A New Home, a New Journey

Mass Effect: Andromeda‘s story is all about humanity’s quest to find a new home after the events of the original trilogy. They’ve set off to the Andromeda Galaxy from the Milky Way to recolonize planets. Andromeda will have new civilizations, creatures, and enemies, and it’ll feature prominently the story of humanity being the aliens, rather than the natives. In this gallery, we break down the trailer shown off today during EA’s E3 2016 press conference and highlight some of the important details that you might’ve missed.

The New Ship and a Mysterious Nebula

Commander Shepard’s Normandy spaceship became almost as iconic as Shepard in the original trilogy, so it’s no surprise that the trailer showed off a new and similarly notable craft. You can read the craft’s name, “Tempest”, written on it. It looks quite a bit different than the Normandy, but it’s still got the same sort of aesthetic style, suggesting uniformity in the human forces. The ship warps into this frame in a familiar way–as if exiting a mass relay.

In the background, there’s a nebula that’s probably part of the Andromeda galaxy, which is the destination of the human exodus from the Milky Way.

New Planets

The original Mass Effect trilogy’s planetary exploration was one of its best features, and the trailer emphasizes that there’ll be many new planets to journey to and investigate. In this scene of the trailer, the Tempest approaches one such new planet in the Andromeda Galaxy.

A Ship Bridge and an Illusive Man Throwback

Remember those scenes with The Illusive Man in Mass Effect 2? Those parts of the game were always marked by the massive, burning sun in the background, giving everything a bright orange glow. This scene in the Andromeda trailer evokes those moments with a hanging blue star in the background.

Also notable in this is what looks like a male figure at the ship’s bridge. Given the scenes of a female commander at the end of the trailer, this may suggest customizable captains, just like in the trilogy–although this is speculative. There’s also a silouhette of another helmeted figure in the foreground, and a non-human figure in the middle ground on the right side of the bridge. The non-human looks like a Salarian, one of the alien races from the original games.

An N7 Soldier Surveying the Planet

It wouldn’t really be Mass Effect without a shot of a person in N7 armor, right? The iconic armor makes an appearance in the Andromeda trailer, suggesting that another highly talented special forces operative (like Shepard) will be featured prominently in the game. It’s likely that this will be the main character. Of note is the blackened-out facemask and full armor, suggesting a pretty inhospitable setting.

The Asaris Are Back

Along with (what looks like) a salarian, the trailer shows off some in-progress work on an asari character. Asaris were prominent in the original games, especially Liara, who was a team member with Shepard. The appearance of asaris in this trailer suggest that not just humans are moving from the Milky Way–other galactic races are joining the exodus.

You’ll Get To Visit Moons

Andromeda’s trailer promised greater freedom than in any other Mass Effect game, so it’s exciting to see some ostensibly playable areas shown off. This one, for instance, appears to be based on a moon of a planet. You can see the gas giant hanging in the background, with another moon in front of it. The areas shown in the trailer are varied in setting: this one looks somewhat calm and full of flora, others look deserted and harsh.

Biotics Are Back!

Not surprisingly, Mass Effect: Andromeda will feature biotic abilities. These are powers that some characters can use to wield electricity as a tool, a weapon, or a defense, and could be built up in the original trilogy. This scene shows a character doing a biotic slam move, casting out electricity in a radius around them.

The M35 Mako Is Coming Back

When it first showed up in Mass Effect 1, the Mako was both scorned and secretly loved for its wonky driving mechanics and ability to get pretty much anywhere on a planet. Now, in Andromeda, it’s coming back. There’s no word yet on how it’ll drive.

A Thresher Maw?

The thresher maws were some of the most fearsome enemies in the Mass Effect trilogy. The huge desert worms could make short work out of their prey, and fighting one was always a trial. This scene in the trailer seems to show one shooting out of the earth, although it could be a different species of desert worm on display. However, thresher maw spores can survive many years in deep space and reentry into atmosphere, making it feasible that this could be one–even a galaxy away.

That Krogan Is Not Happy

Adding to the catalogue of classic alien races shown off, this scene depicts what looks like a Krogan dropping a human off a cliff. It’ll be interesting to see how all of these species got to the Andromeda galaxy; perhaps the exodus is massive and uncoordinated with all species sending ships into the stars.

A Rebuilt and Improved Citadel?

At the end of Mass Effect 3, the Citadel, the massive space station used as a meeting place and metropolis for alien life in the Milky Way, is damaged but eventually rebuilt. This shot of a huge station moving through space seems like it’s the Citadel, although it looks tweaked and changed a bit from its original form. Perhaps this is how so many species were able to travel from one galaxy to the next.

A Female Protagonist Wakes Up

This is likely the protagonist of Mass Effect: Andromeda. She awakes in a ship with a gasp, muttering to herself, “We made it.” This scene shows the arrival of humans in Andromeda and what is likely the beginning of the game.