For good reason, Mass Effect has become one of the most beloved gaming franchises of all time. With the release of the Legendary Edition in 2021, fans of the galaxy epic will be able to rediscover everything that first drew them to BioWare's distinctive world. They also got the opportunity to rediscover some of the series' spookiest mysteries.
However, between the Legendary Edition and Mass Effect: Andromeda which was released back in 2017, there are several unexplained enigmas that BioWare has yet to answer, and they are terrifying. So here are 5 Creepy Secrets you May Have Missed in the Mass Effect franchise:
The Keepers Origin
The Keepers appear in all three games of the original trilogy, however, even the inhabitants of the Citadel are unsure what they truly are. Vigil, the Prothean VI, you find in Mass Effect 1 throws additional light on them, implying that they serve the Reapers, thus we don't have much to rely on other than what Vigil says.
According to Vigil, the keepers were most likely a race created, conquered, or brainwashed by the Reapers, and were potentially the first race they enslaved. Whatever their beginnings, the keepers' principal goal now is to make the Citadel appealing so that sentient organic life may settle there, and to support their occupancy of the Citadel after they gain command of the station, as they did for many previous races throughout time. During each cycle, they activate the Citadel as a Mass Relay, allowing the Reapers to travel from dark space and begin annihilating all life in the galaxy.
However, the precise circumstances of their beginnings, as well as the species they may have been before being repurposed for the requirements of the Reapers, remain unknown.
Some fans suspect that according to the Leviathan dlc, including numerous subtle indications throughout the games. Point to the Keepers being one of the very first species harvested in one of the very first cycles. They might perhaps be the first entranced species mentioned in the dlc, the terrestrial species that dwelt on the Leviathan homeworld.
The Leviathan exploited a terrestrial species on their homeworld to evolve into a spacefaring species by coevolving with them and converting them into their first thralls. According to the dlc, this species was the Keepers, or at the very least, the Keepers were an early enthralled species. It doesn't really important in terms of details because it hasn't been confirmed conclusively, but I will point out that the dlc expressly says this in dialogue/text.
But speaking of the Leviathans, another creepy moment in Mass Effect is:
Leviathan's Indoctrination
Also known as enthrallment. According to the Leviathan DLC, by sending faster-than-light pulses to their countless biological, opalescent "artifacts" or "orbs" strewn around the galaxy, the Leviathans were able to exercise influence over many organic species. They were able to communicate, control organics, and survey the galaxy such as through them.
Many fans believe that the entire DLC was really disturbing. To be honest, the Leviathan's enslavement is far eerier than that of other races manipulating others, such as the Rachni and the Reapers. The miners' sluggish gazes and languid answers in Mahavid mine gave off an unsettling feeling for a lot of players as well.
Despite Reaper indoctrination, this approach causes no long-term mental harm aside from the entranced person having no recollection of the incident; for example, the miners on Mahavid were enthralled for 10 years and had no idea any time had gone since their enthrallment started. The Leviathans, on the other hand, were capable of putting Dr. Garret Bryson's assistant, Derek Hadley, into a vegetative condition using their talents.
Many people who played this game feel that this was one of the creepiest DLCs BioWare has done, with the exception of Project Overlord. However, the whole planet to visit the Leviathans (2181 Despoina) planet was creepy and just straight up unsettling to descend down at sea. Not to mention the visions/trance Shepard is subjected to; I would give anything to not have to go through it all over again. But, sadly, I enjoy the story and lore implications provided by the DLC, so occasionally suffering through those sorts of situations was necessary.
What makes this even creepier, is that some fans believe it is possible that Despite the Leviathan's very limited numbers, they hold an astounding level of power over the Reapers. This has led some fans to theorize that the Leviathans may regain the upper hand after the war and dominate the galaxy. They suggest that the new game will feature players finding a way to defeat the Leviathans and save the galaxy. Could be true, but it's up to the BioWare writers to decide at this point:
Ploba & Logan
Mass Effect players will most certainly spend a significant amount of time searching the galaxy for mysteries and resources. When doing so, you can stumble across Ploba, a gas giant whose description is pretty creepy and nightmare fuelish. Scans uncover gigantic unexplained superstructures within Ploba's atmosphere, which are too regular in pattern to be due to geography.
It quotes: Some believe Ploba is a "Jupiter Brain," a planet-sized supercomputer. Adherents of this theory have fruitlessly beamed signals toward the sunken megastructures, hoping to get the machine's attention.
Others believe that an ancient spacefaring race disposed of their weapons of war by dumping them into the planet. The last attempt to reach and salvage Ploba's "Deep Anomalies" went tragically wrong, and ended with a crew of 12 being trapped and crushed in the gas giant's lower atmosphere
This has led to speculation that Ploba is a massive supercomputer or even an old example of reaper technology hidden in plain sight with the goal of indoctrinating adjacent species. However, neither of these possibilities has been confirmed...or refuted.
Logan, like Ploba, is another gas giant whose existence may never be found until players scour the cosmos for secrets. Logan, like its bigger relative, has a disturbing description that hints at its actual nature.
This planet quotes: Logan is a standard hydrogen-helium gas giant. The survey team who charted the system twenty years ago reported many strange disturbances in Logan's cloud bands, suggesting many remarkably large solid objects were present beneath the cloud tops. As the ship approached, however, they subsided one by one. These disturbances have not been reported again.
A survey crew had attempted to record the system twenty years before, only to uncover readings of many massive objects under Logan's clouds. The things vanished one by one as they moved closer to study them, until they were all gone.
This occurrence never took place again, and the identity of the unidentified objects remained one of the Milky Way's creepiest mysteries. Of course, there are many planets that give off a mysterious vibe as well, such as Rothla, Junthauma, and Preying Mouth- a planet that represents a story similar to the Bermuda triangle. But Logan and Ploba are creepier than any planets we've discovered, and they're a dark secret that many Mass Effect fans might want to go see in a future playthrough...
Han Olar's Email
Han Olar is a volus scientist at Peak 15's Rift Station, on Noveria from Mass Effect 1. He sends a sad, but chilling email to you in Mass Effect 2. To start, the Noveria quest prominently involved Benezia and the Rachni Queen. Giving Shepard the option of either eliminating or saving this Rachni Queen. The Rachni's goals, to say the least, are pretty unsettling with how they work. With controlling deceased beings in order to communicate to us is just creepy in general. However, Han Olar message from Mass Effect 2 leaves off unsettling remarks about the events that transpired with Olar's sanity from Noveria.
Shepard,
They say you're alive. That you cheated death. That sending you this isn't just a pointless exercise as part of my therapy. They say a lot of things.
I'm still alive. She still isn't. I hear you killed Benezia. Nicely done. Another woman I helped kill, if my information did any good.
They want me to thank you. The rachni would have killed us all had you not shown up.
It would have been right.
Why me and not her? Why did you show up then and not before?
They think that they can fix me.
But maybe you're not really back. Maybe I died. Maybe I didn't close that door in time. Maybe I held it open to give her a chance, and the rachni ripped my suit open, and I died of exposure there on Peak 15. Maybe I'm a martyr, and this is an ugly hallucination before a glorious afterlife.
But if I'm not, then thank you.
— Han Olar
What makes this more disturbing than most is the fact that Han Olar's sanity is being chipped away by either the pain they experienced from Noveria or the lack of the unknown contained inside this email. It may offer some a bittersweet sense, while others may be confused by his message, which lets us comprehend his paralyzing dread of the Rachni and even the quantity of fear Han Olar was subjected to within that base. It's a frightening concept, but since few people fans view the email or skim through the messages, this is added to the list of creepy secrets for many fans who opt to read Han Olar's message to Shepard in Mass Effect 2.
Unknown Aliens(?)
The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.
— H. P. Lovecraft
Quoted by HP Lovecraft, the unknown is terrifying, especially compared to intergalactic species capable of far worse than what we have seen. And the Mass Effect lore is quite vast. The codex entries offered in each game (not to mention the books, comic books, and more) present us with information we had no idea we needed. For instance, we can learn about a few races that exist in Mass Effect lore but have never been seen by fans.
Some fell extinct, others are only referenced in side-material, while yet others were written out of the game due to time constraints. Because there are so many unknown aliens that they would require their own video, here are some noteworthy aliens in the Mass Effect universe who give off a terrifying aura.
Kirik - Biotic Bugs
According to Cerberus Daily News, on December 7th, 2010, Biologists Document New Insectoid Species With Biotics, known as a Kirik.
The Kirik are biotic-capable beetle-like insectoids native to Ekram's desert world. The discovery of the kirik was first deemed fascinating since they were the first known insects capable of controlling biotics; earlier, it was assumed that insects and other arthropod-like organisms lacked the sophisticated neurological circuits required to generate biotic abilities.
However, after additional investigation, the Kirik were discovered to have some symptoms of rudimentary intelligence. The Citadel Council despatched delegates in December 2185 to assess the kiriks' intellect and compare it to normal galactic sapience tests. They aren't so much as creepy, but definitely can be a part of a future intelligent alien species one day, but it doesn't help when they look like cockroaches by their descriptions...
Densorin - Child Sacrificers
During the Prothean cycle, the Densorin were a sapient species that existed around 47,814 BC. They were eventually engulfed by the actual Prothean race and compelled to name themselves Protheans as well. They were known for having fought the Oravores, but this conflict had apparently ended before the Reapers invaded. Fearing for their own lives, the Densorin sought to appease the huge machines by offering their own children to them—however, this merely helped the Reapers to wipe out their species faster.
Child sacrifice of alien species to pacify the Reapers is frightening itself, but we know better than anybody that when the Reapers are involved, we're always in trouble...
Oravores
The Oravores were a hostile sapient species that lived alongside the Protheans. The species was frequently looking for resources to exploit, which led them to the Asari homeworld of Thessia, where they sought to deplete its copious resources. The Asari were non-starfaring at the time and would have been annihilated had the Protheans not intervened and driven the evil Oravores away from Thessia. The primordial Asari saw this fight as their deity Athame (Protheans) defending them against all the other jealous gods (Oravores).
Jardaan
Ryder discovers the Jardaan, an ancient race of aliens that built the Remnant technology, as well as the whole Angara species, while exploring what the Heleus cluster has to offer and investigates what is happening to the Angara.
So far, little is clear about the Remnant builders, save that their technology is several orders of magnitude more advanced than the Initiative's. Except for the Protheans and Reapers, the Jardaan were able to construct an interconnected, cluster-wide planetary network, a feat of engineering beyond the logistics or budget of any known species.
The true origins and intentions of the Jardaan are still unknown, with BioWare dismissing the claim that they were Protheans. However, it is something that may be looked into in the future.
Inusannon - Precursor To The Mass Relays
The Inusannon were a spacefaring race that lived at least 127,000 years before the year 2182. Little is known about them other than that they fought another race, the thoi'han, for colonization rights to the garden world Eingana, and that they once occupied Ilos.
And the Inusannon are only ever seen as those creepy statuesque creatures on Ilos in Mass Effect. Until Javik (a Prothean companion) was introduced as DLC, many thought these creatures were Protheans.
Of course, there are many alien races that I could mention such as the Raloi, the feathered avian race, but so far, these were the most notable and creepiest races we kind of know & hear about in the Mass Effect universe so far. And as always, there will probably be more creepy species to uncover in the next Mass Effect as well.
But with that, we are going to wrap up, 5 Creepy Secrets you May Have Missed in the Mass Effect franchise. Which on this list was your personal favorite of nightmare fuel, for me, to be honest, it's probably the Leviathan's Indoctrination, I just again found that to be pretty creepy...
Also, what scary things have you encountered throughout Mass Effect that others may not have, leave that comment down below!
Thank you for watching, and I will see you in the next video!
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