It has been almost 17 years Mass effect first hit store shelves, and it remains one of the most beloved Sci-Fi franchises in gaming. But with Mass Effect: Andromeda leaves the series on a sour note, fans are desperate for a new entry to come along and redeem the franchise. Mass Effect 4 was officially announced way back in December 2020, and since then virtually nothing has been revealed about the game.
Although it was announced two years after that, Dragon Age: The Veilguard strikes Mass Effect 4 to the punch, and it drops in just a few weeks. This probably means that Mass Effect 4 is still some way off. But there is another kind Mass effect game on the horizon that could fill the void, and it should appeal to fans of both the series and tabletop RPGs.
Mass Effect and board game fans should keep an eye on 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 1-4 player co-op, story-driven board game. This board game tries to replicate the action RPG formula found in Mass effect trilogy, which puts players in the role of Commander Shepard again, this time as they explore a crashed Cerberus ship on the stormy planet of Hagalaz.
As Shepard, players can recruit a group of iconic heroes, such as Garrus, Wrex, Liara, and Tali, who all have their own miniature figures in the game's core set. Defeating enemies and completing objectives will reward the player and their teammates with new abilities, allowing 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 also contains a branching story that tries to imitate Mass effect the trilogy's choice-based story. Players will be able to make certain decisions that affect the story both immediately and later, including Paragon and Renegade decisions that affect an in-game stat called “War Readiness”.
Mass Effect: The Board Game – Priority: Hagalaz currently released in October. The game's core set includes several rules and storybooks, a campaign map board, six miniatures, a variety of dice and tokens, and some enemy tokens. This core set should retail for $50, and if players are keen, they can pick up a range of additional miniatures depicting the board game's enemies.
Mass Effect – Priority: Hagalaz looks like a tight tabletop game
While the concept behind Mass Effect: The Board Game – Priority: Hagalaz is a great one, the game itself looks like it could be a little complex, especially for those new to story-driven, co-op tabletop RPGs. On top of the thick rulebook, Priority: Hagalaz also comes with a thick narrative textbook and a separate quest book. All of these are accompanied by some very detailed and dense squadmate character sheets. That said, early reviews too Mass Effect – Priority: Hagalaz have been fairly positive overall, with many outlets citing the game's replayability and its shorter length of campaigns as major advantages in the tabletop scene.
