'Enjoy it despite its flaws' is one thing, but Mass Effect somehow invented its own category: 'simultaneously one of the most flawed and the most well-crafted sci-fi stories I've ever experienced'. These games are incredible. They’re the worst. All the women are sexualized. All the women have deeply flawed and complex personalities without being either demonized or romanticized. The first available f/f ship seems to be written along the guidelines of 'what would a straight man find hot'. As the games go on, they effortlessly include multiple same sex romance options given just as much care and development as the the opposite sex ones. You can play as a xenophobic murderhobo asshole. You can play as someone genuinely caring but also harsh, who inspires growth and co-operation wherever you go but who makes hard choices when you have to. You can kill civilians and punch reporters and commit genocide. You can stop a generational war and mediate peace and save several species from extinction. The robots are stereotypically evil cannon fodder. The robots are deeply complex with a tragic history. Your team mates are assholes with xenophobic opinions or justifications for police brutality and genocide, or they just want excuses to Do Murder. You team mates are deeply flawed and can be urged to grow alongside you. The most important aliens are all humanoids. There are plant aliens and jellyfish aliens and insect aliens and elephant aliens and aliens who can’t share an atmosphere with us. You have to drive around countless identically boring planets with little to show for it. You get to discover hidden secrets and civilisations millions of years old and live through some of the most emotionally harrowing scenes in storytelling history. I am going absolutely insane about it.
I really hate how bioware at the beginning of this year was like "this year we'll have more updates on dragon age 4!" and the updates are "we laid off 50 ppl, most are veterans, including mary kirby who is responsible for the one character we are using to milk this franchise dry :) and we did not give them proper severance pay" and "here's a 49 second trailer telling u nothing but tune in 6 months (again) to find out whether this game is real or not! :)"
Halsin wilddshaping to entertain them and spending over half the day in bear form?
Halsin building an entire school with his bear bare hands?
Halsin getting scritches from the romanced player in wildshape?
Halsin (and romanced player) adopting owlbear who is delighted by this development, and laughing that he did promise the kids a surprirse?
Halsin telling his kiddos bedtime stories?
The player making a joke about wishing they knew they could get bedtime stories from Halsin, and Halsin responding that he would have tucked them in too?
The romanced player getting the chance to tell Halsin he's more than enough, that he should take more pride in his achievements, that he is WORTHY?
Halsin giving the player a whittled duck with a beautiful speech about how they're migratory animals but they always come back?
Halsin talking about how now that his trauma is healed/healing, he feels settled and like he doesn't roam so much, feeling like his roots can plant firmly?
Halsin talking about Thaniel and Oliver being delighted at all their playmates?
Halsin admitting he doesn't want to go back to the Grove nor be archdruid again, though he does correspond- and finds himself remembering that he forgot to find Tusks a mate and must rectify this immediately?
Halsin telling the lamest dad jokes?
Halsin dancing like the whitest dad ever?
Halsin talking about his musical tastes and how the bard likely wouldn't know the oldtimey tunes he enjoys?
Halsin's leather outfit?
BEING ABLE to hug Halsin and he tells you your embrace feels safer than any armor?