Another bit of concept art seems to be teasing one of the locations we'll be visiting when Mass Effect 5 finally launches.
The images were initially revealed as part of N7 Day (on November 7, naturally), but they got a new round of scrutiny over the weekend when they were re-shared by the official Mass Effect Twitter account. Both images depict towering cityscapes bathed in sunset shades of yellow, orange, and red. In one image, a turian, salarian, and krogan are all depicted wearing breathing masks.
Fans are split on what these images depict, but many of the most likely options have pretty close connections with the asari. The architecture and lighting look quite similar to the asari homeworld, Thessia, which we visited in Mass Effect 3. It also looks a lot like Illium, the asari corporate colony where we're reintroduced to Liara in Mass Effect 2.
Liara likely has some connection to the location in the images, as her line from the big N7 Day teaser was quoted in project director Mike Gamble's initial post for one of them. There, Liara is credited as "doctor, Shadow Broker, and redacted," hinting at some sort of mysterious new role for her in the upcoming game.
"Although, they should know by now not to underestimate human defiance!" - Liara T'Soni (Doctor, Shadow Broker and
). #N7Day pic.twitter.com/9Zup3YPNgaNovember 7, 2022
But there are also other possibilities. Many fans have speculated this might be the Omega space station. The idea seemed a bit improbable to me, until fans started comparing the signage in one of the images to some storefronts from Omega in Mass Effect 2 - they're identical. If it is Omega, it's vastly expanded since its appearance in the previous games, lending credence to a theory that the upcoming game will feature a major time skip after the trilogy.
Signs in concept art (left) and Omega in Mass Effect 2 (right). #MassEffect pic.twitter.com/NYSBZCiWsrNovember 7, 2022
The reality, of course, is that even BioWare might still be undecided on what this concept art represents. The devs have been clear that they're still "envisioning" the next Mass Effect, and anything appearing in concept art could certainly change before release - though if BioWare is confident enough to be showing this sort of stuff to the public, it's probably safe to expect they're similarly confident it will be part of the game.
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