Heroic construction and messianic authoritarianism: A ludonarrative analysis of Mass Effect 3

This article presents a ludonarrative analysis of the video game Mass Effect 3 through Thomas Carlyle’s Great Man Theory. Starting from a conception of the video game as a cultural product, it explores the ways in which the work constructs its protagonist, Shepard, as an exceptional figure whose individual will determine the political destiny of the galaxy. By examining formal elements, gameplay mechanics, and paratexts, it investigates how the ludonarrative structure reproduces authoritarian, hierarchical, and meritocratic models of leadership. The study identifies the presence of ideological imaginaries that legitimize strong authority figures as responses to contexts of crisis, in line with contemporary neoconservative and alt-right discourses. Far from offering a neutral experience, the game articulates a rhetoric that naturalizes the centrality of the lone hero, reinforcing individualistic representations of power and contributing to the normalization of personalist authority structures.