author: Patrick Kubiak
This Solution Would Enable Shepard to be the Protagonist of the Next Mass Effect
Mass Effect fans have been vigorously discussing the upcoming installment of the game for several months. Now one of them has discovered an option that would make the return of Commander Shepard as the protagonist possible.
DISCLAIMER! The news contains spoilers from Mass Effect. If you don't want to read them, please do not read further.
- Fan of the Mass Effect series published on Reddit a post with a theory about the return of Shepard in the next installment;
- To confirm the thesis he found in a ME3 DLC a line of dialogue from Garrus, which could be a wink from the developers to the players.
One of the major puzzles for fans of the Mass Effect series is who the protagonist of the upcoming title will be. The most common, but also the least realistic option seems to be that the playable character of Commander Shepard, the main protagonist of the first trilogy, will return. An intriguing light on this issue was thrown by one of the Reddit users, BreadBrown. On the occasion of playing Mass Effect: Legendary Edition he discovered a way, which the devs teased in the game, and which could be used to justify the return of Commander Shepard.
Well, the published post of the said player titled: "I bet money on the fact that the next part of Mass Effect will feature Commander Shepard, who will be in cryogenic sleep at the beginning." To support his claim, BreadBrown posted a screenshot from the game, featuring a quote from Garrus:
BreadBrown's gameplay screenshot.
This particular dialogue line is easy to miss, as it's part of the From the Ashes DLC. It can be heard while completing missions leading to Javik being added to the team. Since it's in a DLC for Mass Effect 3, this means that it was added to the game when BioWare had already finished writing the main story. This could be a wink to the players. Those who have completed the ME trilogy know, that there is only one ending in the third installment, which would enable Shepard to appear in the sequel. And it is by far one of the most ungrateful one.
At this point, it remains for us - as fans of the series - to arm ourselves with patience. Mass Effect 5 was officially announced at the end of last year, which means it's probably already in development. It's only a matter of time before we get to meet the game's protagonist. Should it be Shepard? In my opinion - we should render unto Shepard what is Shepard's and leave him/her on the well-deserved retirement.
