It's no secret that the Mass Effect franchise is not exactly in a healthy state right now. The one-two punch of the controversial ending of ME3 and the dull mess that was Andromeda have left the fans and creators stuck trying to figure out what to do next.

But, given the very nature of the Mass Effect franchise was all about making big choices that could alter the story in dozens of different ways, might that be the way to revamp the franchise in a way that not only frees up the creators to make a new game that reminds players what they liked about Mass Effect while completely sidestepping any concerns about invalidating any of the endings of ME3?

What if the next game started a pseudo-remake of ME1 with Sheppard getting recruited into The Spectres to stop Saren, but very quickly it becomes clear that things are playing out differently and events are accelerating much faster than they did in the original game. Then the big twist is that the big bad isn't Saren at all, but a Renegade Sheppard from a dark alternate timeline in which he/she embraced his/her worst impulses and has taken control of the galaxy with the Reapers tech.

You could even have New Sheppard team up with alternate Sheppard from the previous versions of the game, in whatever gender, races or permutations they want. Include lots of time shenanigans and maybe even a time travel mechanic into the gameplay itself.

What do you think?