This article describes characters who appear in video games set in the "Mass Effect" universe, which includes a diverse cast of alien, human and synthetic characters. This list describes only player characters, squad members, major antagonists, and other notable characters that appear in the games. Certain characters have names chosen by the player; these characters are designated the name they are addressed by in-game. The appearance and story arcs of certain characters in "Mass Effect 2" and "Mass Effect 3" are conditional upon decisions from prior "Mass Effect" titles being carried over via an imported save file.