Almost 17 years have passed since then Mass Effect first hit store shelves and is still one of the most popular sci-fi franchises in gaming. But with Mass Effect: Andromeda Fans are desperate for another entry to redeem the franchise. Mass Effect 4 it wasn't officially announced until December 2020, and since then virtually nothing has been revealed about the game.
Although it was announced two years after it, Dragon Age: The Veilguard beats Mass Effect 4 to a punch that will drop within a few weeks. That probably means Mass Effect 4 it's still a little further. But there is another kind Mass Effect a game on the horizon that could fill the void, and should appeal to fans of the series and tabletop RPGs alike.
Fans of Mass Effect and board games should watch Mass Effect – Priority: Hagalaz
Mass Effect – Priority: Hagalaz explained
Designed by Eric M. Lang and Calvin Wong Tze Loon and produced by Modiphius, Mass Effect: The Board Game – Priority: Hagalaz is a cooperative, story board game for 1 to 4 players. This board game tries to replicate the action RPG formula found in Mass Effect trilogy, in which players once again take on the role of Commander Shepard, this time exploring the crashed ship Cerberus on the stormy planet of Hagalaz.
As Shepard, players can recruit a group of iconic heroes such as Garrus, Wrex, Liara, and Tali, all of whom have their own minifigures in the game's core set. Defeating enemies and completing objectives will reward the player and their teammates with new abilities that allow players to gradually create the Shepard build they desire, fitting into series archetypes such as Sentinel, Soldier, Vanguard, and Adept. Players can even embark on optional loyalty missions for their companions.
Mass Effect: The Board Game – Priority: Hagalaz it also presents a branching story that it tries to emulate Mass Effect a choice-based trilogy story. Players will be able to make certain decisions that affect the story immediately and later, including Paragon and Renegade decisions that affect a game stat called “War Readiness”.
Mass Effect: The Board Game – Priority: Hagalaz currently scheduled for release in October. The game's core set includes several rules and storybooks, a campaign plan, six miniatures, a large number of dice and tokens, and several enemy tokens. This base set should retail for $50, and if players are interested, they can pick up a number of additional miniatures that depict the board game's enemies.
Mass Effect – Priorities: Hagalaz looks like a dense board game
While the concept behind Mass Effect: The Board Game – Priority: Hagalaz is great, the game itself looks like it could be a little difficult, especially for those new to story-based, co-op tabletop RPGs. On top of the thick rulebook, Priority: Hagalaz it also comes with a robust narrative textbook and a separate mission book. All of these are accompanied by highly detailed and dense character sheets for teammates. That being said, first review for Mass Effect – Priority: Hagalaz were fairly positive overall, with many outlets citing the game's replayability and shorter campaign length as big advantages in the tabletop scene.
