By this point I’m probably safe in assuming that you all know EA are shutting down BioWare, and that Mass Effect 5 has been cancelled in turn. You may have also seen that an internal trailer for Mass Effect 5, or Universe as it was seemingly going to be called, was leaked not long after the news broke, and that Sam Hulick, one of the composers on the original trilogy of games, shared he was going to offer up his re-scored version of the trailer. Well, it’s N7 Day, as rough as that will be for many of the developers on the game, but Hulick has stood by his word, and shared an oral glimpse at what the world of Mass Effect Universe could have sounded like.
You can check out this new version of the trailer below, perhaps pop it on while you have a read of the rest of this post, as Hulick did also write in a Patreon blog about his experience with the series. “As part of my own closure, and as a love letter to the fans, I really wanted to re-score the leaked Mass Effect Universe trailer in time for N7 Day this year,” he wrote. “BioWare edited a killer track called “Quartz” by French 79 to fit their trailer, which I think hinted at a slight directional shift in the score. Using that as inspiration, along with the musical tone from my work on the first three Mass Effect games, I hit the studio and got to work.”
Watch on YouTube
As it turns out, BioWare had actually reached out to Hulick asking him to potentially do some work for the project. “This year, BioWare emailed me asking if I was interested in working with them on an internal demo, and they said they were ‘hoping to get some music written that would feel like Mass [Effect], supporting our new direction.’ Of course, I said yes!” This doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have composed the actual game, as a composer hadn’t been officially selected, but Hulick said he was “more than happy to collaborate on the new game’s musical direction and help make their internal demo sound as good as it could.”
Hulick also spoke of some of the ideas he had for the direction Mass Effect Universe’s soundtrack could take, noting how he “thought it would’ve been incredible to bring more songs with lyrics into the game,” considering how many people loved the first game’s end-credits song. “This would’ve been a great way to highlight more emotional moments in the narrative. Artists at the top of my collaboration list included Gunship, NINA, and The Midnight, all of whom have a moody, cinematic synthwave vibe that would’ve meshed well with the score in my head. And I’m pretty sure the Gunship guys are gamers, and if they’re Mass Effect fans, that would’ve been the icing on the cake!”
Of course, with the studio now closing, this never got to go very far, the news hitting Hulick “particularly hard, as the Mass Effect trilogy is a core part of my origin story as a composer.” For the composer, ultimately “this trailer is my way of saying goodbye… at least for now.” This continues to be a horrendously sad moment in the industry! As always, solidarity with the team at BioWare.
