There’s a lot riding onMass Effect 4. While the originalMass Effecttrilogy is widely considered to still be one of the greatest RPG series ever created, there’s no denying that the response toMass Effect Andromedahas damaged theMass Effectbrand somewhat. Combine the series' pedigree withAndromeda’s dismal reception, and the fact that there hasn’t been a newMass Effectgame in almost six years, andMass Effect 4has quite the burden on its shoulders.
Put simply,Mass Effect 4needs all the help it can get, and there’s no shame in borrowing certain gameplay mechanics or features from other contemporary games in order to ensure success. The recently releasedStar Wars Jedi: Survivor, for instance, has plenty of excellent systems thatMass Effect 4could take inspiration from, but one of the most beneficial comes from the game’s collectible mechanic.
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Mass Effect 4 Should Borrow Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s Scan System
TheMass Effectfranchise has always offered some of the best world-building in gaming. Following on from its successes with world-building inStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, BioWare decided to take those lessons learned during development, and apply them to its very own Sci-Fi universe, and for the most part, it works extremely well. Most ofMass Effect’s world-building is done in a natural, seamless way, often through dialogue or environmental design. Through these systems, players will be introduced toMass Effect’s different civilizations, its political state, and the general history of the galaxy, all without needing to leave the game itself.
But if fans want to really dive head-first intoMass Effect’s lore, then that’s where the Codex entries come in. Throughout theMass Effectseries, players will stumble upon a variety of different collectibles, most of which will give the player a new Codex entry. Split into categories such as “Aliens: Council Races,” and “Planets and Locations,“Mass Effect’s Codex is the hub of all the series' deceptively deep lore. Here, players can spend hours reading through collected journal entries, with each one giving them a much better understanding ofthe widerMass Effectuniverse.
But there’s one big problem withMass Effect’s Codex system, and that’s its actual integration into the game itself. To access the Codex, players need to seek out their desired entry in the menu, and while this is straightforward enough, it isn’t the most engaging way to teach players about the series' lore, especially with most Codex entries simply being walls of text that are jam-packed with Sci-Fi jargon. Instead,Mass Effect 4should takea page out ofStar Wars Jedi: Survivor’s playbook.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivortakes its predecessor’s scanning mechanic and tweaks it in some noticeable ways, making it feel more immersive. When players scan an enemy, environment, oraudio log inStar Wars Jedi: Survivor, it still unlocks a new journal entry to read, like its predecessor, but it also now gives players a brief overview of the entry on the right side of the screen. While players don’t get the full picture of the journal entry, this brief summary often gives them just enough information to increase their knowledge and understanding of the lore, all while being able to continue enjoying the game itself and not having to pause the action to read a whole page of text in a menu. With it having such a vast universe with such dense lore,Mass Effect 4should definitely borrow this simple system fromStar Wars Jedi: Survivor.
Mass Effect 4is in development.
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