For almost 4 years, fans have been waiting for a continuation of the “Mass Effect” series. Slowly but surely, the latest installment “Andromeda” is coming into reach.
As the saga surrounding Commander Shepard is concluded, Andromeda largely features new characters embarking on a mission for the survival of humanity.
On Twitter, Aaryn Flynn from BioWare was asked whether unsuspecting viewers might get the impression that ME: Andromeda could be a “space porn”.
The reason for the question is that the game has received a rating of “Mature” – also because of fully nude characters. Previously, the Mass Effect titles always got by with “Partial Nudity”.
Aaryn Flynn responded to the question: “Yes, it is absolutely a softcore space porn.” While many players recognized his irony as such, there were also numerous fans who were disappointed by the statement. They had hoped that Mass Effect relationships would be handled “better” and “more mature” and that there would be continuous development at BioWare.
Flynn shortly thereafter retracted and apologized.
“Sorry, I gave the wrong impression. We have strong characters, great gameplay, romances, and more, all dealing with adult themes.”
In response to the question of whether the romances and relationships would be “tasteful”, Flynn also quickly replied.
“Yes, definitely. Our developers worked hard to responsibly bring these characters to life. I apologize for my poor word choice.”
The outcry is understandable, as Mass Effect holds a special place for many RPG fans. Some relationships spanned all 3 parts and led to interesting character stories, even though these often ended in the obligatory sex scene before the final battle. Relationships were supposed to be more than just the aforementioned scene in Andromeda, which is why many fans felt dismissed.
In the Mass Effect universe, sex is generally a fairly casual topic with few limits. For example, erotic magazines can be found in the game, and there are also frequent flings between the various alien species.
Especially the purely female race of the Asari is known for their “wild escapades” since they can pair with any other species – and at the same time every other species finds them attractive. Mass Effect really knows no taboos here and even mixes the flying “tentacle monster” race Hanar with the sluggish and emotionless Elcor. Even the relationship between human and machine in the form of artificial intelligence is a theme in Mass Effect.
Mass Effect: Andromeda releases on March 23, 2017, in Europe for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Cortyn says: In my opinion, this is again “much ado about nothing”, as it is really difficult to overlook the irony in the developer’s statement. That Mass Effect will never really be a “space porn” should be quite obvious. Ultimately, it is therefore not surprising that a developer makes a casual joke about the game when the game itself addresses this topic so openly, unprejudiced (and sometimes incredibly humorously).
