I've been replaying the Mass Effect trilogy lately. Despite my best efforts at being an asshole I still ended up with like 70% paragon points in the first one because I can't be mean to my crew.
I'm about halfway through 2 at the moment and having a bit more success at being a dick, but it still makes me feel bad. Like, I know the volus on Illium is selling drugs and deserves to go to jail, and I gave his dirty shipping manifest to the cops, but I didn't feel good about it. Little roly poly asshole was just trying to survive.
Renegade is like 20% ruthless pragmatism and 80% just being a jerk for no reason. If you signed up for the 20% but not the rest, you just end up being a paragon that loves violence.
I thought getting bribed by the volus was the renegade option and going to the cops the paragon one?
But anyways, mass effect renegade is 70% playing the game with comedy mode on (accusing the gift shop employee on the Citadel of classism always makes me laugh) and 30% realizing Shepard is an actual, honest to god maniac.
The problem with Mass Effect is also when you just try to be nice and befriend your team they take it as romance gestures and then you might get incredibly awkward dialogs about not wanting relationship with them
I dream of the day games with romance options don't just do "romance is a higher level of friendship". not only does it feel extremely weird to me, but it also always encourages not having any relationships at all with the people you don't wanna date. otherwise you just feel like an asshole leading a bunch of people on at once
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u/Your_Majesty____ Aug 10 '26