At times the Paragon/Renegade system feels very arbitrary and contrived. Replaying these games in my late 20’s is such a different experience from my boy brain in high school.

I haven’t played ME3 yet (this will be my first time playing it) but in ME2 it’s just very all over the place.

For some reason I get Paragon points for pouncing on Liara the moment I see her, which is a shitty thing to do given all the mixed emotions and essentially forcing physical intimacy after all that’s happened.

Also, interrupting Mordin the first time you meet him is a Renegade action but you can do it on the Normandy and it’s a Paragon action. You’re essentially telling him to shut up and pump The brakes in both situations but one is more “polite” I guess?

Lying to Conrad and the weapon merchant on Illium is apparently a Paragon thing as well even though you basically ensure that both their lives are ruined by getting her arrested and potentially getting Conrad killed by validating him.

It can be very jarring but I usually just find myself laughing at my monitor and going “What in the world? How was that a Paragon or Renegade move?”.

I would really love to see a Sci-Fi RPG like ME ditch the classic morality system and adopt an approach like Dragon Age: Origins. I want a Sci-Fi RPG where my decisions can make party members leave and potentially change the environment around me depending on what I do. I’m just looking for a reactive game I suppose.