One of the directors behind Mass Effect just gave a cryptic answer about what Liara T'Soni has been up to since the original trilogy ended. BioWare’s epic sci-fi RPG series introduced players to a vast galaxy with plenty of planets and alien races, along with specific characters that Commander Shepard could bond with on their mission to defeat the Reapers. Depending on the choices players made across the three mainline Mass Effect games, certain crewmates could live, die, or even fall in love with Shepard - which helped make their storylines and character dynamics all the more gripping.
One of Shepard’s most noteworthy allies is Liara T'Soni, an Asari researcher introduced in the very first Mass Effect game. After being rescued on Therum, Liara joins the rag-tag crew of the Normandy and lends her deep knowledge of Prothean artifacts and powerful biotic abilities to the hunt for the rogue Spectre Saren and his Reaper allies. In the latter two Mass Effect entries, Liara sets off on a different path as an information specialist, helping Shepard battle the Collectors from the sidelines and eventually taking on the role of the infamous Shadow Broker before rejoining the Normandy team for the final fight against the Reapers.
Like most of the supporting cast of the Mass Effect games, Liara’s fate and relationships are largely left up to the player to decide, but she was at least confirmed to be alive in the teaser trailer for Mass Effect 4. This has sparked much debate on what happened to Liara in the time between the old trilogy and the upcoming sequel, and Mass Effect 4 director Michael Gamble recently answered a fan on Twitter with a vague message that it "depends" on if she is happy or not in the new game.
Gamble’s answer about Liara’s life post-Mass Effect 3 is as cryptic as the Mass Effect 4 teaser trailer that was shown at The Game Awards 2020. Liara appears at the very end of this trailer on an unknown planet, where she uncovers an old piece of N7 armor that may or may not have belonged to Commander Shepard. Not much has been revealed about Mass Effect 4 in the years since save for a few vague clues that fans have pointed out in BioWare's social media postings.
Liara T'Soni went through a lot of personal turmoil throughout the original Mass Effect trilogy. If Michael Gamble’s recent social media post is anything to go by, it seems Liara has managed to find some semblance of peace in the years since her final adventure on the Normandy, but fans will probably have to wait for Mass Effect 4 to get any further insight into her standing in the Milky Way post-Reaper invasion.
Mass Effect 4 is in development.