TheMass Effectgames let players take on the role of Commander Shepard, a known military figure throughout the galaxy who is tasked with saving it from destruction. While the original trilogy gives fans plenty of action and a compelling narrative to keep them going, if they play their cards right with a few dialogue options,Mass Effectcan also land the player with a partner.Romance options are a key part ofMass Effectand other BioWare titles, but developers didn’t plan on including some of the options players can choose from in the sci-fi action series.
This comes from formerMass EffectLead Writer Drew Karpyshyn, who in a Reddit AMA revealed that the team at BioWare was “blindsided” by the love fans had for certain characters. Particularly, he was surprised to know that so many players of the firstMass Effectwanted Garrus to be a romance option in the second game. While Garrus is a beloved character inMass Effect, his appearance doesn’t initially resemble something that might be considered attractive to humans. His reptilian features and alien proportions would understandably lead Karpyshyn and his team to perhaps leave Garrus out of the romance possibilities.
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However, once fans had spoken, Karpyshyn was sure that their demands would be met. “Once we saw what fans wanted, we decided to deliver!” he said in the Reddit AMA. Even without understanding the appeal of a Garrus romance, many fans were glad to see that it was added into the game. For many fans, it is the best romance in the trilogy and has produced plenty of pieces ofMass Effectfan artas a result.
Another character that Karpyshyn was surprised to see fan love for was Tali, a Quarian engineer who makes her way onto the Normandy inMass Effect 1. Like Garrus, she cannot beromanced untilMass Effect 2. Again, Tali proved to be a fan-favorite character, something that Karpyshyn understood slightly, considering that she constantly wears a mask to cover her face and protect her from disease. “You never saw her face, so it was easy to imagine something vaguely human,” Karpyshyn said in regard to the decision to make Tali a character to be romanced.
Without these two romance options in theMass Effect Trilogy, some fans would be left with a singleton Shepard. To many, having aliens that can be romanced helps promote the inclusivity theMass Effectseries is known for. Hopefully, withMass Effect 4being worked on, fans will have new alien partners soon enough.
Mass Effect: Legendary Editionis out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
