Mass Effect 4 Has a Simple Solution to the Mako Controversy

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home December 9, 2024 28 Views 6 Min Read
Mass Effect 4 Has a Simple Solution to the Mako Controversy



The Mako from Mass Effect is one of the most notorious vehicles in video games. Notoriously difficult to handle, the Mako would be mocked in-game throughout Mass Effect‘s characters in its sequels, and by its players for years to come. Mass Effect 2 attempted to fix it with a replacement vehicle, the M-44 Hammerhead, which wasn’t entirely successful, while Mass Effect 3 abandoned the idea of a player-controlled vehicle entirely.




Mass Effect: Andromeda introduced the Nomad, which was well-received by fans as it drove well, had intuitive controls, and could be upgraded. It suffered one additional problem though, in that it exposed a fundamental problem of Mass Effect: Andromeda‘s empty, open worlds. Rather than massive open worlds, Mass Effect 4 should abandon a vehicle to traverse vast distances, and instead have players travel smaller distances on foot for a more interactive and engaging experience, where they interact with the world in a more meaningful way, which would also negate the need for something like the Mako.

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The Problem with BioWare’s Open Worlds in Dragon Age and Mass Effect


Mass Effect 4 may want to follow in Mass Effect 3‘s footsteps and abandon efforts to redeem the Mako. While Mass Effect: Andromeda‘s Nomad was a far better vehicle, especially once fully upgraded, needing one in the first place meant that the game took place in a very large open world. BioWare has shown several times that it’s better at creating more hands-on games, with smaller, more handcrafted, and intentional than sprawling, massive worlds.

BioWare’s games with larger open worlds, such as Dragon Age: Inquisition and Mass Effect: Andromeda were both largely empty. Despite being story-driven, single-player games, the side quests that were found in these environments were akin to MMO-esque fetch quests, rather than the interesting, character-driven stories that BioWare built its name on.

Bringing Back Discovery in Mass Effect 4


One of the driving forces behind creating an explorable space game like Mass Effect was to capture the wonder of discovering alien environments and new worlds. The technology that existed when the first Mass Effect game was developed in 2007 simply didn’t exist then to achieve that goal, but it does now. While, arguably, it could require creating open worlds and needing a vehicle like the Mako to traverse them, smaller pockets of explorable environments to traverse on foot would remove the need for it completely.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard was not open world, instead, it featured smaller areas that were entirely explorable on foot. It featured several gorgeous locations that were outside the scope of what is considered normal, such as Arlathan Forest both during the day and at night, and in different lighting conditions. Instead of smaller corridors that are only accessible during active missions, as in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3, these environments unlock as the story progresses, although Mass Effect 4 could change this and instead limit exploration through leveling.


Removing the Mako or any other vehicle would make Mass Effect 4‘s environments more dynamic, rich, and, overall, more interesting. Instead of speeding past vast swathes of empty land to get to the next point, the world itself becomes a part of the story, which makes exploration and immersion that much more engaging. This also removes any struggles to make the Mako a viable vehicle that’s fun to use, rather than a chore.

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