The director of the next Mass Effect game, which many fans are simply dubbing Mass Effect 5 for the time being, has provided new details about the look and tone of the title. As of this week, BioWare is finally releasing Dragon Age: The Veilguard after years of anticipation. While The Veilguard has largely been met with a positive response from critics, some fans have specifically taken issue with the look of the game and its art direction. In the wake of this criticism, the director of the upcoming Mass Effect 5 has made clear that the sequel won’t feature this same look.
Shared across a handful of posts on X, BioWare director Michael Gamble opened up a bit more about the studio’s approach to Mass Effect 5. Gamble said that with Dragon Age: The Veilguard now being so close to launch, many fans are asking further questions about the new Mass Effect game and how it might compare. Without saying much, Gamble revealed that Mass Effect 5 will feature a “mature tone” that was seen across Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3. He also made clear that while BioWare works on both franchises, some of the changes that have been seen in The Veilguard won’t also be made in the new Mass Effect game.
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“Lots of people asking me about Mass Effect now that Veilguard reviews are out, and October 31st is close,” Gamble said. “Both are from [BioWare], but Mass Effect is Mass Effect. How you bring a sci-fi RPG to life is different than other genres or IPs and has to have different kinds of love. Regarding tone questions: Mass Effect will maintain the mature tone of the original Trilogy.”
Related: Dragon Age: The Veilguard Metacritic Score Revealed, Lower Than Inquisition
In a subsequent post, Gamble responded to one fan directly who asserted that Dragon Age: The Veilguard featured visuals that resembled those seen in Pixar films. While Gamble pushed back on this claim, he took the opportunity to affirm that Mass Effect 5 will be aiming for photorealism and won’t be stylized in the same way that The Veilguard has been.
“I’m not sure I agree with the Pixar thing, but Mass Effect is photorealistic and will be as long as I’m running it,” he said.
While it’s great to have some new pieces of info to go off of with Mass Effect 5, there are still more questions than answers related to the project for now. BioWare and publisher EA have yet to commit to a broad release window for the next Mass Effect just yet. Still, with N7 Day (November 7th) approaching, perhaps Gamble and those at BioWare will choose to show off something new related to Mass Effect 5, especially with Dragon Age: The Veilguard now out of the way.
To that end, Dragon Age: The Veilguard will finally release tomorrow, October 31st, and will come to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.