10 Ways Bioware Can Still Save Mass Effect

3. Let Us Play As Different Races

As I mentioned earlier, Mass Effect is fundamentally a human story, but as with all great fiction and sci-fi, there's a way to use the various races and their inbuilt cultural traits to hold up a mirror to our own.

After all, the Quarians, their pilgrimage and the their faces constantly being hidden is a pretty direct parallel to various middle-eastern cultures, with the Krogan almost representing a physical manifestation of the 'need' for conflict and war. We've discussed these elements with the respective races for hours at a time already, but what about actually seeing their cultures and societies in full?

If the larger point of intergalactic conflict in Mass Effect's writing is that regardless of location across the cosmos we're all bound by similar ideals, goals and moralities, having the "They're just like us!" realisation would land even better if we see it first-hand.

Remember when Mass Effect 2 really dove into Krogan culture and Grunt's need for a rite of passage to get his head straight? It was one of the most memorable parts of the game, and indicative of what a playable multi-racial Mass Effect could feel like.