Summary
- Mass Effect 4 may involve the Andromeda galaxy based on a distress call received by the Alliance in 2819.
- The Alliance appears to be secretly building a mass relay against the council's authorization, possibly in collaboration with Cerberus.
- The Alliance's defiance and focus on human dominance could lead to galactic expansion and a potential uprising based on what has been seen throughout human history.
The latest entry in the Mass Effect franchise, Mass Effect: Andromeda, was not highly praised by fans. This seems to be why BioWare is taking Mass Effect 4 back to the Milky Way, and it has been sending out clues and cryptic transmissions each N7 day, which takes place November 7th every year. With Mass Effect 4 in development, fans may be wondering what the System Alliance Military has been up to since Mass Effect 3.
The System Alliance Military, also known as the Systems Alliance and the Alliance, is humanity's galactic representative body in the Mass Effect universe. It is uncertain what exactly the Alliance has been up to, but BioWare has been releasing hints and clues that potentially show what has been happening with the faction. There is also some fan speculation about what it has been doing after Mass Effect 3 due to its actions in the past, as history does tend to repeat itself.
What The Systems Alliance Could Have Been Up to After ME3
Contact with the Andromeda Initiative
While BioWare has sent several cryptic messages BioWare each N7 day, fans have deciphered from the most recent transmission that the Alliance received a distress call from Andromeda. With all the clues and cryptic messages put together, it seems that the distress call was received in the year 2819. It is unknown what has happened in Andromeda for the Alliance to receive a distress call from them, but it points in the direction that the Andromeda Galaxy will have a part to play in Mass Effect 4.
Building a Mass Relay in Secret
In the 2022 N7 day teaser, there was footage of a Mass Relay under construction with some audio from Liara mentioning that the council will be furious and that they shouldn’t underestimate human defiance. With the distress call from Andromeda, it seems likely that the Alliance is building a mass relay in secret in an attempt to link the two galaxies together. However, it seems they are building this new relay against the council's wishes, and that the citadel council is not aware of this. This mass relay could potentially introduce the Angara to the Milky Way and could even provide a new Angara companion in Mass Effect 4.
Human Defiance & Cerberus
It certainly seems that the Alliance has become more defiant since Mass Effect 3. It was already known that many humans weren’t happy with the citadel council and other alien species looking down on them at times, with some alien media calling humans aggressive. Liara saying that the council shouldn’t underestimate human defiance lines up with the Alliance building their own mass relay without authorization. It is also noted that the mass relay is painted in Cerberus colors. It seems that the Alliance and Cerberus might be working together to build the mass relay, and considering Cerberus' history, it may not be a good thing if the Alliance has formed a pact with Cerberus.
Galactic Expansion & Potential Uprising
When the Alliance Military first started exploring space, it decided to colonize as many planets as it could. This eventually led to the First Contact War with the Turians, and eventually led to a conflict with the Batarians over the Skyllian Verge. It would be no surprise if, after Mass Effect 3, the Alliance decided to colonize more planets - especially when considering how expansion, exploration, and settling in new places has been prominent throughout human history.
Human history tends to show defiance and uprising when people want things to change. It is known that there were people in the Alliance that weren't all too keen about the way alien species viewed humans. This was shown with characters such as Mass Effect's Ashley Williams, who wasn’t too happy in the first Mass Effect when the Alliance started to accept recruits from alien species. There could have been a small group in the Alliance that decided it wanted to make sure that humans came first, and that humanity should dominate more of the galaxy.
With Mass Effect 4 potentially being set around the same time that Andromeda was set, the Alliance will likely have been up to a lot in those 600 years since Mass Effect 3. Unfortunately, players won’t know for certain until the next main entry in the Mass Effect franchise is released, and Mass Effect 4 won't be releasing anytime soon.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 87 /100 Critics Rec: 96%
- Released
- May 14, 2021
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Drug Reference, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Developer(s)
- BioWare
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
- Franchise
- Mass Effect
