A former Mass Effect writer has revealed he didn't expect everyone to want to romance Garrus.
BioWare's epic sci-fi series has no shortage of unique and interesting characters, and everyone who's played the game will have fond memories of time spent with their favourite companions. One of Mass Effect's most popular characters is, of course, Turian sniper Garrus. But many fans wanted more than just a friendship with the character, which came as quite a surprise to BioWare.
As reported by PC Gamer, during an AMA on Reddit, Drew Karpyshyn, lead writer on Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, was asked if the team always planned to make Garrus and Tali romance options in Mass Effect 2 or if it came about because of how popular they were in the first game. Karpyshyn revealed that while he was a tad surprised fans felt that way about Tali, their requests for some Garrus action "blindsided" him.
- Obsidian insisted that Avowed wouldn't have romance, but that wasn't quite true, because there's at least one eligible bachelor, and he's voiced by an iconic Mass Effect heartthrob
- Avowed director didn't add romance as RPG players often try to cheese companion relationships and she wanted them to "feel natural"
"We always knew they'd come back as companions," Karpyshyn explained. "I was a bit surprised fans wanted the romance options. Tali I could sort of see... you never saw her face, so it was easy to imagine something vaguely human. (But she had those weird feet!) Garrus blindsided me - but once we saw what fans wanted, we decided to deliver!"
Rather than romancing Garrus, another fan was more interested in a potential Turian and Quarian pairing, asking Karpyshyn if he thought the two species could make a child together. "I don't know what the 'official' position on this is, but my belief is that it wouldn't be possible," wrote Karpyshyn. "The various species in Mass Effect are too biologically different to breed with each other. Except Asari, of course... it's part of what made them unique."
Karpyshyn added, "but that's just my personal take; I don't work on the series anymore so if BioWare wants to have Turi-quar babies, that's their choice." The writer has now left BioWare twice, once in 2012 and again in 2018, after rejoining to work on Anthem.
Check out our Mass Effect 5 guide for all the details on BioWare's upcoming space adventure.
Jennifer Hale says she didn't see a single line as Mass Effect's Commander Shepard until it was time to record: "It was all cold reading on the spot"
BioWare lead proves he's onto us while celebrating Mass Effect 3's birthday, clarifying that's all he's doing so that "nobody can say I purposefully teased them"
