Mass Effect 3 Fans Reflect On Story And Ending During 10 Year Anniversary

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Mass Effect 3 is turning ten today, and players are celebrating by reminiscing on the game's galaxy-spanning storyline and controversial ending. 2013's Mass Effect 3 served as a concluding chapter for BioWare’s epic sci-fi RPG trilogy, featuring the fully customizable Commander Shepard and their allies as they work to unite the various races of the Milky Way Galaxy in a final war against the dreaded Reapers. Nearly every narrative choice made throughout the first two Mass Effect games came to a head in Mass Effect 3, as well as several major storylines that were unfolding long before players first stepped into the role of Shepard back in 2007. However, while Mass Effect 3 received much critical acclaim for its plot and gameplay upon release, Mass Effect 3's final chapter remains one of the most divisive and talked-about conclusions in gaming history.

Upon rebuilding the ancient Crucible weapon and staging a final push against the Reapers on Earth during Mass Effect 3’s final mission, Shepard finds themself face-to-face with the Catalyst, an AI that gives Shepard three color-coded options to end the Reaper’s cycle of destruction once and for all: either activate the Crucible and destroy all synthetic life (including allies like EDI and the Geth), take control of the Reapers directly, or use the Crucible to merge organic and synthetic life into a single race. While Mass Effect 3’s ending had its share of defenders when the game was first released, many players felt that the choices presented were limited and didn’t properly reflect on the decisions made throughout the rest ofMass Effect 3 — even after BioWare released an extended cut of the ending that provided extra context for the three options and what happens