Mass Effect 3did not close out its runtime gracefully, in no small part due to a fair amount of behind the scenes drama over a leaked script leading to the underwhelming finale we all experienced. Except the ending of Mass Effect 3 is, ironically, not the final piece of the story, but merely a conclusion to the Reaper war.
Despite the animosity built up between BioWare and their fans over the finale, BioWare gave it their all to address fan feedback across the various pieces of DLC. The most important, and personal, being none other than Mass Effect 3: Citadel.
Citadel isn’t a serious tale. Protagonist Commander Shepard is given their mentor’s apartment on the titular space station, only to come under siege by a mysterious faction led by someone with a really sharp ax to grind with Shepard. The plot twists are comically over the top, just barely fitting in the universe’s lore, but you don’t care. Why? Because Citadel is some of the most passionate fan service you could imagine.
The sheer number of callbacks, nods, and little wrinkles could make up a dozen lists, with staggering amounts of fine touches that most DLC campaigns don’t get to enjoy, often hurried out at the end of development rather than executed like a victory lap. Except this one wasn’t just for the players, but the developers too.
ALSO READ:The Creators of Dark Souls Made An All-American Mech Shooter?!
Citadel isn’t about its central story - the plot doesn’t even make up half the runtime. Instead, what makes Citadel outstanding is how it weaves years of in-jokes, long-burning questions, and the rare opportunity to see these characters justexistfor a change without some grand scheme afoot for each of them. Sure, you can blast away at targets in the Armax Arena, but you can also see Samantha playing in an eSports tournament, or take Miranda out to a fine evening at a casino, maybe get Grunt out of a hilarious jam with station security, and re-enact one of the finest running gags with Wrex and a party personally tailored to your preferences.
Citadel is one long, lovely moment of breathing it all in before things come to a close.
Your love interest rescues you from an ambush like you’re in a Bond movie. Even if your love interest passed away before Citadel, there’s a brief homage to them. Everyone calls Shepard on their ridiculous habit of leaving with “I should go” and inability to dance. you’re able to finally hang out with these characters and nary a shot is fired. There is an overwhelming amount of permutations to just this DLC campaign, arguably featuring more potential different outcomes than the main trilogy’s core content.
ALSO READ:The Queer Male Experience in Fire Emblem Engage is Amazing
Perhaps the most beautiful aspect of all is how bittersweet it feels, in the end. “At least we threw one hell of a party. Probably the last one,” Shepard says during the final scene. you may tell the team at BioWare knew this was their last time with these characters. The care for them and the pride in how much joy they brought fans is palpable. Years of getting to know and refine them all into such fully realized characters. As hard as it was for fans to say goodbye, it’s clearly even harder for the team behind it. That even if the ending isn’t how anyone wanted it to play out, that the ride was worth it.
So few games get a chance to revel in themselves like Mass Effect 3 did with Citadel. It’s tragically rare for games, even the biggest and most successful, to have a blissful moment to sit back and marvel at what was accomplished. It’s a joyfully sincere. No one worrying about ‘cringe’ or some long scheme for dramatic payoff. All that matters is appreciating the moment.
