BioWare’sMass Effect 4andDragon Age: Dreadwolfhave been in development for what seems like an eternity. The lastDragon Agegame came out all the way back in 2014 withMass Effect: Andromedabeing released in 2017. Since then both franchises have made announcements for new games in the franchise and rumors and leaks have found their way out of the studio. Currently, it appears that the developer is hard at work on both series, withDragon Age: Dreadwolfbeing its main focus, and features a few shifts in the franchise formula.
Gameplay footage ofDragon Age: Dreadwolfleakedonline earlier this year. What was most surprising was that the footage showed gameplay that was radically different from any otherDragon Ageinstallment. The gameplay was largely compared to that of the newGod of Warvideo games but also appeared to have some inspiration taken from theDark Soulsgames. ShouldDragon Ageopt to go in this radically different direction,Mass Effect 4should make big changes to its formula as well.
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The Close Relationship Between Mass Effect and Dragon Age
Mass EffectandDragon Agehave always had a very close relationship as far as video game franchises go. Many of the people who worked onDragon Age: Originsalso worked onStar Wars: Knights of the Old RepublicandMass Effect before moving into senior positions in the then-new franchise.
Both series have featured similar gameplay systems which was likely due to this cross-pollination of developers. For example, theHusks inMass Effectand the darkspawn inDragon Ageare not dissimilar as they both come from a respective sentient species. These similarities really began to take root with the release ofDragon Age 2.
Mass EffectandDragon Age’s self-insert charactershave seen a lot of praise, but the player characters originally started out completely different. Whereas the Gray Warden fromDragon Age: Originswas completely silent protagonist Hawk was fully voiced and gave the player dialog options similar to that of Shepard’s inMass Effectwhich would continue intoDragon Age: Inquisition.
Later on,Mass Effect: Andromeda’s dialog system owed more toDragon Age: Inquisitionthan the originalMass Effecttrilogy. SinceDragon Ageis radically altering its gameplay, it would not be a stretch to assume thatMass Effectmay do something similar in order to shake up the norm.
Why Mass Effect 4 Should Follow Dragon Age: Dreadwolf’s Example and Shake Things Up
The gameplay of the firstMass Effectattempted to cross RPG elements with that of a third-person shooter with mixed success. Later installments would stick to the third-person shooter aspect with some less heavy RPG elements. On the other hand,Dragon Age’s combathas always been somewhat inconsistent, often going back and forth from traditional point-and-click RPG elements to hack-and-slash styles. With yet another shakeup happening with the franchise’s gameplay, it might be wise forMass Effectto do the same.
There is an argument to be made that the gameplay for the franchise works perfectly as is. Indeed, theMass Effecttrilogytypically ranks among third-person shooters. However, there is also an argument that using this system again could cause the franchise to stagnate and possibly lose its original sense of identity in favor of being just another third-person shooter on the market.
A gameplay shakeup likeDragon Age: Dreadwolf’s could very well benefit it in the long term and provide something new and fresh for gamers who have been with the series from the start. At this stage, it’s still too early to say what BioWare intends to do with either franchise.Dragon Age: Dreadwolflikely won’t be released for another year, and it’s hard to say what form the gameplay will take. Regardless, if the game does go in a new direction,Mass Effectshould follow it and shake things up as well.
