time in terms of development, too? I suppose it is kind of a logical trend, considering our dying planet 🙌

(Scratch that. The Exodus book is pretty much brand new, isn't it. Like a co-developed project with the game itself? That'll teach me for not fully reading comments)

@Ravix The author of the Exodus novel, renowned sci-fi author Peter F. Hamilton, worked with Drew Karpyshyn (the lead writer for Exodus, also formerly lead writer of the first two Mass Effect games) to build and flesh out the lore of the Exodus universe. The novel and its upcoming sequel could be best considered as prequels/tie-ins to the game. Basically backstory, if one were to be reductionist about it

The Expanse game is set in the same timeframe as the first three Expanse novels, so there is a bigger chance of overlap and referencing there.

@FuriousMachine I really appreciated the write-up on Exodus! As someone who proclaims Mass Effect as their favourite gaming experience ever, I am embarrassed to say I had absolutely no clue this project even existed. Made my day! The timing dilation sounds incredibly intriguing, though I fear I will also get incredble FOMO from this feature and it might be hard to "get right" from a story-telling perspective.

I would also throw in The Outer Worlds 2 and Judas as ones to look out for for sci-fi fans looking to scratch the Mass Effect itch. Obviously, both have enough major differences that neither of them are really a true successor to the original trilogy, but they seem promising so far in terms of just sci-fi storytelling with a focus on reactivity in the narrative. I'm very excited to get my hands on TOW2 in particular, since I've liked everything I've seen and heard so far from the previews and marketing and really enjoyed my time with the first game. Judas remains a bit of a vague prospect, but I am excited to learn more about it as we (eventually, hopefully) get closer to release. Ken Levine's involvement alone makes it worth my attention to me as I particularly loved BioShock Infinite from that series of games. (Though Clockwork Revolution seems like the more obvious choice to scratch that particular itch, which I'm very intrigued by in and of itself.)

I'm also glad to hear that The Expanse: Osiris Reborn will be set within the timeline of the first three seasons of the show. I'm sorry to say I haven't read the books, but in terms of the show I much preferred the first half of it to the second half. Hopefully that will translate to the game! I also hope that we will be seeing Shohreh Aghdashloo as Avasarala again in the game with any luck. They really knocked it out of the park with that casting.

@Tjuz So happy to hear that this thread is having the desired effect of drumming up excitement for projects I think may end up being very good to us ME fans

I have yet to play "The Outer Worlds", but I have the spacer edition in my backlog and it is a very strong candidate for "next up" after "Ghost of Yotei" (which in turn is waiting patiently for me to finish "Far Cry 5").

I need to pay more attention to "Judas" as well, other than Ken Levine being involved, I know very little about it. It's still pretty far off, isn't it?

And we definitely need more Aghdashloo/Avasarala in the world, so fingers crossed that she will show up somewhere again in the future; hopefully in "Osiris Rising". It was fun hearing her again in Telltale's "Expanse" game, but it was far too little and I need more!

@FuriousMachine You're crazy playing open world game after open world game after open world game! Just kidding, but I for one would be open world-ed out. It does help that it's a shorter experience at just somewhere in the 40 hours if I remember correctly. I do hope you give it a shot, because I think any fan of Mass Effect will get a kick out of it, though admittedly I know there is a division between players on that front. It doesn't reach the same heights at any point, but I think it's consistently very entertaining and the writing a lot of fun.

Judas has been a total mess in terms of development as far as I'm aware. I believe it was supposed to release by Q1 2025, and that was already on the total far end of release expectations. Years before there were already reports that it was in development hell. Most recently, I heard that Take Two brought the same guy on board who helped ship BioShock Infinite after that game's troubled development, so let's hope he manages to help lightning strike twice. If all goes right, I believe it should be out next year, but that might already be hopeful for a game I've been waiting on for more than half a decade now.

I will continue to kick myself in the head for not playing the Avasarala DLC for Telltale's game. I played it on my PS4, which I no longer have access to... so I'd have to rebuy the game and its DLC to get a good hour out of that. Maybe I will once it gets cheap enough! Would you say it's worth it for the little you get?

@Tjuz I'm sorry to say I wouldn't. It is a very slight piece of DLC, if memory serves, and I remember being very disappointed by it, even though it was just a bonus episode. I think you may be better served just watching a "let's play" video of it, if such a thing exists.

Oh wow, I had no idea "Judas" was in such a state. "Bioshock Infinite" aside, I kind of always thought Levine ran a fairly tight ship and remember thinking that "Infinite" just sort of got away from him. They did manage to reel it in, though, and while I have yet to play it myself, all signs point to the end result being quite worthwhile. I have the Bioshock Collection on my backlog as well; played the original Bioshock on the X360, but never got all the way to the end, so it is taunting me from the darkest corners of said backlog

I am a bit worried about hitting open world burnout, but I think the fact that the setting and underlying mechanics are different enough to see me through. At least, I hope so

@FuriousMachine Ah, it's a shame to hear the Avasarala DLC isn't really worth it on its own. Maybe if I can grab some type of deluxe edition for pennies, I'll still give it a shot, but I guess it's not worth the usual asking price. At least I'll watch a playthrough like you suggested before Osiris Reborn will release! I'm hoping that will come out next year, as Owlcat doesn't usually tease releases far ahead of release as far as I'm aware. That said, I'm still waiting to play Rogue Trader until every DLC has been released, because I know I would never replay a behemoth game like that to experience it... I think I'll cave with a Mass Effect-like easy though, haha.

I hope that despite its issues Judas will be worthwhile just as everything else he's been involved with thus far. The fact that the same person who got BioShock Infinite shipped in the state it was in gives me hope! Going 12 years since your last game and counting is insane though. This tech he keeps teasing better be worth it in the final product! Did you finish the other BioShock games and only the first game went unfinished?

@Tjuz I never did get around to the subsequent Bioshocks either, always intending to finish the first one before moving on. Then time passed, you know? I think maybe I should prioritise it after I'm done with my current game (Ghost of Yotei). Having got a slight taste for first-person shooty games again with Far Cry 5 recently, maybe its time has finally come.

I've yet to play an Owlcat game, but I do own both of their Pathfinder games, both of which scares me a bit with their frightening size. Like Baldur's Gate 3, they are games I want to play, but the time commitment they seem to require freaks me out a tiny bit. Won't stop me, but I keep putting them off in favour of shorter games (which may in actuality not be much shorter, but they seem like it).
I'm hearing enough good things about Owlcat's output that I definitely want to get around to them, though.

@Tjuz @FuriousMachine I don’t have any inside information, but I do think Judas is on track to release within the next year-ish. It’s a gut feeling, mainly. I could definitely be wrong though.

As for the Bioshocks, on a side note I do think a playthrough of Bioshock 1 and Bioshock Infinite is highly recommended, Infinite being my favorite of the three. If you end up liking them then you can certainly give Bioshock 2 a whirl; it’s really not a bad game at all, but I lost interest about halfway and so I never finished it. (Another one laying in my gaming graveyard, along with The Outer Worlds, Tj 😄). I’m fairly allergic to first person games, and especially FP shooters, and still I found the games to be really good. Infinite still holds a place as one of my favorite game narratives of all time.

@Th3solution I've also been burnt out on first person games for a long time, which is why I was surprised I enjoyed Far Cry 5 as much as I did. And finishing Bioshock (which I played quite a bit in the x360 days) and it's sequels has always been on the cards, just... hmm... continually shuffled to the bottom of the deck, to belabour the metaphor

@FuriousMachine I completely understand. It’s why I’d say probably just skipping Bio2 is fine, given the time and attention limitations. I’d say skip straight to Infinite but I do think the original BioShock has some level of importance and it would cheapen the Infinite experience if you didn’t have its background.

But these are older games. I booted up the Infinite remaster once a few years ago just for kicks and even with the PS4 upgraded graphics it feels a little dated. So it all depends on your tolerance to that as well. Following the beautiful Yotei with basically a PS3 game might just make your head spin.

@FuriousMachine Well, if the thought of having to finish the first one before any later entry gives you any grief, I'd highly recommend just jumping to BioShock Infinite if it lets you enjoy the series with less baggage. It's by far my personal favourite and worth experiencing whether you've played the previous ones or not. Let me know when you decide to do whatever and your thoughts on any of the games!

I'm similarly intimidated by the Owlcat games despite owning Wrath of the Righteous. I just believe that Rogue Trader will likely be the most up my alley, so I'd like to give their games the chance to give me the best first impression possible. I could always go back to the others afterwards if I've had a great time with it. Probably not doing myself any favours in terms of the time commitment by waiting for their second run of DLCs to release first however... but having to replay the game afterwards to experience it would be worse!

@Th3solution I'm gonna go with your gut and simply blame you if Judas doesn't come out next year then! I'll be sure to write it on my New Year's Resolutions for next year.

@Tjuz Lol, well… notice I said “within the next year-ish”, thus covering myself in case it gets pushed out to 2027 or 2028.
The “-ish” means within 2-3 years of 2026. 😜

@Tjuz @Th3solution I'm quite tolerant of dated games. I did, after all, recently play through the entire "Pool of Radiance" from the SSI Gold Box series released back in 1988 (though with a couple of QoL improvements), so old games "don't scare me nuttin'", as some would say Been meaning to follow up with "Curse of the Azure Bonds", but other games have got in the way

Will start with the OG "Bioshock" (PS4 version, though) and see where it takes me. If I don't "feel it", I'll probably go straight to "Infinite" and give that a go, skipping "Bioshock 2".

And, yeah, that massive DLC schedule for "Rogue Trader" is intimidating. I'm starting to feel ready for their first "Pathfinder" (can't remember which of them was the first - "Wrath...", maybe?) so it might take the spot in my backlog following "Ghost of Yotei". That is probably still quite some time off in the future, though. Yotei is a substantial game in its own right.

Happy N7 day, Mass Effect fans!
I don't expect much from Bioware this year in terms of info on the next game, but I'm still hoping for a small nugget and not just another sale in the gear store (where I've spent waaaaay too much money as it is )

We should get one right ?

@oliverp A new Mass Effect game, you mean? One can hope, but things got a little uncertain re.: the Saudi buy-out of EA. May be that ME5 is too far along to be worth cancelling and I think ownership hand-over is still a ways off, so maybe it comes out before that. There are many unknowns around it, though, so I'm not all that optimistic. Fingers crossed, though

@Yeah. We must hold our tumbs man!! That said I guess that we must hold our tumbs that the ME5 game dont get touched by the Saudi right. If anything we like need a new Mass Effect game now imo.