She is an asari, a female-appearing[1][2] species from the planet Thessia who are naturally inclined towards biotics, the ability to "manipulate dark energy and create mass effect fields through the use of electrical impulses from the brain".

The character was the subject of some controversy in 2007 following the release of the original Mass Effect, with at least one case of government scrutiny over a potentially intimate in-game cutscene between Liara and a female Shepard.

[1][2] Most asari choose to use feminine third-person, singular personal pronouns as an efficient means of conversing with gender binary species on terms they could understand.

If Shepard discusses her parentage in the original Mass Effect, Liara would speculate that her parents were possibly embarrassed by the union as the asari believe that for them to improve themselves, they should mate with other species to gain new genetic properties.

[15] This is intended to accurately reflect the story canon of her personality, having transitioned from a "doe-eyed" character to a confident and powerful information broker over the course of the original trilogy.

[15] Legendary Edition environment and character director Kevin Meek explained in an interview that the team took precaution with their creative decisions for the remaster and tried not to alter how she fundamentally looks in the first game by augmenting her body style or outfit of choice, as they had to "live within the rails of what narratively was her art".

[16] She credited voice director Ginny McSwain for guiding her through the entire process by explaining to her Liara's background, who she was and the different layers of her personality.

If Shepard pursues other leads first and significantly delays rescuing Liara, she mistakes her rescuers for figments of her own imagination, and decides to humors her "hallucinations" by answering their questions.

As Shepard obtains fragmented visions from various sources during the hunt for Saren and his agents, Liara offers her melding abilities to try and make sense of the data.

Liara explains that Shepard's body was recovered by the Shadow Broker, who was prepared to sell it to the Collectors during the events of Mass Effect: Redemption, but was thwarted by her and her drell associate Feron.

Shepard gradually breaks her hardened shell after lecturing her about reckless behavior in battle, but at the same time she states that she won't stop "to enjoy the scenery" until she's done.

Liara's familiarity with Prothean artifacts as well as asari culture and history, along with the significant resources at her disposal as the Shadow Broker, positions the character in a pivotal role within Mass Effect 3's narrative, where she often provides additional dialogue for plot exposition purposes if she is included in the party during certain missions.

During the main narrative of the Mass Effect 3: Citadel DLC pack, Liara calls in a favor to find information on the gun found by Shepard after they are attacked by an unknown mercenary group during the crew's shore leave.

Liara T'Soni makes a minor appearance in Mass Effect: Andromeda, in the form of voice messages sent to Alec Ryder in his quarters aboard the Hyperion.

Pathfinder Ryder can unlock and listen to Liara's voice messages, which were originally sent in 2182, a year before her encounter with Shepard, where she discussed her research into the Protheans and their lost empire.

As she helps Quoyle to the shrine's shuttle bay, she informs Admiral Hackett of her possible lead and asks for access to a top-secret facility on Mars.

Unlike much of the cast, Liara is rarely sure about her answers (check out her doubts about the Krogan cure in the third game, for instance), which makes for a consistently interesting travel companion."

Liara T'Soni has been well received by players and video game journalists since the inception of the Mass Effect franchise, and the potential romance with her has also been of some interest.

[27][28] GamesRadar's Jordan Baughman cited Liara's characterization in the first game as an example of BioWare's "The Awkward Hottie" character archetype, specifically a "naive beauty who doesn’t truly understand how harsh the world/universe can be" and who "turns into an absolute mess when placed in social settings".

[29] In a 2007 article written for GameSetWatch, Chris Dahlen explained that while he found Mass Effect disappointing, particularly the lacklustre characterization of its non playable characters, he noted that Liara was the "less obnoxious" of the available romance options and her explanations about the asari species to be well articulated.

[30] Pri Sanchay from Hardcore Gaming 101 noted that Liara's role as an alien love interest is similar to Star Control II's Talana, a member of the Syreen species which also inspire the concept behind the asari; the difference is that Mass Effect treats interspecies romance with "sincere complexity", whereas Star Control II lampoons the alien sex trope.

[32][33][34][35] Daniel Nye Griffiths from Forbes argued that Liara is the real hero of the Mass Effect series as she played an important role throughout the original trilogy with assisting Shepard's struggle against the Reapers and their indoctrinated servants, noting that the time capsule Liara has prepared may still play a pivotal role in preparing future Milky Way races for the Reapers' threat if the organic races of their cycle are ultimately extinguished.

[39][40] Tim Clark from PC Gamer considered Liara to be his personal favorite Bioware companion,[41] as did Aidan Simonds from Playstation Lifestyle.

[41] Mike Fahey from Kotaku praised Liara's freckles as a design choice, saying it gives the character "a life I wouldn't normally expect from an alien creature in a brand-spanking new science fiction universe.

[43] Stacey Henley from VG247 noted that the culmination of Liara's character arc sees her "doe-eyed, schoolgirl naivety hardened into something steelier" by the events of Mass Effect 3.

[44] Liana Ruppert from Game Informer felt that the metamorphosis of her personality throughout the trilogy was never visualized in any meaningful way other than a change in her default outfit as well as her voiced lines.

Within that context, Ruppert felt that the graphical changes and improvements introduced by Legendary Edition finally reflects her complexity and gives the character "even more life than she had before".

[48] A cutscene from the original Mass Effect containing depictions of partial nudity and sexual activity between Liara and Shepard, particularly if the latter is female, was notable for attracting controversy.