Now thatDragon Age: The Veilguardis finally rolling out, BioWare fans are keeping their eyes on the horizon for more news aboutMass Effect 4. ThisnewDragon Agegame answers many questionsthat fans have held onto over the past decade, not just about the series itself, but about BioWare as a company, which suffered a severe fall from grace during the 2010s.
Luckily, it would appear that BioWare may be on the verge of a comeback,asDragon Age: The Veilguardis enjoying a fairly strong critical reception—especially when compared toMass Effect AndromedaandAnthem, the studio’s two previous releases. This doesn’t mean thatThe Veilguardhas been enjoying universal praise, however, and among the most common subjects of criticism is the game’s distinct shift in art style:Veilguardis far more stylized and decidedly unrealistic in its presentation, which is a notable departure from previous games in the series, which aimed for a more photorealistic aesthetic. Of course, there’s nothing inherently wrong about this change in style, as it simply boils down to a matter of personal preference, but it does raise some questions about what route BioWare will take with respect toMass Effect 4’s visual design.
What Photorealism Could Mean for Mass Effect 4
Why Mass Effect 4 Keeping Its Photorealism Is the Right Call
The relatively stylized graphics ofDragon Age: The Veilguardcame as a shock to many fans, but it’s not a totally unreasonable creative choice. Yes, the art style is a bit more colorful and “cartoon-like” than the previousDragon Agegames, but considering that it’s been a decade since the last entry in the series, a notable visual shakeup makes a lot of sense. Additionally, it’s not the first time thatDragon Agehas altered its visuals, as the art styles ofOriginsandDragon Age 2are noticeably distinct, as are the styles ofDragon Age 2andInquisition. By comparison,theMass Effectseries maintains a relatively consistent visual stylethroughout its four entries.
Additionally, the more mature tone ofMass Effect’s hard science-fiction narrative lends itself better to a photorealistic art style. This is something thatMass Effectdirector Michael Gamble briefly touched on whendiscussing howMass Effect 4will be photorealistic. Veilguard’s high-fantasy setting is arguably a bit better suited to a “Pixar-like” visual style, so an adherence to more realistic graphics forME4seems like a good call.
Mass Effect 4 Needs To Hit a Home Run With Photorealism
Whateverartistic directionMass Effect 4takes, it will likely look remarkably different from the games that preceded it. In the wake of other big-budget RPGs likeBaldur’s Gate 3andCyberpunk 2077, standards for photorealistic graphics in a sprawling, narrative-focused game are higher than ever, and while it’s hard to predict how ambitiousME4will be, there’s a good chance that it will try to compete with these other leading RPGs on the visual front.
The graphics of the originalMass Effecttrilogy hold up well, but they obviously don’t compare favorably to modern games. For BioWare to approach the level of fidelity of a game likeCyberpunk(post-patches, of course), it would require a great deal of technical wizardry and attention to detail that the developer isn’t exactly known for. A particularly significant hurdle could be realistic facial animations, as thestylized graphics of a game likeVeilguardoffer a greater margin for error, since audiences aren’t expecting true-to-life character models. Essentially, asMass Effecttargets more realistic visuals, it will likely be treated with greater scrutiny, expected to be the most high-fidelity game from BioWare by a country mile.
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