Nick, Chip, and Kurabara are back to continue their journey through the universe of Mass Effect. This week, they have made it through the corporate espionage of Noveria and were able to get into the garage. After a Geth ambush, they were able to take a Mako and get to Peak 15 and the Hot Labs, where a bunch of bug-like Rachni and an encounter with Matriarch Benezia are waiting!

Kura is concerned that Peaks 1-14 are not accessible. He also talks about an odd bug that turned all his characters to squares briefly.

Nick starts talking about the Rachni showing up as a horror style threat, and compares the bug invasion of Noveria with the zombie invasion of Feros. They discuss the reasons for why the missions could feel so similar, down to an asari speaking for a powerful telepathic being at the end of the mission. They also talk about the difficulty of the Rachni as far as how strong they are as an enemy, and the presence of non-humanoid aliens in the game. They discuss how all this feeds into the decision of whether or not to save the Rachni at the end of the mission.

Next, they talk about entering the Hot Labs and dealing with the ECSB forces who are trapped and stuck defending against the Rachni. They also talk about the odd Asari who was meditating and how strange she was.

They also discuss the decision of whether or not to bring Liara on the mission, as she is Benezia's daughter. They talk about how bringing her into the room with Benezia triggers are quick cutscene that felt half-implemented. They also talk about how Benezia shows up and then dies rather quickly, and how her boss fight is not difficult. Nick also mentions that the Rachni Queen overshadows Benezia's death.

They discuss the quest to make a cure for Dr. Zev Cohen to get access to the maintenance tunnels to enter the Hot Labs where Benezia is. Kura is concered as after the Asari spy kills a guard, none of the witnesses point out that they just watched a murder.

They discuss how the Rachni travel through space. Then they talk about the final fight and having to shoot and run your way through a room full of Rachni.

Thank you for listening to Squad Goals - A Mass Effect Legendary Edition Podcast! Please send any comments or questions to [email protected] or @squadgoalsN7 on twitter.

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