On N7 day, we got a spoiler free Mass Effect: Andromeda teaser trailer that seemed to be Shepard, innocently bidding all a fond farewell. Or so we thought.
Eagle-eyed reddit users. have apparently uncovered the name of the protagonist in BioWare’s upcoming game, thanks to possible hints in the trailer.
44 seconds into the clip, you’re greeted with a view of Earth, as seen from a spaceship cockpit. A barely visible dog tag can be seen on the left-hand side of the screen that displays the name “Ryder”.
On the right of the cockpit, we see a woman with her arms around two children. This could well mean that “Ryder” has a family. Reddit user Benelioto has theorised the name “Ryder” or “Rider” could be a reference to Sally Ride – the first American woman in space – in much the same way Commander Shepard was a reference to Alan Shepard, the first American in space. Other users pointed out that Andromeda‘s E3 trailer used Johnny Cash’s Ghost Riders in the Sky. Coincidence?
Now this is obviously pure speculation right now, as BioWare have been notoriously tight-lipped about who you’ll play as in the sci-fi RPG game – only saying that the fourth game in the series will not feature previous protagonist Commander Shepard.
Mark is the Gaming Editor for UNILAD. Having grown up a gaming addict, he’s been deeply entrenched in culture and spends time away from work playing as much as possible. Mark studied music at University and found a love for journalism through going to local gigs and writing about them for local and national publications.