Since Mass Effect 3 had four different endings, BioWare will have to decide how to approach the fourth installment, and to do that they will have to decide which ending the studio feels is the most authentic.

It’s not just Shepard’s fate that BioWare will decide to support. In the Destroy ending, all synthetic life is destroyed and Shepard may survive the whole thing. In the Control ending, organic life takes control of the Reapers and Shepard either dies or becomes a powerful artificial intelligence. (Someone played Deus Ex: Invisible War too much…) In the Synthesis ending, organic and synthetic life intertwine and the Milky Way enters a new era. In the Refusal ending, Shepard doesn’t choose any of the previous three endings, and the studio has hinted that the Reapers have triumphed after a long battle.

Whichever one BioWare chooses will have a huge impact on the storytelling, as it will complicate the narrative of the franchise. Neither ending holds back, so we can call them all relentless. That’s why the ending we chose was so emphatic. BioWare will probably find a way to continue the story in the Milky Way, but it won’t be easy.

If Shepard returns in Mass Effect 4, the Destroy ending will be the authentic, accepted action from Mass Effect 3 because it’s the only way to ensure the character’s survival. But then the synthetic characters (e.g. EDI, the Geth…) would not be present, and many of the Alliance races would struggle due to the lack of technology. The Destroy ending also means the destruction of the faster-than-light Mass Effect relays, which are the backbone of galactic civilization.

We’ll probably hear more about Mass Effect 4 at The Game Awards (or if not, next year), as BioWare’s next game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, is not too far away…

Source: GameRant