5 Times Gamers Fought The Developer And Won

It’s not uncommon for a movie trilogy to start out great but drop the ball at the finish line due to disappointing resolutions, subpar quality, and/or other shortcomings. Despite not being discussed as often, the same can be said for the third chapters of video game trios, as showcased by Dead Space 3, Watch Dogs: Legion and Fable III among several other culprits.

Upon its release in March of 2012, the highly anticipated Mass Effect 3 was added to that list for a handful of reasons, including claims of it having an overstuffed roster; a lack of meaningful and varied dialogue choices; repetitious missions and gameplay; and a general lack of polish. Easily its biggest and most notable indiscretion, though, was its incredibly unfulfilling ending.

Basically, Mass Effect 3 completed the series’ operatic story by having protagonist Commander Shepard activate the Crucible to destroy the villainous Reapers. Before doing so, he’s confronted by the Reapers’ hive mind – presented as the Star Child – who justifies the Reapers’ actions. Shepard then chooses from three color-coded decisions, all of which result in the Crucible destroying the galaxy’s mass relay network and Shepard's Normandy ship hitting a distant planet.

BioWare’s first two mainline entries were revered for their rich storytelling, deep characters, and dense player agency; therefore, it’s reasonable that fans were upset about Mass Effect 3 rendering a ton of prior decisions and plot threads irrelevant in favor of streamlining things with three barely different – but universally depressing – outcomes that avoided the series’ penchant for moral complexity.

To that end, the “Retake Mass Effect” movement soon arose, with representative Krista Hauser telling Forbes in April of 2012: “This isn’t a vocal minority but a sizeable collection of fans who have found themselves disappointed, confused and upset by the unusually poor quality of what everyone expected to be an epic conclusion to a groundbreaking trilogy. . . . We want an ending . . . that stays true to what has made the series so amazing.”

Hauser also specified that unhappy fans “want an ending that reflects the choices made by the player throughout all 3 games but also respects the lore of the series.” Beyond that, grievances were filed with the Federal Trade Commission and Better Business Bureau because of BioWare’s alleged false advertising and false promises.

Of course, industry opinions were divided regarding whether the outrage and demands came from a place of love and justification or immaturity and entitlement.

Meanwhile, BioWare Director Casey Hudson defended the ending and BioWare promised single-player DLC that would reflect player feedback about the conclusion. Before long, the free Extended Cut DLC of Mass Effect 3 was announced with the purpose of “answer[ing] some questions” to “give closure to this chapter of the Mass Effect story.” Even so, BioWare clarified that it would “expand on the existing endings” with “additional cinematics and epilogue scenes” but wouldn’t offer new endings.

The DLC came out in June of 2012 and included fixes to several plot holes alongside embellishments to the Star Child’s reasoning and extra context for the aftermath of Shepard’s ultimate decision. There was also a new option for Shepard to refuse the Reapers’ offers – leading to the Reapers winning because the Crucible wasn’t used – and in March of 2013, the Citadel DLC brought more closure to Mass Effect 3’s story and character relationships.

Unsurprisingly, those DLCs – in addition to others, all of which were included in 2021’s Mass Effect Legendary Edition compilation – was embraced by some and rejected by others. In fact, some people still created their own mods, such as the Happy Ending, Priority: Earth Overhaul, and Starchild-Be-Gone mods, to transform the entire experience into whatever they wanted Mass Effect 3 to be.

In hindsight, and with the initial pangs of disappointment gone, many people have argued that Mass Effect 3 was unfairly criticized and deserves to be as celebrated as its two predecessors. Journalists acknowledged the importance of Mass Effect 3’s ending controversy, too, in shaping the power gamers now have to influence developers.