Mass Effect Universe supposedly featured "Hitman-style freedom" and a "galactic Cold War"

New gameplay details from the canceled Mass Effect game have emerged, following developer BioWare's abrupt demise. Mass Effect Universe was reportedly set to feature a galactic Cold War between the galaxy's remaining factions, espionage mechanics likened to the Hitman series, and, of course, romance.

The new tidbits come from YouTuber Dantics, who was supposedly on the Mass Effect player council composed of community members and content creators who gave BioWare feedback during production. IGN has backed up some of his comments and even reports that "every major [alien] race" was working in an in-production build, citing an anonymous development source.

A leaked trailer for Mass Effect Universe already gave us a small taste of what could've been, but Dantics now has more concrete details. The game, set more than 600 years after the events of the original trilogy, would've had three major factions caught up in a Cold War conflict with a mysterious threat lurking in the background. The story would've been a departure from the Reapers and their galactic invasion.

As for how this Mass Effect Universe would play, BioWare apparently wanted players to step into the boots of an N7 agent who was a "cross between John Wick and James Bond" - think up-close melee takedowns, gadgets, hacking, experimental tech implants, and more potentially stealthy options. Instead of large open-world environments, the scrapped Mass Effect would've also featured handcrafted linear missions "with Hitman-style freedom in how you complete them."

Deep romance options and "squadmates who can clash with each other" are also said to have been in development. We had previously seen series mainstay Liara in the game's debut trailer, and with the passage of a few hundred years, she had reportedly become an "incredibly powerful Asari Matriarch."

"Not to rub salt in the wound, but they were a lot further in development than their statement suggested. and we were going to get something truly magical," Dantics claimed.

Mass Effect 5 was "something special", dev says – it was BioWare's response to what Baldur's Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 devs "were bringing to the table"