Welcome everyone to a brand new challenge for the blog – Mae’s 30 Day Video Game Challenge for 2024! Well, it’s more of a monthly celebration of all things gaming, where I gush about 30 of my top games overall instead of answering daily prompts. They can be some of my forever favorites, games that have recently piqued my interest, or even games incoming that I’m currently hyped about. I may even group some games up in categories here and there, maybe as games from the same series, or various versions of the same game, to hype them up as why I enjoy them so much. We’ll see where the night takes us haha.
Day Seventeen: Mass Effect
So I truly have a love/hate relationship currently with this series – from games, to comics, to animation, and more. Mass Effect is one of my die-hard series that I will fight for…even if storylines struggle to stick the landing (LOOKING AT YOU MASS EFFECT 3). So let’s chat about what I truly love about this series! We’ll be focusing more on the original game trilogy for this chat since I never got to finish Andromeda and feel I need to actually finish that game before I give it a fair review (someday lol my games log is way too long hahaha).
So what is Mass Effect? Well, it’s a BioWare Sci-Fi action roleplaying game series that puts you into the shoes of Commander Shepard (you can pick between a male or female protagonist whose personality is crafted by your choices) who leads a team soaring through the stars of the Milky Way in the distant future to save life as we know it for not only humans but lifeforms across the galaxy. I’d like to stay away from some storyline spoilers if I can but I will share some things here or there – like…the characters themselves.
Each game presents you with choices that will resonate across gameplay across not only the game you’re playing but future titles within the trilogy. In addition, your companions you may find along the way can be humans, just like you play as…or what I feel is the better part of the cast – THE ALIENS! Ya’ll – I cannot tell a lie – I am a Garrus fangirl forever and he will forever have my heart. He’s a turian who was originally a C-Sec officer; however, he joins our team in the first game and remains a consistent companion across all three games if you play your cards right *wink*. I also adore Urdnot Wrex, Tali’Zorah, Liara T’Soni (and those are just some names from the first game)…honestly I can keep listing the alien species and I probably adore them lol. I also adore how BioWare does use choice in how you mold your character and those responses from those you interact with. If you are aggressive with others, they will likely react aggressively to you. If you show kindness, there’s a chance you can tip the conversation in your favor. These are gauged by paragon or renegade points – which depending on how you play will open up paths befitting to that type of character.
I do also enjoy exploring the different worlds and learning up on the massive lore that is woven into every inch of this game. From diving into the various species across the galaxy, learning about the wars, what the SPECTREs are, and more – there’s so much you can dive into.
So what about gameplay overall? Well, it’s actually pretty good. I’m not a huge fan of the Mako controls, it took some getting used to when I first played it but it eventually grew on me. I do like searching the world and having my chosen companions at my side, interacting with the world around us depending on the merry band I have at my side. And the combat itself isn’t bad either – and you get to choose when you make your character what combat styles you want to focus on so you’re building the character to best fit you.
I think Mass Effect 2 is my favorite out the of the trilogy – and I may joke about 3’s ending overall but I did enjoy the full series overall. I don’t necessarily dislike the fourth game though it steps away from Shepard’s storyline. Like I said – I haven’t gotten a chance to dive in fully so there’s much to do before I can give a true review (plus plenty of companions to romance lol). Someday!
Here’s a video from YourFavoriteSon giving a retrospective of the entire series. Also we have a video from XBadgerKnightX that highlights what makes Garrus so great – because as I said – I clearly have a favorite companion lol.
Thanks so much for joining me today for the post! I’m finally feeling a bit better so I felt like diving in a little more today! Here’s hoping tomorrow will be even better! Lots of love and stay safe out there ❤
*~Mae's Corner~* 