BioWare is set to launch Dragon Age: The Veilguard on October 31st for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series S/X. Ahead of release, the game’s character design, which favors a slightly cartoonish style, caused controversy among fans. BioWare has now commented on the planned visual style of the next Mass Effect game currently in development at the studio. Unlike Dragon Age: The Veilguard, the sci-fi RPG will have a more “photorealistic” and mature visual style and tone.
Mass Effect 5’s art style will be “mature”
An update on the art style of the next Mass Effect game has come from project director and executive producer Michael Gamble. In his comments posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, Gamble said that the approach to creating the next Mass Effect is different from Dragon Age.
“A lot of people have been asking me about Mass Effect now that the Veilguard reviews are out and October 31 is right around the corner,” Gamble said. “Both are made by a studio, but Mass Effect is Mass Effect. How you bring a sci-fi RPG to life is different from other genres or intellectual games… and should be different from love,” he added.
A lot of people have been asking me about Mass Effect now that the Veilguard reviews are out and October 31st is just around the corner.
Both are from the studio, but Mass Effect is Mass Effect. How you make a sci-fi RPG come to life is different from other genres or intellectual games… and should be different from love.
— Michael Gamble (@GambleMike) October 28, 2024
In response to the publication, Gamble confirmed that the upcoming Mass Effect game will have a more realistic and grounded visual style and themes.
“On matters of tone: Mass Effect will retain the mature tone of the original trilogy. That’s all I’ll say now,” he said.
Gamble, who leads the team working on the next Mass Effect game, also addressed the comments about the characters in Dragon Age: The Veilguard evoking the Pixar aesthetic. The art style of the RPG characters is different from the previous Dragon Age games, which featured a more rigid visual style. Gamble said that the next Mass Effect game will not abandon realism. “I’m not sure I agree with Pixar, but Mass Effect is photorealistic and will be as long as I run it,” he said.
The next chapter in the Mass Effect franchise was unveiled in a teaser trailer at The Game Awards 2020. Mass Effect 5 does not yet have an official title or release date. The last game in the series was Mass Effect: Andromeda, which was released on PC, PS4 and Xbox One in 2017.