Mass Effect 3

Mass Effect 3 is a 2012 action role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts. It concludes Commander Shepard’s story in the original Mass Effect trilogy. Released first for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, it later received a Wii U version. Its opening brings the Reapers’ long-threatened invasion to Earth. Shepard escapes aboard the Normandy while Admiral David Anderson stays behind to organize resistance, then travels across the galaxy to assemble forces for a counterattack.

On Mars, Shepard and Liara T’Soni recover plans for the Crucible, a device that might stop the Reapers. Building it requires cooperation among civilizations with bitter histories. One major storyline concerns the genophage, a population-limiting disease imposed on the krogan. Shepard’s decisions can help cure it, while the outcome also depends on events from earlier games. Another conflict pits the quarians against the geth, the synthetic beings their ancestors created. Depending on previous choices and actions during Mass Effect 3, Shepard may be able to broker peace rather than sacrifice one side.

Cerberus, the human-supremacist organization led by the Illusive Man, repeatedly obstructs Shepard’s mission. Its forces attack the Citadel, and its assassin Kai Leng confronts Shepard during the search for information on Thessia. The campaign culminates in an assault on Reaper-occupied London, where allied fleets and ground forces try to reach the Citadel and activate the Crucible. The ending presents choices concerning the destruction or control of the Reapers, with a further possibility involving the synthesis of organic and synthetic life.

Mass Effect 3 carries forward imported saves from Mass Effect 2, allowing earlier decisions and surviving characters to affect encounters. It also introduced a cooperative multiplayer mode in which teams of up to four players fought waves of enemies. BioWare released several expansions: Leviathan explored the Reapers’ origins, Omega followed Aria T’Loak’s effort to retake the station, and Citadel gave Shepard and companions a final adventure together.

The original ending drew criticism from players who wanted more explanation of its consequences. BioWare responded with the free Extended Cut, released in 2012, which added scenes and expanded the epilogue without replacing the central choices. In 2021, Mass Effect Legendary Edition brought a remastered Mass Effect 3 together with the first two games and most of their single-player downloadable content. It did not include Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer mode.