Bioware has allegedly sent out a survey for the next Mass Effect game, which sheds a light on some potential features that might be introduced. I emphasise the word 'potential' there in big, red, glowing neon letters, because this is very much unconfirmed.
However. The last questionnaire that the company sent out, for its fantasy epic Dragon Age: Inquisition, hinted that there might be a multiplayer element to the game. Which there was. Nobody really played it, admittedly, but it does show that rumours like this aren't necessarily always nonsense.
Reddit poster benjamin_stone says that a survey he took online revealed that the next game takes place in the Helius Cluster, “far removed by time and space from Commander Shepard’s heroic acts and the final events of the Mass Effect trilogy.”
“You are a pathfinder, a combat trained but un-tested explorer leading an expedition into the Helius cluster to establish a new home for humanity.”
As you explore you'll need to collect resources and develop colonies, make strategic alliances to defend your team, and deploy on strike missions to key locations. You can also send out AI teams to perform missions while you keep yourself busy doing something else.
This all fits in with what Bioware has been talking about with regards to the next Mass Effect game, particularly the focus on exploration. Multiplayer will apparently return, with the player able to jump into Strike Missions with up to three friends, completing random objectives and battling different enemy factions.
As always, there's a squad of companion characters that will travel with you, each with their own backgrounds and motivations. It sounds like uncovering the history and lore of the Helius Cluster will be a huge part of the game, with everything you do tying in to its “living universe”.
Check out the full post for more, it's pretty in-depth. As for the thorny issue of veracity, who really knows? Nobody is going to confirm it through the official lines, so all we're left with is unconfirmed rumour. Here's one little interesting nugget, though. The Reddit post was confirmed by an 'insider' called Shinobi602, who has a pretty damned good record for scooping gaming industry stories. OnlySP has a rundown of his past work here.
Of course we won't know more until Bioware is ready to start talking. Which might not be for some time.
