When Mass Effect: Andromeda was announced in 2015, many fans hoped that it would serve as a direct continuation of the Mass Effect trilogy, providing a canon resolution to the controversial ending of Mass Effect 3 - but no confirmation was to come. Instead, Andromeda took players to an entirely new galaxy, far away from the Reaper War and the characters and events of the original series. Here's how Andromeda avoided answering the question of which Mass Effect ending is canon, and how Mass Effect 4 could finally do the opposite.
Mass Effect: Andromeda was faced with mixed critical reception when it released, thanks in part to its lack of story connection coupled with some of its unpolished gameplay and animation elements. As a result, it seemed for a while as though the Mass Effect franchise was put on hold after future DLC for Andromeda was canceled. Story elements that many hoped would be resolved through DLC never appeared, leaving many to wonder whether there was ever to be any official confirmation of Mass Effect 3's canon ending.
This changed in late 2020 when Mass Effect 4 was revealed to be in development during The Game Awards. Then in early 2021 the re-release of the original trilogy thanks to Mass Effect Legendary Edition also served to put the Mass Effect series back into the spotlight, shining a more favorable light on BioWare after the apparent failures of Andromeda and Anthem. Fan expectations have been mounting in preparation for Mass Effect 4, which means it's worth examining how exactly Andromeda fell short in terms of story continuation, and where Mass Effect 4 might finally be able to speak to continuity in a way that Andromeda never got the chance to.
Mass Effect: Andromeda technically begins between the events of Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3, as the citizens of the Milky Way galaxy begin preparing to depart for the Andromeda galaxy to establish new colonies there. However, gameplay actually picks up six hundred years later, following the completed journey to Andromeda. This means that by the time Ryder wakes up, the Reaper War has already concluded. The large distance between the galaxies also means that no one in Andromeda knows of the gravity of the Reaper threat back home, and the direness of the situation isn't fully discovered by Ryder until the ending of Mass Effect: Andromeda. Shepard's final actions during Mass Effect 3 are never discussed, and a canon ending to the trilogy's events isn't disclosed. If it was ever intended to dive into that material via DLC, Andromeda's poor reception meant that it was never to be.
Mass Effect 4 seems poised to change that, though. The inclusion of Liara T'soni, a crewmate and romance option in the original Mass Effect games, in ME4's teaser trailer indicates a potential return to the Milky Way. A Reaper, or at least the remains of one, can also be seen in the background during the trailer. That, plus the focus on what appears to be a piece of Shepard's armor, has lead many to speculate that the conclusion of Mass Effect 3 will finally be discussed and a canon ending could perhaps even be provided to the original trilogy. While it's currently unclear how BioWare plans to handle the drastically different options presented in the final act of ME3, the company at least seems prepared to address it more directly than it did in Mass Effect: Andromeda.
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