8 Reasons Why Mass Effect’s Story Isn’t As Great As You Think
7. Laying It On Thick With The Themes
Themes are an important facet of a story, informing scenes, the world, and characters. The word ‘chaos’ neatly summarises everything that occurs in The Dark Knight (for Batman Begins, Nolan chose ‘fear’ as the major theme).
Mass Effect’s core theme is ‘racism’. We know this because Mass Effect lays its themes on thicker than tomato puree on a homemade pizza. Characters walk around practically holding placards denouncing or extolling racism: Ashley hates non-humans, in a twisted inversion of equality, and Saren despises those who won’t join with the Reapers. Events like the Genophage add a historical impact on a galaxy trying to confront its past.
It’s great to see the video game medium challenging players on serious issues like racism, and forcing them to consider its impact. But well-deployed themes need to be a little more nuanced, and the way Mass Effect implements its narrative themes are handled in a way that makes Jason Statham movies look subtle.