Mass Effect 5 director hints that the sci-fi RPG series' notorious lens flares will be back in the next game, as BioWare apparently goes head-to-head with JJ Abrams

Mass Effect 5 won't be dropping the RPG series' penchant for one of sci-fi's most notorious visual effects, according to a hint from its project director.

Last week, Twitter user Gray commented that "Mass Effect 5 better stick to tradition and have an excessive amount of lens flare." As any good sci-fi project with its roots in the 00s should, the original trilogy makes plenty of use of lens flaring - a visual effect that occurs when light is scattered by passing through a lens.

In filmmaking, lens flares were once avoided but became so popularized by directors such as Steven Spielberg and particularly J.J. Abrams that they eventually became ubiquitous in sci-fi. Clearly, the original Mass Effect trilogy didn't have an actual lens to aim that light through, but that didn't stop BioWare from creating them in its series.

And it sounds like that's not likely to change. Mass Effect 5 project director Mike Gamble - who served as a producer and project manager across Mass Effect 2, 3, and Andromeda - responded to Gray's tweet with an affirmative 'ok' emoji. It's a minimal clue, but it's one of still relatively few that we've got to go on when it comes to the next Mass Effect game. If nothing else, it's evidence that the sci-fi visual language that the Mass Effect team has spent nearly 20 years nailing down isn't going anywhere immediately.

We have learned snippets of information about Mass Effect 5 over the years; back in February, we found out that Mass Effect 5 is officially in pre-production; back in October 2024, he confirmed that Mass Effect 5 "is photorealistic" and will be staying that way for now, and hinted that it will feature "multiple endings." The recent release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard likely means that we're still a considerable distance from Mass Effect 5, but at least the details are starting to come together.

While you wait, check out our list of the best RPGs.