Honestly, they really didn't scare me. And no, it's not because I told myself "it's just a game." I never did that (because we all know I T ' S M O R E T H A N A G A M E).
It's because whenever a Reaper would speak to me (Sovereign on Virmire, Harbinger on the Collector Base, the mini-Reaper on Rannoch), it all just sounded like arrogance.
Arrogance is often bred from ignorance.
One of the things I REALLY HATE is ignorance-based arrogance.
The Reapers had NO IDEA who they were dealing with. NO IDEA what we were capable of.
So whenever a Reaper spoke, it didn't cause me to tremble with fear.
It filled me with rage.
I don't care if you're a ginormous sentient machine specifically created to completely destroy everything. You don't get to talk like you're better than everybody else.
Seriously? You're "beyond [my] comprehension"??
PLEASE.
You are not God.
And I don't have to bow down to your will.