The Mass Effect trilogy shows Commander Shepard’s journey as they try to save galactic civilization from being annihilated by the machine race known as the Reapers. The RPG series story is intense and drags the player more and more as its story progresses. Part of that is the twists the game throws at the player.
The RPG series will tell you one thing about the game and then throw you a bone that changes one’s perception of the game around them. The twists in Mass Effect raise the stakes for Shepard and their crew even higher as it makes the villains’ motivations all the clearer.
Spoilers ahead for those that haven’t fully played any of the games yet!
9 ME 1- The Truth About Sovereign
Throughout the first game, players are led to believe that the rogue Spectre Saren is the mastermind behind all the conflict going on in the game and that Sovereign serves as his Normandy in a way. That is until a projection of Sovereign shows up on Virmire.
Here players will discover that Sovereign is not just a ship Saren found but an actual Reaper. The twist fully explains Saren’s connection to the Reapers and how he himself is indoctrinated by the Reapers. It also shows why he was so interested in studying indoctrination on Virmire and perhaps he was trying to find a way to stop it himself.
8 ME 1 - Protheans Were Not The First Galactic Civilization
After recruiting the asari Liara, an expert on the Protheans, she will reveal a theory on how the Protheans were not the first major galactic civilization to have inhabited the Milky Way galaxy and that like the Protheans they suddenly disappeared. But it was just a theory until the V.I. Vigil is encountered on Ilos.
Vigil tells Shepard that the Reapers wiped out those that came before the Protheans and they have done so for millions of years in intervals of 50,000 years. Thus proving Liara’s theory true.
7 ME 1 - Reapers Built The Mass Relays & Citadel As A Trap
Sovereign also explains that it was the Reapers that built the Mass Relays and the Citadel, not the Protheans. But the purpose behind such constructions is not explained until Vigil is encountered on Ilos.
The Citadel is designed to be the heart of galactic civilization and is actually a dormant Mass Relay that will bring in the Reapers from dark space once activated. From here, all the other Mass Relays that civilization has become so reliant on, are deactivated isolating all the species from each other. Making them easy prey for the Reapers.
6 ME 2 - The Normandy Is Destroyed & Shepard Is Killed
The intro to Mass Effect 2 is certainly one of the most jaw-dropping in gaming history. The Normandy is the most advanced ship in the first game but is caught completely off guard when it is suddenly attacked by a mysterious vessel, later revealed to belong to the Collectors.
Though most of the crew escapes, the Normandy is destroyed and Shepard is killed along with it. Thankfully for all of us, Shepard is eventually brought to life.
5 ME 2 - Who The Collectors Really Are
Mass Effect 2’s main villains are the Collectors who have been abducting humans from colonies for some unknown purpose (more on that in a bit). Halfway through the game, Shepard will board a Collector vessel where they will find the body of one. Studying it will reveal that the Collector has the same DNA strands as the Protheans.
The Collectors were once Protheans that were turned into Collectors by the Reapers through harvesting. This has made the Collectors the mindless slaves of the Reapers and shows what they plan to do to both humanity and the current alien races.
4 ME 2- The Human Reaper
When the player finally launches the Suicide Mission on the Collector Base they will discover just what they were doing to all those people they were abducting. They have been liquifying them which you, unfortunately, get to see first-hand, to make a human Reaper.
EDI will reveal that with each harvested civilization, the Reapers had built a new Reaper to hold their genetic material and to add another to their ranks. Giving the player another reason to take down the Reapers.
3 ME 2 - Liara Is The Reason For Shepard’s Resurrection
Throughout the base game, it is a mystery as to how Cerberus was able to retrieve Shepard’s body in order to resurrect them. That is until the beginning of the Shadow Broker DLC.
After giving Liara the Shadow Broker intel she will reveal that the Shadow Broker had originally recovered Shepard’s bodies with the intention to sell it to the Collectors. Cerberus discovered this and contacted Liara about recovering it and handing the body to Cerberus. She was successful and the reason Shepard is back is because of her actions.
2 ME 3 - Udina Betrays The Council
Udina was always a real jerk and a thorn in the side for Shepard, but even his betrayal as a surprise. From when he is first seen in Mass Effect 3, it is clear that he wants immediate action in retaking Earth. Action that the council cannot take since they have to rally their forces, as well. So much so that he got tired of waiting and stages a coup with Cerberus’s backing.
The Salarian councilor reveals this to Shepard when they try to rescue them on the Citadel after dealing with the genophage. Udina ends up being killed at the end of all this, along with hundreds of innocents.
1 ME 3 - The Ending Choices
Love it or hate it, the three ending choices of Mass Effect 3 throw a wrench in the machine that no one saw coming and is one of the hardest to make in the game. After Shepard becomes the first person to ever meet the Catalyst, they will discover that defeating the Reapers will not be as ideal as they hoped it to be.
The catalyst will present them with three choices. Destroy the Reapers at the cost of also destroying all synthetic life in the galaxy which includes EDI and the geth, control the Reapers or synthesize organics and synthetics. All of the choices require a lot of thinking and depending on your effective military strength rating, could end up with even more destruction. This decision will definitely impact the next Mass Effect.
