UPDATE 10.30pm UK: A Mass Effect fan has now decoded the audio message hidden inside today’s brief new video.
Fan-favourite character Liara T’soni – already confirmed as returning in this sequel – can be heard conversing with a geth, whose machine-like noises are instantly recognisable.
Liara’s speech – portrayed as ever by Ali Hillis – was decoded by Soundcloud user Mosaic Horse. BioWare has since provided its own cleaned-up version:
Thank you to all the agents who decoded the footage. Here’s a clean transmission 👀 https://t.co/iADrTHnU6s pic.twitter.com/ALNBNNM05a
— Mass Effect (@masseffect) November 7, 2022
To see this content please enable targeting cookies.
“I can see it… How did we miss this?” Liara can be heard saying. “Exactly, the Council will be furious… although they should know by now not to underestimate human defiance.”
As you’d expect, the teaser only throws up further questions. Why is Liara working with the geth? What have those pesky humans done now? And why has no-one elected a better Council yet, even centuries later? Some things never change.
Finally, Mass Effect project director Mike Gamble has now tweeted a final new piece of concept art (showing silhouettes of krogan, salarian and turian figures) and teased another fresh title for Liara in the upcoming game.
“Although, they should know by now not to underestimate human defiance!” – Liara T’Soni (Doctor, Shadow Broker and <REDACTED>). #N7Day pic.twitter.com/9Zup3YPNga
— Michael Gamble (@GambleMike) November 7, 2022
To see this content please enable targeting cookies.
ORIGINAL STORY 5pm UK:BioWare has issued a small teaser and brief update on the status of its next Mass Effect game, in celebration of the franchise’s annual N7 Day today, 7th November.
A blog update from BioWare states that “pre-production development has been proceeding very well” as Mass Effect franchise veterans and newcomers work together to craft “characters and locations that you’ll love, as well as revisiting many that you’ll remember”.
That last line stuck out to me, as fan speculation continues on what to expect from this new entry into the franchise. From the off, in BioWare’s 2020 reveal trailer for the project, fans were greeted by an older version of Liara – apparently centuries older than she appeared in the series’ original trilogy. But that teaser also included hints we’d hear more about what’s been going on in Andromeda – the setting for the series’ most recent entry – as well.
The Next Mass Effect – Official Teaser Trailer Watch on YouTube
Today, BioWare also showed an eye-catching fresh piece of concept art for the game, which depicts the creation of a new Mass Relay – the devices used by the series’ starships to zip between different systems.
This image is an updated version of one that previously appeared in BioWare’s big 25th anniversary coffee table book that Eurogamer first reported on back in 2020 – though there’s a number of fresh details here which have been subsequently added.
A caption in the bottom-left of the image states the following:
“Vacuum-dock Relay Contruction Record / Monitoring Station Operated by Green Dagger Ltd. Property of Deepspace Dhow SAV / Ship Captain: Sub-Navarch Soa’Rhal Zhilian-Jones.
“For interior use only. SA —–313—– /////11_07_90_000_1000-201.37.23 — File Bat.”
A snazzy-looking spaceship with blue exhaust trails similar to the series’ Normandy and Tempest ships can be seen approaching the Relay from the bottom right. I’d put a lot of money on this being our hero’s new spaceship home away from home.