8 Reasons Why Mass Effect’s Story Isn’t As Great As You Think
Once upon a time and space...
Let’s get this out of the way: We love Mass Effect. We love the gameplay. We love the universe. We love the lore. I love the characters (even Kaiden Alenko, although he’s, like, right at the bottom of the pile, just below Keeper #6). And the story? Well...
Gaming narratives are still a developing art. For every engaging Spec Ops: The Line there’s an excruciating Call of Duty. For every fabulous Fallout 3 there’s a flat Fallout 4. While gameplay should always come first (unless you’re a walking simulator, in which case, go nuts with world-building and storytelling), if you’re going to attach a story to your shooter, then it needs to be bullet-proof.
Mass Effect is one of those games that’s frequently hauled out of its dusty cave and paraded in front of the world as an example of storytelling done right. It’s an RPG, and narrative is part of increasing the player’s immersion. Replaying the original trilogy, though, shines a fresh and jaded light on the game. Namely, the story is good, sure, in a popcorn movie kinda way, but scratch the sci-fi surface and you’ll find a husk of a narrative that’s just not as great as you remember.
8. It’s Been Done So Many Times Before
When it was first released, popular shorthand for Mass Effect was Star Wars: The RPG. That works pretty well to sum up the game in the most basic, easily accessible way possible – particularly for someone who’s never played video games before. You have a ship, there are aliens, political intrigue, and in true Han Solo fashion, you can be a real dick to people but they still like you afterwards.
The way the stories are told are different, but saving the universe from the Reapers isn’t a million miles from preventing construction of a Death Star. You’re a small band of soldiers up against a way bigger threat. Now where have we seen that before? Other than every movie ever, book, and TV show?
Sure, there are only seven original stories out there, and the David vs. Goliath one is pretty popular across the board, but Mass Effect didn’t really do anything new with the format, dutifully following all the beats its predecessors had set for them.