There are "good reasons" Mass Effect Andromeda uses Ghost Riders, apparently

Fire up the Mass Effect Andromeda specul-o-tron for this interesting titbit of info, via BioWare Montréal's studio director Yanick Roy. According to Yanick, the odd choice of Johnny Cash's Ghost Riders In The Sky for the reveal is, in someway, very relevant. When answering a fan, who requested a new trailer with music that was more 'Mass Effecty', Yanick said there was "good reasons for that choice of song that should become clear later on".

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But Yanick did at least promise the actual in-game music would be more "traditional":

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So why is Ghost Rider relevant? I have no idea. The song is literally about ghost riders. In the sky. The clue's in the title. Oh, and there are cows...

However, a survey apparently leaked plenty of alleged Mass Effect Andromeda details . That referred to the Revenant, a long forgotten alien race (making a good candidate for a ghostly component) and also talked about how you'd be striking out to forge new settlements in a very Wild West frontier sounding attempt to make space more homely.

UPDATE: As pointed out by Robert Mathew on our Facebook page, Ghost Riders is also a retelling of the Wild Hunt legend. Yes, as in The Witcher 3. It's a traditional story that goes back to pre-Christian times. While the specifics change, the basics are always the same: spectral, ghostly hunters appear in the sky heralding ruin, war and destruction. That certainly has a Mass Effect ring to it all.

Here are the lyrics, see if you can apply anything Mass Effect related to them.

An old cowboy went ridin out one dark and windy day
Upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way
When all at once a mighty herd of red-eyed cows he saw
Plowin through the ragid skies and up a cloudy draw
Their horns were black and shiny and their hot breath he could feel
A bolt of fear went through him as they thundered through the sky
For he saw the riders comin hard and he heard their mournful cries

Yippie i aye ye ye
Ghost riders in the sky

Their shirts all soaked with sweat
He's ridin hard to catch that herd
But he aint caught em yet
Cause they got to ride forever in that range up in the sky
On horses snortin fire as they ride on hear their cries
'if you wanna save your soul from hell a-ridin on our range
Then cowboy change your ways today or with us you will ride
Tryin to catch the devil's herd across these endless skies

Yippie i ohhh oh oh
Yippie i aye ye ye
Their brands were still on fire and their hooves were made of steel
Yippie i ohhh ohh ohh
Their faces gaunt, their eyes were blurred
As the riders loped on by him he heard one call his name
Ghost riders in the sky
Ghost riders in the sky
Ghost riders in the sky

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Leon Hurley
Managing editor for guides

I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for guides, which means I run GamesRadar's guides and tips content. I also write reviews, previews and features, largely about horror, action adventure, FPS and open world games. I previously worked on Kotaku, and the Official PlayStation Magazine and website.