
Spoiler alert, Tali’Zorah vas Normandy has died. She was mercilessly cut down whilst escorting crew members back to the Normandy. Despite her winning a place in her captain Boaby Shepard’s heart, there was nothing he could do for her but give her a traditional space send off the likes of which would give Scotty from Star Trek a run for his money.
But what’s that you say? Tali didn’t die in your playthrough of Mass Effect 2? Firstly I say, lucky you. Secondly, I ask in return how many attempts you made? Did you have multiple playthroughs of the game, did you attempt the final mission several times? If so, I feel you’ve missed the point. Perhaps I play story based games in an unusual manner, but I feel that a game that allows you to make choices that massively affect (no pun intended) the story should be played once. When I saw Tali lying on the deck dead I was a little heartbroken. I instantly considered turning the game off and retrying the mission to save her, so much did I want her with me in the final chapter. At that point, however, I realised that by killing one of my favourite characters, the game had made me feel more emotion than any game ever had, and the fact that she’d be dead in the last instalment made that cut deeper.
So, after learning this about me you won’t be shocked to hear me say that Mass Effect is a game that should NEVER have DLC missions. I understand going back to the game to play some extra stuff, but when it’s implemented in such a way that you have to play the game again from start to finish to experience it then it’s a waste. As mentioned previously, I want my Mass Effect experience to be singular, I want it to be my own. I want it based on the decisions I made naturally, not the ones I made to see the full content of the game on a second playthrough.
This feeling extends past Bioware’s masterpiece series too. I get that not everyone has the time or disposable income to pre-order and play games as soon as they come out, but I am loathe to return to a game months after completing it to play it again with an extra mission. This does not mean I don’t enjoy DLC packs, just not when they impact on the story I have already experienced.

Ultimately, I wouldn’t tell someone not to enjoy playing story driven games multiple times if that’s the way you play. I just feel that returning to a game like Mass Effect for multiple playthroughs might weaken the overall experience, and it certainly won’t have you weeping on the floor after losing your favourite Quarian. Which I totally didn’t do, honest.
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