Notable members: Sovereign, Harbinger
An ancient machine race comprised of enormous dreadnaughts, the Reapers (I do believe the word “Reaper” is capitalized throughout the series, so if you have complaints, SHADOWHALO, TAKE THEM UP WITH BIOWARE) are the primary antagonists of the Mass Effect universe. Apart from their hyper-advanced technology and frightening power, almost nothing is revealed regarding their origins, history, or motivations before ME3’s infamous ending.
The Reapers are considered a myth by most, and so the saga experienced a jolting start when Shep and her team witnessed Saren, a famed Spectre gone rogue, fly off on what appeared to be a massive Reaper ship two kilometers in length. It is only much later in the game that we learn this ship is Sovereign, an actual Reaper. This revelation ranks among my favorite plot moments in video game history, one that has lost little of its power over the years. Realizing the truth about the Reapers and the chilling extent of their might made you feel so very small, so very weak, and so very helpless.
Reapers are “each a nation, independent, free of all weakness.” It took an entire galactic fleet to take down Sovereign, ONE member of a species that would soon number in the thousands. Whether you hated Bioware’s resolution or not (lol), merely pondering how we would defeat these colossal machines – ones whose very existence was said to be beyond our comprehension – made for fun times. And yet, their greatest credit is not in their infinite age, their infinite comprehension, or the infinite reach of their genocidal demands… but in their trolling. Reapers are THE ULTIMATE TROLLS. Sovereign talked soooooo much crap in ME1, and freakin’ Harbinger upped the ante in ME2. All things considered, it was something that shouldn’t have made sense, but their snarky sinister trolling worked so, so well.
Unfortunately, the Reapers’ increased numbers and lack of trolling diluted their potency in ME3 (and let’s get real, that ending did them no favors), but it was nowhere near enough to smear everything their ominous presence contributed to the series. Truly outstanding antagonists.
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