10 Huge Gaming Moments That Didn't Matter At All

Mass Effect is a franchise famed for its choice-based gameplay, so it would seem a strange entry for this list. But, as we’ve already discussed, sometimes players have to settle for the illusion of choice when narrative beats must be met.

Presumed extinct after The Rachni Wars, Commander Shepard comes across an incarcerated Rachni Queen in the first Mass Effect, which is being used to breed an army at the behest of original antagonist Saren and his lieutenant Matriarch Benezia. After defeating Benezia, The Queen appeals to Shepard to free her, stating that her kind intended to live peacefully following a temporary madness which caused the wars.

Aside from some different dialogue with the Turian Council, Shepard’s choice to free or kill has little impact on the effects of Mass Effect 1, so fans were eager to see where this errant plot thread would go later on. Sure enough, after a passing mention in 2, fans were delighted to see The Rachni Queen return in Mass Effect 3

Or at least the ones who saved her were. Players who chose to let the Rachni Queen go find her imprisoned by Reapers, again being forced to breed soldiers for their cause. Players who opted to execute the Queen however, would find in her place an artificial Queen imprisoned by Reapers, again being forced to breed soldiers for their cause.

Whilst there are superficial differences to gameplay based on an artificial queen or the real thing, spanning a plot across an entire trilogy just for your initial choice to be largely irrelevant certainly sucked.