History Tearjerker / MassEffect3

** Becomes even greater when you play the ''Leviathan'' DLC and you see that the Reapers were following a programming built in them by a race of being with massive egos and cases of God Complex who merely built the Reapers to take care of a problem concerning other races they enslaved, and the Reapers themselves were no more than slaves to them.

** The state of the Reapers becomes even more tragic if you recall the conversation Shepard had with Legion in ''2'' regarding Sovereign's first contact with the Geth. While the galaxy knew it as ''"Sovereign"'', it had a name for itself: ''"Nazara"'', a strangely elegant name for such an engine of destruction, one that possibly suggests a distant connection to whatever race that the Reaper once was. It is a tiny glimpse, but a glimpse nonetheless that the Reapers were not mindless brutes, but sentient creatures, made up of an amalgamation of people from long-dead races. And, in most, if not all cases, they are the last, distant traces of the species they are made up of, species that have long since been wiped away and no longer exist.

* Sanctuary. Think from the point of view of one of the refugees. The entire galaxy is at war, you probably lost many people that you love, or maybe will lose them, you are scared, but there is this place, where refugees are all welcomed, safe. It's a HopeSpot in a galaxy that is going to hell, and you want to protect you and your family. So you get there. You might just have spent the last of your savings, if any, just to get there. You are in this somewhat beatiful place, alongside many people that are in the same situation as you. Your family is there with you, maybe you conviced a friend to get there. Then people start to disappear. They are called in, and they don't go back. Elderly, women, children, no matter, they all disappear. Then you are called. You get in a line, and start to hear the screams. You want to get the hell out, but these soldiers in white armor keep pushing you. And then you finally see a Husk corpse. You get put into the capsule, and you figure it out that not only you are going to have the same fate that you were trying to run away from, but they are also going to do the same thing to your family and your friends. And it could be your fault.

--> '''Shepard''': ''"I fight for freedom, mine and everybody's. I fight for the right to choose our own fate. And if I die, I'll die knowing that [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu I did everything I could to stop you]]. And [[IDieFree I'll die free]]"''.
** Then there's Liara's FlingALightIntoTheFuture message. Especially considering that earlier in the game she can realize to her horror that [[WhoWantsToLiveForever with her lifespan]] she might get to see the ''entire'' harvesting cycle, and watch things get just as desperate and horrible as they were by Javik's time. In that ending, ''that happens''.

* The Extended Cut has another: when Shepard has made a choice, and the Crucible begins to power up, the game cuts to a shot of the ''Normandy'', flying by as the structure lights up. We then see the cockpit, with Joker frantically tapping at the controls as the order to retreat comes over the comms. The member of the squad that accompanied Shepard the most (and is still alive) will moves to pull Joker away from the helm... He/she then gently rests a hand on Joker's shoulder.

** Hell, just some of the squadmates reactions even if they weren't romanced - for example, Kaidan pleading with Shepard to let him continue, looking absolutely heartbroken when they order the ''Normandy'' to leave. Especially heartbreaking when your learn that he's harbored feelings for Shepard for a long time.

* In the low EMS endings (both before and after the Extended Cut), you get to see the original version of the ''Normandy'' trying to escape the wave, but failing. The Normandy is then seen in the jungle, having crash landed as in the original ending... Except when the air lock opens, ''no-one comes out''.

** It can be worse -- you can get a shot of Tuchanka -- filled with rachni. The krogan? They're gone forever (save the ones who left for Andromeda).

* Despite being evil, it's hard not to feel sad for Clone Shepard being DrivenToSuicide after Brooks abandons them, while Shepard's squadmates rush to save him/her. You can see the look of dawning realization that the answer to their previous tirade about what Shepard has that makes them so special... is ''[[TrueCompanions friends]]'' who would do ''[[UndyingLoyalty anything]]'' for them. The clone has nothing and no one. They only existed in the first place for Shepard's "spare parts", and was awoken to take Shepard's place, not have their own future. When Paragon Shepard offers the clone a chance to live, they reply "[[DespairEventHorizon For what?]]" and falls.

* The Husk during the Synthesis and Control endings. When the energy wave passes through it, it suddenly gains sapience, and looks around in confusion, as if to say, "What... what ''happened'' to me?" If the former human remembers his or her identity, and maybe even actions as a husk, the implications are pretty grim. And if this happens to all the Reaper troops, including cannibals and scions, but they stay fused together, it's even worse.

-->'''Kaidan:''' We've been friends a long time, Shepard. Have you know me to be with anyone? I guess I'm just choosy, or patient, or... ''(sighs)'' Maybe I never found, or want... is something deeper... with someone I already... ''care about''. ''(sighs)'' That's what I want.
** It's worse when one would reflect about it: due to Shepard being forced to work with Cerberus and Kaidan being obstructed by the Alliance, it caused a divide in their friendship (and destroys any possibility of romance on Kaidan's part). When the former's claims were slowly becoming real and trying their best to elucidate their situation to Kaidan while he continued to doubt them until the Citadel standoff and the massive toll on Shepard's psychological health due to intense trauma they faced on this hopeless war with the Reapers. One would think Kaidan was afraid that Shepard won't reciprocate his feelings anymore due to those aforementioned issues between them, even moreso than Shepard's MarriedToTheJob soldier issue.
* During the final mission, when you're going through the FOB, you can find a datapad you can examine. It's gutwrenching stuff. Also counts as NightmareFuel.