Mass Effect 2 has a grim alternate ending you probably never saw

Our love for Mass Effect, specifically Shepard, means we’ve always aimed for the endings that bring the tiniest glimmer of hope.

There’s not much of that in Mass Effect, we’ll grant you, but it is there if you make the best possible choices.

Say you don't do the right things, though, what happens then?

Turns out, it’s not very good. In fact, it’s pretty grim.

There are plenty of heartbreaking stories hidden in the game, but this one feels especially brutal because of the finality of it.

Little did we know the carnage Mass Effect 2 would bring

All roads in Mass Effect 2 lead to the suicide mission, a mission that has ridiculously high stakes.

One wrong move and you could lose several members of your crew.

You can fumble the ball so much with this mission that you can kill all of your squad mates, leaving only poor Joker to deal with the aftermath.

But there is a way to kill off Shepard as well.

It isn’t a permanent death, though, as Shepard will be alive and well come ME3, thus proving that there is a canon ending for ME2.

You can’t use your ME2 save for ME3 unless at least two members of the team make it through the blood, sweat, and tears of that mission.

Still, while the canon is that Shepard survives, the alternate series of events gives players a unique glimpse of all that would be lost if Shepard fails.

Due to how unlikely it is to kill everyone, few BioWare fans have witnessed the savagery of this finale for themselves.

You need to purposefully fail and/or be incredibly unlucky.

The next time you play Mass Effect, we’re certain you won’t look at this final mission the same way again.

And if you do, well, you’re stronger than us.

Speaking of replaying the games, there’s a way to enjoy a first-person mode in Mass Effect Legendary Edition. You know, just to spice things up.

Better to change pace with a new perspective than ending the lives of your whole crew.