The Future of Mass Effect: What Happens Without Mass Relays?

Mass Effect 5 is poised to continue the narrative established in the original trilogy, anchoring its plot in the significant events of Mass Effect 3. The game’s commencement will be noticeably influenced by the various endings of ME3, particularly one known as the “destroy”ending. In this outcome, Commander Shepard obliterates all artificial intelligence across the galaxy, releasing a devastating pulse through the mass relays.

This choice not only eradicates the Reapers, EDI, and the Geth (if they survived the climax of ME3) but also results in the cataclysmic destruction of the mass relays themselves. These structures facilitate faster-than-light travel between star clusters, and their destruction may lead to a profound transformation in galactic society, reshaping the universe as players have come to know it.

Implications of a Galaxy Without Mass Relays

The Slowing of Space Travel

Solar System of Mass Effect with planets

The “destroy”ending has pivotal consequences, effectively dismantling the mass relays that previously enabled instantaneous travel across vast distances. Integral to interstellar governance and communication, their loss signals a shift toward a more fragmented galactic landscape. The Citadel, once the nucleus of this web of relays, becomes a relic of a bygone era, and interplanetary travel will inevitably slow down, leading to increased isolation among civilizations.

Past narratives highlighted the significance of the relays in Mass Effect 2’s Arrival DLC, where Shepard’s destruction of a single relay resulted in a six-month delay in the Reapers’ advance upon Earth. If navigating the cosmos is such a challenge for the Reapers, the repercussions will be substantially greater for human and organic vessels. The aftermath of the Reaper War has left galactic forces scattered, and the resulting chaos will likely persist long after hostilities cease.

The Impact of Missing Reaper Technology

Civilization Left Reeling from Technological Loss

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The mass relays were not creations of the organic species; they originated from the Reapers or the precursor civilizations behind them. Their technological prowess significantly influenced the rise of various organic societies, including humans, Turians, and Asari, and the absence of this technology is catastrophic. Still, it’s possible that the knowledge required to understand the essence of this technology lingers among some interstellar cultures.

Fortunately, the apocalypse linked to the relay’s destruction in the Arrival DLC does not seem to have mirrored the scale of extinction witnessed in the narrative of the third game’s endings. Nonetheless, the sheer impact of dismantling the relays and all synthetic life could be likened to a galactic power outage, with civilizations grappling for years to reclaim their prior standings in the cosmos. Depending upon the temporal setting of the next installment, the journey to restoration could still be ongoing.

The New Era of Galactic Travel in Mass Effect

Innovative Navigational Strategies for a New Galaxy

With limited knowledge on how to create new mass relays, it’s improbable that the surviving civilizations will promptly restore their former travel capabilities. The time it would take to rebuild such infrastructure could thrust vast portions of the galaxy into isolation for years.

This narrative framework might provide a foundation for the game’s developers to innovate gameplay mechanics, perhaps restricting access to particular planets and clusters as players work to restore or rebuild the mass relays. Such an approach could foster an engaging open-world experience, concentrating on a few well-defined regions to deepen the exploration.

The storyline and character designs for the upcoming fifth installment remain largely undisclosed, presenting a blank canvas for creative possibilities. There exists potential for players to have unique spacecraft capabilities, allowing them to traverse the universe beyond the slower vessels of other factions. This could foster a rich exploration experience, diving into ancient technology and tackling new adversaries as part of a wider narrative derived from the rich lore of the original trilogy’s conclusion.

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