10 Video Game Villains With Wasted Potential

7. Human Reaper Larvae - Mass Effect 2

Thanos Telltale
BioWare

When Mass Effect 2 launched, opinion was firmly split about its final boss. Whilst some fans thought the gigantic floating human-reaper hybrid’s concept was cool, others argued that it came off as ridiculous. Some clearly would’ve preferred a battle against a figure that was distinctly more animal in shape, like Sovereign from the first Mass Effect… instead of what amounts to a gigantic Terminator.

However, even aside from the divisive design, the battle itself is just sort of boring and certainly the worst fight of the game.

This will always be a problem with any game but especially let down fans just that little bit extra but Mass Effect 2 spends so long building up to it. Over the course of the game the threat that the ancient alien species of the Reapers pose to the universe is repeatedly deliberated over. And now, with reapers using human bodies to construct a new form, players assumed they would face down a terrifying cosmic horror that was going to take them to town.

That’s not at all what happened, which might explain why Mass Effect 3’s opening tries so hard to remind us that the Reapers are something to be feared.

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The Red Mage of WhatCulture. Very long hair. She/they.