As possibly the most controversial moment in the entire franchise’s history, the ending ofMass Effect 3is still remembered for the backlash it received. The three options available to Commander Shepard in the finale were criticized for simplifying the nuanced layers of choice built up over the trilogy, and many fans are likely hoping that the nextMass Effectdoesn’t repeat a similar mistake. An alternate fourth ending forME3that was later added as DLC, however, reaffirmed the player’s control in a way that the nextMass Effectwould be wise to take cues from.
Understandably, many players expressed frustration over being limited toMass Effect 3’s Destroy, Control, and Synthesis endings, as there was little foreshadowing regarding such a black-and-white decision following all the various routes that could have led there. Forced by the Catalyst AI to pick one of the pre-determined fates for the Reapers, Shepard was instead granted the ability to betray this entity with the release of the Extended Cut DLC. Hopefully, the nextMass Effectcan avoid the same scenario to begin with, but taking after this DLC from the start would continue a BioWare trend of making the dire consequences of player actions count.
Mass Effect 3’s Refusal Ending is a Bleak Route Taken by Few Players
The Extended Cut DLC’s Fourth Ending Triggered by Shooting the Catalyst
Seemingly in response to the negative reception of the original set of endings,Mass Effect 3’s Refusal routeplays out if Shepard chooses to shoot at the AI projection. All the player’s war preparation efforts will be for naught as the entity withdraws its assistance and leaves the galaxy doomed, leading to the saddest possible outcome forME’s cast, as well as the most unpredictable.
Allowing the Reapers to Complete the Cycle of Extinction
In a sequence that fully commits to the player’s failure to stop the Reapers, acutscene of Liara T’Soniis shown preserved in a time capsule, presumably long after the time of her death. This reveals that all life was seemingly wiped out, but an alternate Stargazer cutscene also indicates that the next cycle of life learned from the previous one’s mistakes.
The Next Mass Effect Could Benefit From Allowing the Player to Fail the Mission
The Value of Dire Consequences Like Those for Betraying the Catalyst
A complaint that has often been leveraged against modern RPGs even beyondME3is that their overall stories aren’t actually affected that much by player decision, but other BioWare titles have effectively handled this by featuring failure states as legitimate narrative choices.Mass Effect 2’s final Suicide Missionis still praised for its open-ended structure, which allows the player to utterly fumble and permanently die, even if it’s not a canon outcome.
Titles likeDragon Age: Originsare similarly remembered for allowing the protagonist to sacrifice themselves or another character, permanently affecting the sequels. Meanwhile,Andromedaends up with nearly identical final outcomes no matter what the player does.
It might seem counterintuitive to let the player be killed off, or the entire galaxy lost, when the nextMass Effectis probably set to be the beginning of a new saga, butME2proved that some bad endings can be great in a vacuum. When the fundamental design philosophy of an RPG is about options, it only enhances the experience and increases the stakes on top of adding replayability to know that the player can narratively lose the battle. With the nextMass Effectpotentially set after the Destroy Ending, there may be more opportunities for creating the worst-case scenario on a larger scale than ever before.
