Most Disturbing Elements of Mass Effect

The hit sci-fi RPG Mass Effect thrilled fans with the sprawling galaxy they explore, visiting various alien places with flora and fauna both familiar or completely alien to our own. The original trilogy told the epic tale of Commander Shepard, a soldier in the human Navy that tries to mobilize the other Council races against the very potent threat of the Reapers, a race of sentient alien machines that kill all advanced species.

Each game focuses on a threat that signals the Reapers are drawing close, from Saren and his army of geth in the first game, the Collectors in the second, and then the Reapers themselves in the third and last game. With a trilogy narrating a tale so dark, it is only to be expected players can encounter some truly disturbing elements on their quest to save all life.

8 The Genophage

The Salarian Inflicted the Krogan with Fertility Issues

The background lore of Mass Effect is rich, and explored through dialogue or codex’s players can read to brush up on their fictional history. One of the major historical events is the Krogan Rebellion, which was caused by the tensions between them and the Council races. Eventually, the Turians turned to the Salarians for a solution to stamp out their problems with the Krogan, which was the genophage, a bio-weapon with the purpose of reducing the Krogan birth-rates.

This extreme solution did stop the rebellions, but condemned an entire race into watching swathes of their young die at birth, severely limiting their numbers, and in turn making them bitter rivals of the Salarians and Turians. The effects of the genophage is equally tragic as it is disturbing, but thankfully, players are given the option to cure it in the third game.

7 The Thorian

This Nightmarish Plant Creature Enslaves an Entire Colony

Humanity has successfully colonized many planets across the galaxy, allowing people to spread their wings past the confines of earth. One such colony is Feros, which is a mandatory mission in the first Mass Effect. Something seems rather off about the colonists, and very soon Shepard and their crew will discover what exactly is happening behind the scenes.

An alien plant creature known as the Thorian dwells in these ruins, and its ability to control minds was quickly discovered, but ExoGeni Corporation decided to conduct a case-study on the Thorian and its thralls rather than protecting the colonists. The callousness of the corporation and the monster itself are equally disturbing, but thankfully, it doesn’t have to end in a bloodbath.

6 Joker’s Mission

The Collector’s Invade the Normandy in Mass Effect 2, and Players are Put in the Shoes of Joker

During a mission where Shepard and the entire squad are sent to investigate a Collector ship, it becomes quite apparent something is not quite right…and that’s when the perspective shifts back to the ship, and the Collectors have boarded to kidnap the crew.

Players are then put into the shoes of Joker, which renders them feeling powerless as they have no weapons, biotics or knowledge of hand-to-hand combat, and Joker’s brittle-bone disease renders their speed to a slow hobble as they make their way to the control panel to free EDI, and cleanse the ship of the Collectors. It’s a surprisingly terrifying and tense sequence, as if a Collector happens to find Joker, he would stand no chance of defending himself.

5 Shepard’s Nightmare

The Horrors of the Reaper Invasion Haunt Shepard’s Dreams

The opening moments of Mass Effect 3 are dire indeed, with the Reapers launching a full-scale invasion on Earth, slaughtering hundreds and reducing earth to a war-torn battleground. Shepard suffers from PTSD-induced nightmares following the invasion after watching a young boy gunned down as he tried his best to escape the slaughter.

Since that day, every night, Shepard finds themselves wandering through a foggy forest of dead trees, trying to catch up to the boy as the ominious blaring sounds of the Reaper draws near. It shows that despite being the stuff legends are made from, Shepard is still human, and can suffer from nightmare, terrors and fear just like everyone else. But this only makes this nightmare sequence even more disturbing, as it proves Shepard is human, and could fail their mission.

4 The Reaper Vision

Since the Very First Mission, Shepard is Plagued by Nightmarish Visions

The very first mission of Mass Effect tasks Shepard and crew with retrieving a beacon situated one of the human colonies, Eden Prime. What should have been a quick grab devolves into something so much more as young and bright-eyed Private Jenkins is gunned down. They meet up with Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, the sole survivor of her team, and the beacon is so much more than meets the eye.

Whenever anyone gets too close to the obelisk, it drags the person closer, lifts them up into the air and transmits a horrifying nightmare sequence into their minds. Its a quick slide show of images of ancient lifeforms, flesh with machinery underneath, and, of course, the ominous Reapers drawing closer. The vision remains one of the most disturbing sights players will see, and they will be subjected to it more than once across the trilogy.

3 Reaper-fied Races

The Reapers Twist Every Race into a Nightmare, Adding to their Own Forces

The Reapers are one of the most devious species in all of gaming. Not only are they dead-set in wiping out evert civilized race in the galaxy to repeat a never-ending cycle, they do so without discrimination. One of the most ingenious and devious methods they deploy is indoctrination, allowing them to remove one soldier from the opposing side, and add them to their own forces.

In the very first game, Shepard sees proof of the Reapers twisting other races to their nefarious purposes in the form of ‘Husks’, reaper-fied humans that run towards their prey and pummel them to death. In the second game, they meet the Collectors, who were once the legendary Protheans. In the third, they see a variant of most other races twisted into disturbing, mindless soldiers: Turians, Batarians, Asari and more.

2 The Collectors

The Main Enemies of Mass Effect 2 Have Disturbing Intentions

Mass Effect 2 introduces the Collectors as the new threat that are preparing the galaxy and its denizens for the arrival of the Reapers. They are grotesque, bug-like creatures that are in fact the ancient, advanced Prothean race, twisted into servants for the reapers. As their name suggests, they ‘collect’ people, in this case, humans.

This verges the second game into what could almost be considered horror, as Shepard races against the clock to try and save the colonists from being kidnapped, and fails on multiple fronts. The disturbing truth about what is happening to those unfortunate enough to end up in their clutches is revealed to the Normandy crew when they embark on their Suicide Mission, coming face-to-face with the results of the Collectors’ horrific mission.

1 The Invasion of Earth

The Opening Moments of Mass Effect 3 are Nothing Short of Harrowing as the Reapers Descend

Mass Effect 3 was the curtain call for the Shepard trilogy. All the puzzle pieces from the previous games are slotting into place, and the galaxy has run out of time to heed Shepard’s warning. The game does not ease the players in, instead opening with the Reapers finally making their assault on Earth.

Entire buildings are razed to the ground, and countless humans are killed as they try to escape earth on escape shuttles. Shepard themself watches a child they tried to help board an escape vehicle, only for it to be mercilessly shot down. Man, woman, or child, young or old, civilian or soldier, the Reapers do not discriminate, and this scene serves as grim evidence of their lack of mercy and indiscriminate slaughtering. As the game progresses, players get reports of what is happening on Earth and it isn’t good as survivors are rounded up.