Mass Effect is the epitome of a discouraging gaming trend

I’m a sucker for epic sagas and good sci-fi, and in the lead-up to this year’s N7 Day, I realized we don’t see that combination very often in video games anymore. Oh sure, we’ve got games inspired by Mass Effect in some way, for better (Baldur’s Gate 3) and worse (please stop using binary morality systems). But most of those are deeply rooted in fantasy, and there hasn’t been anything sci-fi with the scope and grandeur of Mass Effect since BioWare wrapped the trilogy in 2012. We asked an industry analyst and a veteran PR pro for some insights about why space operas have fallen out of fashion, and the answer is bigger than you might think.