Why Garrus Is Mass Effect’s Most Popular Squadmate

The Mass Effect series is partially carried by its characters, particularly the crew aboard the Normandy who join Commander Shepard on missions. Throughout the original trilogy there are many squadmates that join the Normandy crew, but none have achieved the popularity of Garrus, a staple of Mass Effect.

Garrus Vakarian, a Turian, begins the original trilogy as an investigator working for Citadel Security. Near the beginning of the first Mass Effect, Garrus was tasked with investigating Saren after the Spectre went rogue, and quickly became disillusioned with C-Sec, eventually joining Shepard, whom Garrus comes to admire. Garrus becomes one of only two permanent squad member throughout all three original Mass Effect games – the other being Tali. He comes aboard the Normandy SR-2 to help Shepard investigate the Collectors in ME2, and once again joins the Commander’s crew after preparing the Turians as best he can for the Reaper invasion in ME3.

Although it’s possible to not recruit Garrus in the first Mass Effect, he was the most popular squadmate in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, according to the official Mass Effect Twitter account. Although the infographic only ranks most popular squadmates from the first game, Garrus was also ranked as the most likely to survive the suicide mission in Mass Effect 2, so it seems many players were keen on assuring his survival.

Why Mass Effect’s Garrus Vakarian Is So Popular

Part of Garrus’ popularity is surely due in part to his presence throughout the entire trilogy as a constant companion, but his character is also very affable regardless of play style. Garrus is very friendly towards Shepard because he is eager to see a Spectre in action. In the first Mass Effect in particular, Shepard operating above the law as a Spectre represents a kind of justice unattainable to C-Sec, which Garrus maligns for the amount of red tape the agency is burdened with. He comes to see Shepard as a mentor of sorts, with Garrus’ personality being greatly affected by player choices throughout the trilogy. This sort of molding may be a large part of why Garrus has become so popular – because he frequently mirrors the player’s character.

Garrus also blossoms compellingly after the first game, taking the lessons he’s learned from Shepard to continue extra-judicial work against notorious criminals, but his character alone does not singularly attract players to Garrus. The Turian squadmate was a major part of Mass Effect‘s marketing, even appearing on the box art. Turians are also the most featured alien race in the first game, with Nihlus being the first alien shown to players. Saren, another Turian, is the main antagonist, and Mass Effect‘s First Contact War is frequently brought up when humanity’s role in galactic politics is discussed.

Garrus is immediately personable as a Turian that is not present to pass judgment on the player (Nihlus), isn’t a villain (Saren), and doesn’t hold a grudge against humans for the First Contact War. Garrus is a fascinating alien, with an approachable personality that the player has a hand in molding. His character was practically designed to be liked, so its no wonder Garrus has become the most popular Mass Effect squadmate.

About The Author